Revenge snippets

Five years later.

Emma steps out of Colorado International Airport terminal and inhales deeply.

The people, the thick air, the environment, the subtle performance, the constant effort to show off, still lingered in the atmosphere.

“Huh, some things never change,” she muttered with a smirk.

Five years had gone by, yet it felt as though she had only been away for a day.

A rush of memory flooded her heart; she exhaled, brushing it off immediately. If not for anything, she felt a sense of gratitude that she was no longer the woman that left Colorado five years ago.

As she rolled her box along, her gaze swept through the buzzing crowd of people waiting for their loved ones, others hurrying in and out of the terminal.

But then she paused when she caught sight of two familiar figures.

Ethan and Lora.

They were full of surprises, but this time, Emma didn’t flinch. She rolled her eyes and steered her box in another direction in an attempt to avoid their trouble, but stopped when she heard her name.

“Hey, sister… Emma!” Lora called, pulling away from the kiss with Ethan only after she was sure Emma had seen them.

“Hi…” Emma responded, faking a smile.

“Omg, you are back!” Lora said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“When Daddy told us he invited you for his party, we were super elated, right, Ethan?” she said, brimming with enthusiasm.

“Hmmm,” Ethan muttered, his voice barely audible.

“I have to confess, sister,” Lora continued, “you don’t look as skinny and hungry as I imagined for someone who ran off to an unknown country without a job…” She chuckled in an attempt to sound polite, but anyone would notice the spite in her tone.

“I guess you had a fair share of luck there, huh?” she added, turning to Ethan as though seeking his approval.

“Luck?” Ethan scoffed, irritation etched in his voice.

“The accurate word to use is flirt! She was too busy selling her body to every man that blinked at her,” he spat, jealousy eating at his core.

Jealous that she had moved on finely without him, and besides, he hadn’t healed from the sight he last saw her in and wanted so badly to make her pay for it.

“Are you insane?” Emma yelled, her hands crashing on his face.

“Don’t you ever make such disgusting claims about me?” she thundered in fury.

For a second, Ethan froze. He held his burning cheeks, shocked that she dared raise her hand to slap him, at the same time thrilled that she was no longer the timid and defenseless woman he had dated for five years.

“You shameful bitch, how dare you,” he cursed beneath his breath and held her hands firmly, shaking them rigorously.

“Can you swear you weren’t flirting with men to get money?” he spat, staring daggered into her eyes.

“Hell no, idiot!” Emma fired back, yanking her hands from his tight grasp.

“Then why not explain to me what you were shamelessly doing with that man in the hospital?” he thundered.

“Hos… hospital?” Emma questioned, completely clueless about his claims.

But then a sudden realization hit, making her expression darken.

“Asshole,” Emma cursed beneath gritted teeth.

Who was he to judge her after walking out on her on their wedding day to meet his ex-girlfriend, she wondered.

And besides, it’s been five fucking years, so why the hell was he bringing it up now?

She paused and looked at his smoldering gaze, and a small smile broke out on her lips. Realizing that Ethan had seen them and felt jealous made her feel a certain way.

She didn’t think he cared; but why was he all of a sudden acting jealous?

“What I do is none of your business…” Emma spat in anger, but her heart tingled with a certain kind of emotion. She was finally getting back at Ethan, and the look on his face was so satisfying to watch.

The tension between Emma and Ethan began to grow really intense, and Lora couldn’t help but feel the sting of being ignored.

All of Ethan’s attention was on Emma, leaving her completely invisible. Jealousy flared inside her, and she cursed Emma silently while plastering a flawless smile on her face. Without missing a beat, she stepped between them.

“Babe… you shouldn’t accuse my stepsister of such a thing,” Lora said softly, her voice full of concern. “You know how people look alike these days. You might have just mistaken her for someone else.” Lora's eyes softened as she spoke.

“Sister, please don’t take his words to heart.” She paused, looked at Ethan, and returned her gaze to Emma.

“I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way. You know how misunderstandings happen when people return from abroad looking so well-fed, without a real job,” Lora said, her eyes calm, giving nothing away, but the faint curve of her lips suggested otherwise.

Emma scoffed, tightening her grip on her box handle. She knew exactly what Lora had done, and wasn’t in the mood for further exchange of banter.

“Daddy is waiting for you. You should come with us to the house,” Lora suggested, still acting concerned.

“No!” Emma's response took them off guard.

“Gracious goodness, if you don’t come home with us, where would you stay? You can’t exactly afford a proper hotel on your own,” Lora said, offended by Emma’s stubbornness.

Emma raised a brow, her face curved into a frown. “I can take care of myself. Where I stay isn’t your business.”

“Aren’t you tired of dragging Daddy’s name through the mud?” Lora thundered. “What do you think people will say when they see…”

“Send me the time and location. Tell Dad I will see him tomorrow,” Emma interrupted, her expression unreadable.

Without paying any further attention to both Lora and Ethan, she pulled her box and rolled towards the airport parking lot.

Lora watched as Emma approached the parking lot, her anger boiling over. “Just wait and see,” she cursed.

Meanwhile, Emma flagged an airport taxi and hopped inside, and they drove off.