Ava’s POVMom sent me to a hot shower when Dad went to deal with the parasite who pushed me into the lake.I can’t believe it worked so smoothly. I always knew how to get to her, from luring her to escape home to making her push me into the water. She writes all her thoughts on her face. I knew mentioning the necklace would rile her up, and she thought I would physically hurt her. I’m not as stupid as she is! She did exactly what I thought she would: she pushed me into a lake in front of Sebastion.He hates bullies, and this will definitely drive a wedge between them.Ever since she told Sebastian about the misunderstanding ten years ago, he has been putting a distance between us. He wouldn’t come to hang out even if I begged, he wouldn’t return my texts, and he even asked his secretary to answer my phone calls! I never even said I was the girl he saved, I simply confirmed that it was mine when he asked about the yellow skirt.I know he is mad at me, but he is not ghosting me and that
Ava’s POVIs he still the dad who spoils me when I pull little tricks on Scarlett the bitch? “For what?! She stole from ME! She wouldn’t even be able to talk to Sebastian if she didn’t squeeze her head into MY family! Taking her place with the Vanderbilt is just a start of getting back she owes me!”“You are not--!” Dad bursts into a shout, only to halt himself halfway before he changes into a more patient tone, “Do you seriously think that the DNA test could fool anyone? Other methods aside, Scarlett looks exactly the same as her Mom!”“So...what? You published the news with me wearing the necklace!” I look at him in horror, not sure if I heard him right, “Everyone knows that I’m the Vanderbilt’s princess now! And you want to announce that as a mistake, on my BIRTHDAY?! You will ruin me!”“It’s better than letting them find out about it later,” Dad says coldly.His words freeze my heart. Does he even know what “ruin me” means? All that I have worked for in the entertainment business,
Scarlett’s POVSebastian puts his phone between us, on speaker.Quietly, I hug my knees, and curl my toes so they wouldn’t touch his phone. He shoots me a meaningful glance as he answers Ava: “I’ll call Jack before sending a doctor over. Take some rest if you can, or you won’t be able to attend your own birthday party--”Ava burst into crying and I flinch away from the phone.Sebastian takes his phone and puts it on the side away from me. He sits a bit closer to me and puts his warm hand on my shin, kneading slowly with a gentle force. I wrinkle my nose at him, typing on my phone:[You are just doing this for the baby’s sake!]He almost laughs out loud when I show him my screen, and he has to clear his throat to cover the laugh.“Sebastian?” Ava’s wronged murmur comes through, urging when he doesn’t reply in time.“Sorry, what did you say?” Sebastian blinks at his phone, totally absent-minded. I didn’t notice either.“I--” Ava hesitates, her tone unsure with a shred of shock, “Am I on
Scarlett’s POV“I’m sorry...” Sebastian grabs the frame of our door, so hard his fingers turn white. “I-- I...”He stutters for long, but no words come out.What COULD he say? Hours. Only a few HOURS after he told her no, he is on his way to see her, in the middle of the night.Because Ava cut her own wrist.“I...I won’t do anything inappropriate with her. I just...” With utter struggle in his eyes, Sebastian explains, to me, or to himself, “I mean, you can come along if you--”I cock my eyebrows and he instantly adds: “I’m sorry! I don’t mean that, I’m not asking you to come and help her! I swear!”I sigh. Only a few hours ago, I thought we could start over. I thought if Sebastian would take my side against Ava, then maybe we do have a chance at holding together a family. I was wrong. So long as Ava exists in his heart, she could drill a hole in our family no matter how generous I be.“I want to believe you, but what would you do if she really is dying of blood loss?” I look at him,
Hey Guys!I finished a batch of modifications today, and sorted out some issues and the pace of the story.The chapters with "[Mod]" mean content in that chapter is changed; Two chapters have "[Add]" in front of them, I moved things around and paced up, cut out two chapters of redundant stuff, and added them. (So no extra charges are needed, and you can see the new content as of now).Hope the modification makes more sense, and hope new readers can enjoy the fixed ride!Nyx
Scarlett’s POVWell, okay if the “soon” is like five minutes!I barely even sat down in bed before he came back. I didn’t even hear the sound of his engine coming closer. I didn’t hear anything until he opened the door. I mean, I didn’t notice if he had driven out at all because I was upset. Maybe he never even left.“I’m still upset, even if you just left for five minutes!” I grumble to myself, counting the seconds after I heard him close the door downstairs.I totally failed to suppress my lips from curving up.I didn’t think he would come back. I mean, it’s Ava’s life at stake. I was surprised enough that he didn’t ask me to go and help her.I don’t know if he would come back if I wasn’t pregnant, but even if he did it mostly for the baby...Maybe we do have a chance at making the marriage work.I didn’t know he cared about the baby so much. After hanging up with Ava, the jerk dragged me for a million questions about the baby. I didn’t know one could be so curious about so plain th
Scarlett’s POVI force my brain to not think about how likely it would be that Sebastian was the one who dug up my old art box out of reminiscence, kept it close to where he sleeps, and cared for it.Saving my baby is the most important thing right now. A weapon is just a last resort. I really wish I didn’t have to use it. I have no intention of fighting anyone with a several-pounder in my belly.Calling for help would be ideal. But how? How, without my phone?My eyes land on the window -- the security system. Any window or door damaged in the house, would instantly trigger an alarm. The emergency phone number registered is mine, so if I don’t ignore it or shut down the alarm, the security company would come over and check.But breaking the window means exposing my existence.I need to trigger the alarm as soon as possible, but once it’s triggered, whoever is in the house will all come for me. How long could I survive against them? But I would have zero chances if they found me first.
Sebastian’s POVI can’t chase Scar’s sorrowful look out of my head.The more I try to hear her and feel her, the more I realize how impossible it is to make amends. I thought I guarded my bottom line as a husband when I was with Ava, but I failed to see that every minute when I was away, was eating away the affection, the trust, the happiness of my wife.She loved me when we were married, but that sparkle extinguished in her eyes, then it was the light of happiness when she sees me, then the trust in her eyes was replaced with disappointment.The disappointment I saw when I left her today.She was just starting to smile at me again.I dare not to even imagine how much courage it took her to break the news about our baby to me. At that moment, I didn’t see the happiness of having the fruit of our marriage growing inside her. I didn’t see the excitement of a woman experiencing being a mom for the first time. I saw only fear in her eyes.FEAR. I saw fear, in my wife’s eyes, when she told
In the end, Lilith told Sebastian everything she knew, didn’t get anything out of that man, AND got pushed into the small bedroom -- to avoid Scar.She didn’t notice the door on the wall behind his desk when she first went into his office. The door is small, the room smaller -- just enough for a single bed, a table and a floor mirror. Nothing more. The owner of the room didn’t put any thoughts into comfort when he was deciding the ufnction of the room.The bed is not made. Someone just used it very recently. The table is, magically, messier. On its top piled papers, folders, and notes. Whoever left them there, left them in an order that he might recognize, but no others could.Lilith dares not touch anything. Turning around twice, she ends up standing in the small space between the bed and the door, awkwardly.“Where is your honorable guest?” Scar starts firing the moment she is allowed in. Lilith gets so nervous, her breathe slows down to the lowest, too. Scar might be on fire, think
Sebastian’s words freezes Lilith. His accurate intuiation shocks, but not as much as his aggressive eyes. Looking into his eyes, Lilith knows she can’t win this fight without needing him to say those words. She has seen how tamed this man can be in front of Scar, and that gave her the illusion that he is not dangerous. Not as how any man in his position holding his kind of power should be.How wrong was she.When it comes to anyone but Scar, he is still the predator who is to be reckoned with.She frowns and tries to run, but the man wouldn’t let her open the door: “If you know that Silco might harm Scar and you hide it from me, then it’s on your hand when Scar gets hurt.”“It’s on me when I refuse to deliver Scar into YOURS hands, which are holding Ava Fuller’s filthy bloody ones?!” Lilith fights back fiercely, “Don’t make me laugh! I come here because YOU begged to make amendment, no the other way around!”The man doesn’t show it, but Lilith could see that her words sting. If there
Does she really treat Sebastian differently?Scar doesn’t like touching this question. It stings. He is like a wound on her heart that just won’t heal. Every scar he left on her remains hurting, bleeding, and corrupting nonstop, yet she just can’t seem to gouge it out.If only she could.Why is it so hard to just cut all ties with this man? However she warns herself of the danger this man poses, she keeps finding him back in her life, closer and closer.Unlike Ava who has never even apologized for what happened but basically took all the harm she did on Scar as okay, Sebastian apologizes. He puts up the genuine guilt act all the time. Doing the right thing, that’s his brand. He takes all his chances to apologize, but he still doesn’t understand--His fault is not giving Ava a key to his house. It wasn’t even falling for that simple lie when the
Scar couldn’t answer Silco’s question.What kind of a question was that?! She doesn’t treat them differently! They are all her enemies, and they all played a part in that horrifying night five years ago! When Ava bullied her, Sebastian took Ava’s side; when Ava needed her blood, Sebastian was the one plugging the tube into Scar’s wrist; when Ava tried to murder her child, HIS child, he gave Ava the key to their house! So of course she treats them differently! If Ava was a murderer, then Sebastian was just a stupid tool Ava used; if Ava wanted her dead, Sebastian only failed to protect her.So why that question?!Why SHOULD she treat them as equally evil? She doesn’t only because she is a fair person!Having a bloody battle in her mind, Scar couldn’t help but feel angry when she couldn’t pin down where the anger comes from.It was a simple question, one that she does have an answer for.So why couldn’t she?Why did she feel guilty when Silco asked that, and why did she run from that qu
Silco finally nods with a proud smile, seeing Scar had led her to where he was leading her to go: “I think that would raise our chances by a lot, princess.”Scar’s eyes beam, not at the coming win, but at the proud look from Silco.She doesn’t even realize it.Never in the first twenty years of life has she tasted what being proud of feels like, and that’s not because of a lack of trying. For a very long time, she believed so long as she worked hard, she would get the praise from Jack and Anna just like Ava. She never did.It feels amazing.While Scar is enjoying her newfound secret, forbidden satisfaction, Lilith is amazed at the closeness shared between Scar and Silco that her best friend doesn’t seem to even notice herself. Does Scar still remember that she doesn’t even know the identity of this man? Scar looks up at him like a little lamb at her shepherd.What’s with this sudden, almost-father-daughter vibe?!“So we just wait?” Scar asks Silco, “What if they don’t make a move?”“Y
“Silco!” Still in the euphoric state, Scar springs off the sofa, demanding the man like a little girl, “You knew him?! Elijah Green? Did you know what a weirdo he was?! Who tells people that they look like their dead friend on the first time they meet?! Why on earth did you make me go to that horrible party?! You owe me an explanation!”Silco lets out a smirk, “Dead...friend? Interesting...” He laughs at her pout, rubbing her hair as he leads her back to the sofa: “The party was horrible? Then why did I hear that the Fuller’s mother-daughter pair put on quite a show to entertain?”Well, it WAS quite enjoyable when they panicked as their lies spilled all over the floor before Scar picked it up for them.Scar sticks her tongue out.“Sure, she begged me for mercy,” Scar shrugs, throwing herself back into the sofa with a loud sigh, “but they only wanted to keep up their lies in front of the Green Lady. I have been calling her about our deal and she hasn’t picked up yet. Pretty sure I got
“I have heard a lot about you,” Elijah Green grins at Scar, giving a meaningful glance in the Green Lady’s direction.The Fullers are pasting around the Green Lady again, like two buzzing flies that would always come back. Looking over, Scar couldn’t help but let out a snort, “So have I.” She says with a cold voice, “Is that what this conversation is for?”If he is here to fight for Ava, too. Scar frowns. She swears to God! She would—“I think they are lying to mom,” Elijah Green answers tamely, as if he doesn’t even hear the sarcasm in Scar’s tone. In Scar’s surprised look, the man laughs like a marshmallow, with a childish, mischievous shade in there, “Anyone who looks so much alike my dear -- hmm -- friend, couldn’t be a bully.”Every time he says that, he adds a pause in there as if it originally wasn’t a “friend”, but something else there. Weird. Scar thinks.“...but I bet you are fierce, no? I bet you are kind to people, but take the stand if needed,” Elijah Green is still going
Sebastian is afraid.Never in his life has he been so. How could he not? He is in the face of his final judgement. He only got through the past five years lying to himself that Scar hated him because Alice died, when he managed to save Alice. That’s his one shred of hope. That some day, when he could tell Scar that, all will be forgiven and forgotten.But that’s precisely why he dared not touch it. Because deep down, he knows that the answer is likely to be no.He just doesn’t know how to survive that answer. If his actions would never get forgiveness from the one person he can’t live without. Then what?It takes him all his willpower to force his eyes up to meet Scar’s. His throat so dry that it starts hurting. He grips a fist, hides it in his pocket with his whole body stiff like a rock.There is storm in Scar’s eyes.There is anger, of course. Anger for all that has happened. Anger for all his stupid mistreatment and self-righteousness. Anger for all the hurt he used to meet her lo
In so many years to come, Sebastian would be grateful that Scar caved, again.He could see the struggle in her eyes, and the familiar fire that would have driven her to call off the deal. But for several long seconds, she doesn’t say anything.He takes that as an “in” and drags her away.He is not sure what he would have done if Scar chose Scott. It’s not like he could really keep her away from the lead of her mom’s case. He has investigated for so many years, just so he could give her what she wants when she wants it.Just not Scott.Or any other men.“I didn’t know you were interested in eye candy,” Sebastian squeezes Scar's hand punishingly when he notices that long after they arrived at the small table across the room from Scott, she is still gazing in that direction.Scar frowns at his sting. What’s his problem?? Ever since she enter Ava’s proud event, he has been a bother none stop. Just because he has got something that she’s interested, he thought he could walk over her??“I g