All Chapters of Too Late for Redemption: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

14 Chapters

Chapter 1 Disgraced Heiress

The moment I was tossed onto the road for everyone to see, I became the butt of everyone's joke.The real heiress of the Marlins—that was me—got into a fight with the fake daughter, and my parents froze my cards as punishment. In a fit of rage, I left home. It seemed like an act of bold defiance, but I had to take out illegal loans, and I failed to pay them back.And thanks to that, I was tortured. The story flew through high society like it had wings. Somehow, they found out where I was left and gathered around me, taking my pictures without a care in the world.Unlike the old me, I did not scream or tell everyone to get lost. I didn't try to save the scraps of my dignity. It was gone. The loan sharks eroded it a long time ago.The moment they made me go on my knees and slap myself, I stopped caring about things like dignity or appearances. The proud, haughty, troublemaking Yvonne Marlin was dead.Her killers? The Marlins and Lawrence Seinfield. They destroyed what pride I had.

Chapter 2 Retching

But I didn't want them digging up my grandfather's coffin either.Lawrence paused for a moment. He looked at me and praised, "So Yvette's idea worked. You are more docile now."Before the Marlins found me, Yvette Marlin was the one who lived in my place. Yvette's grandfather was the only family I knew before that fateful day. Her father died at a construction site, so his wife tossed me to Yvette's grandfather and went MIA.I didn't wonder why he brought up Yvette. Lawrence beckoned me like he would a dog. "Come here."I was in the spot furthest away from Lawrence, and I didn't even spare him a single look after I got into the car. All of a sudden, I was very interested in the rug underneath. I did not do as he said. I refused to.That only made him sterner. "I said, come here."I did not answer. I tensed my back, trying my best to save my crumbling dignity, even though it was gone the moment I begged for mercy from my tormentors.My silence infected the air. Lawrence wasn't use

Chapter 3 Back Home

"Sorry, I… I'll clean it up. I'll take a seat in the car behind us. Sorry I, uh, sorry I dirtied the place."Lawrence stopped moving again and looked at me suspiciously. A tense moment later, he extended his hand and tried to check my temperature.The sight of his encroaching hand made me freeze. I knew I shouldn't move away, or it would make him mad. I used to worry about making him mad. Every time he got angry, he would mock me relentlessly like I was the most worthless thing in the world.It was embarrassing and heartbreaking for me. I remained stiffly in my seat, but I told myself not to move away.However, the moment his fingers touched me, I had that feeling of a slimy serpent coiling itself around my body again, and I dodged his touch.Lawrence's hand froze in midair. He was looking at me, and I could sense his impatience and frustration. My head was starting to spin again.I shook my head, but he was gone. In his place was my grandfather, bedridden and hooked up to all ki

Chapter 4 Arrogant Lawrence

That grabbed my mother's attention, and she looked away from me. "You look great."Yvette just stood there and smirked at me. "You're wearing an awful lot, Eve."Everyone turned their attention to me. I met Yvette's eyes, and her gaze was sardonic. My heart skipped a beat, but I did not talk back like I used to. I composed myself and was about to say something, but Yvette held my mother's arms, smiling sweetly."I bought the same dress for Eve, too, Mom."Mom nodded, apparently happy that Yvette was so thoughtful.Yvette looked at me again. I did not miss the malice in her eyes. "Do you want to get changed, Eve?"I stayed quiet, thinking about my scars. I declined, "No, thank you."Yvette looked hurt, and she forced an answer. "O-Oh, alright."Lawrence did not look happy at all. He gave me a glance. Maybe it was a warning, but he didn't make it too obvious. After all, he was a guest in someone else's house.My mother noticed my clothes and frowned. She lectured, "Yvette's just

Chapter 5 Refusal

"Tell me, what do you want?" However, he thought I would make an unreasonable demand, so he quickly added, "Only jewelry, though. You can forget about anything else."I looked at his face, trying to search for a hint of the Lawrence I knew. It was at a banquet where we first met, and the other rich girls were mocking me. It was years ago.Back in that little town, my grandfather was the only one I was close to. He had no idea what was trendy among us girls, and he'd spent most of his savings on my school fees. I would never bother him just to get the latest stuff.Even though my grandfather got me cheap, gaudy clothes, I wore them, nonetheless. He had no idea about jeans or their popularity. Sometimes he would even cut out cloth to make clothing for me. "If a girl wants to look lively, she needs to wear more color."That fashion sense stuck with me even after I was taken back to the Marlins. My mother asked Yvette to teach me, but I could never find her, so I took things into my ow

Chapter 6 Request

I stayed up until midnight, and my father finally came home from work. I went to see him, my luggage in tow. There was nothing but crude, out-of-fashion clothes inside. My grandfather gave them to me the day before the Marlins found me.When the town's girls passed by our home, they laughed hysterically and called me a bumpkin. My grandfather heard that, and he was quiet for the longest time. And then he went out alone.When he came back, he was covered in cement, but he was holding a black plastic bag carefully, like it was some sort of treasure. There was not a speck of dust on it. He asked all the ladies around about the latest piece and carried a lot of cement just to make enough money for this."The other girls have this. There is no way you're going without one, sweetheart."…I wiped my tears and stuffed my suitcase with my underwear, sipped it up, placed it by the door, and knocked on my father's study's door."Come in."I went inside. "Dad." I stood in the corner, stari

Chapter 7 Old Friend

"Do you want me to send you off?"I shook my head and pretended I didn't hear his sigh. And I left. There was no hesitation in my steps. As long as I remained in this house or around Lawrence, my scars would never heal.Forgetting my past was a must if I wanted to move forward. My father knew I resented the family, and he had to let me go, or that resentment would grow into hatred.Lawrence's reaction? I couldn't care less about that. I left the house and booked a hotel room for the night. The next day, I called an agent and rented a duplex away from the city. There was a private hospital nearby, which made things easy for me.I had to get over this, or I would say goodbye to sleep forever. Every time I closed my eyes, I was taken back to the darkest weeks of my life. I couldn't function properly.Finally, I mustered the strength to go to the hospital and made an appointment with someone from psychiatry. The doctor was young and in a white coat. A mask covered his face, and under

Chapter 8 The Past

That didn't deter him at all. With concern, he asked, "Is it serious, Eve?"I forced a smile. "I guess."That was a dumb question, and he realized it as well. Anthony changed the subject. "So, how's Old Mr. Riverson? I love his cooking."The mention of my grandfather turned on the waterworks, and my tears just wouldn't stop coming. Panicked, he quickly pulled out a wad of tissue and wiped my tears away, forgetting that he should be more neutral. "What happened? Was it something I said?"It took a while before the tears stopped coming. I was still sobbing, but I answered, "Sorry you had to see that. My grandfather… Well, he's… gone."Anthony's hand stopped moving, and he apologized, "I'm sorry. I had no idea. My condolences.""It's okay." I sniffled, and my eyes were red. "I need to go home."Anthony took his coat off. "Where do you live? I'll send you home.""No other patients for the day?"He pointed at his watch in resignation, emphasizing, "It's already six. My shift's over

Chapter 9 Unexpected Visitor

I cut off all ties with Anthony and slowly forgot about him, eventually.A few days went by, and I was letting down my guard around Anthony and everyone around me. I even had the courage to make small talk with the fruit vendor. Anthony and I never talked about the quiet breakup either.I was on the couch, watching Anthony work. He was coming over with the vacuum cleaner, and I raised my legs, smiling at him. "I want strawberries, Anthony."He pinched my face. In mock anger, he said, "It's out of season.""I don't care. I want them!""Okay, okay, I'll get it, princess."He was so resigned, and it made me think that the breakup never happened. We were still a couple. Every day, after his shift was over, Anthony would come over just to tend to me. For once in my life, I was deserving of someone's care.From the moment I went back to the Marlins, I'd been thirsting for my parents' love. I thought they would be concerned about me, care about me, and ask me about all the things I'd g

Chapter 10 Evil Woman

I clutched the doorknob so tightly that my knuckles went white. My mind raced. 'Lawrence. Him again. Is this his revenge? Revenge for me hounding him for so long? The more I try to get away from him, the more I run into him.'Yvette held her hand against the door and swung her mangoes. She was looking at me like I was a joke to her. "You don't look happy to see me. I brought mangoes. Your favorite."I wanted to close the door, but it wouldn't budge. Then, I looked at her, and I hissed, "I'm allergic to mangoes, remember?""Oh, that's nothing." Yvette arched her eyebrow and put on a shocked mask. She leaned closer and gloated quietly, "You could even lick scraps of food off the floor like a dog, Yvonne. A mango allergy is nothing."My eyes trembled. That awakened a dark memory, and my teeth were chattering. "You know?"Yvette noticed my nightmare gripping me again, and she smiled happily. Her voice was starting to sound demonic to me. "Oh, I know you went down on all fours and bark

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