004

Lovett stared down at her fingers, curling them into her palms as she struggled to hold back the tears threatening to spill.

She had cried so much in the past few hours that her head throbbed with a relentless migraine.

“Well,” Dianne said lightly, breaking the silence, “you’ll just have to forget everything that happened. See it as fate and accept it.”

She paused, her tone sharpening.

“To be honest, Kennedy and Ashley were already in love. You simply maneuvered your way into their story. If you think carefully, you were the one who proposed to him on your grandfather’s seventieth birthday, no less. He couldn’t possibly reject you in front of everyone.”

Lovett’s chest tightened.

“And Amy?” Dianne continued calmly. “Ashley was already pregnant before you and Kennedy got married. It couldn’t be helped.”

She sighed as though inconvenienced. “Abortion would’ve been risky. Surely you understand.”

Lovett’s vision blurred.

“So just forget everything, okay?” Dianne smiled faintly. “It’s all in the past now. If anything, you should be the one apologizing—for keeping those two lovebirds apart for so long.”

She leaned forward. “Just sign the divorce papers.”

Lovett blinked rapidly, pinching her thigh hard.

This has to be a dream.

But the pain was real.

Slowly, she raised her head. “You… you knew all along?” Her voice came out hoarse.

Dianne laughed softly. “Of course, darling. Ashley is my only beloved daughter.”

Only.

Beloved.

Lovett felt as though something inside her cracked.

“You knew,” she whispered. “And you never said a word to me.”

For a moment, Dianne remained silent. Then she burst into laughter—loud, unrestrained, cruel.

“What were you expecting?” she asked mockingly. “That I’d choose you over my daughter?”

She scoffed. “You think all those times I sided with you were genuine? Please. I only pretended because of your ridiculous grandfather. That old man never gave my daughter or me any respect until the very night he died.”

Lovett’s head pounded violently.

“Mom…” she sobbed, tears spilling freely.

“Oh, don’t call me that,” Dianne snapped. “It disgusts me.”

Lovett trembled.

She wanted this to end. She wanted to wake up. But no matter how hard she pinched herself, reality remained—cold and unforgiving.

“You’re wicked,” she whispered. “You’re evil.”

Dianne laughed again.

Then she leaned closer, her lips brushing Lovett’s ear.

“Do you want to hear something even more interesting?” she whispered.

She paused deliberately.

“I killed your grandfather.”

Lovett’s heart stuttered.

Dianne straightened, watching the horror bloom on Lovett’s face before bursting into triumphant laughter.

“Surprised?” she asked smugly. “As for how I did it—hmn. That’s a secret. For now.”

Lovett sat frozen, her mind refusing to process the words.

Then something snapped.

“You—!” she screamed, lunging forward.

She didn’t even get close.

Rough hands seized her arms from behind.

Chris.

He dragged her back effortlessly, ignoring her screams and curses.

Dianne rose slowly, amusement dancing in her eyes. She stepped closer and brushed the back of her fingers against Lovett’s cheek.

“Oh, poor little thing,” she mocked.

Lovett recoiled violently.

Without another glance, Dianne turned to Chris. “Throw her out.”

“You evil witch!” Lovett screamed as she was dragged away. “I’ll make you pay! I swear on my mother’s grave!”

Dianne’s laughter echoed behind her. “You can’t do anything, darling. No one will believe you without evidence.”

Lovett Larson was nothing now.

Just a discarded, unwanted girl.

Moments later, she was thrown onto the cold pavement outside the mansion. Her knees and palms scraped painfully against the ground as she lay there, sobbing uncontrollably.

By the time she staggered to her feet, it was past four in the morning.

She walked.

And walked.

Her heart felt hollow—completely empty.

Her entire life had been a lie.

When her legs finally gave out, she realized she was standing on a bridge.

The sea stretched endlessly beneath her.

Lovett leaned against the railing, staring into the calm waters below as the cold morning breeze brushed her face.

The sky was clearing.

Everything looked peaceful.

Cruelly peaceful.

Her gaze drifted downward.

The water seemed to beckon her—offering silence, rest, escape.

Lovett didn’t hesitate.

She climbed over the railing and jumped.

The water swallowed her whole.

She didn’t struggle.

Didn’t fight.

As her body sank deeper, the last of her breath slipping away, a single tear escaped her eye.

At least… I’ll be with Grandpa and Mom now.

And then—darkness.