Ripples And Hills のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 121 - チャプター 130

Alexa (Prudence) Saturday, December 6th. Three days later… Morning. The winter air bites into my skin as I sit at the artificial ice rink, sketchpad balanced on my knees. Families swirl across the ice, parents holding children’s hands, couples stumbling and laughing. Joy rings in the air, loud enough to drown me. My pencil races across the page, capturing inspirations for my latest Hills fashion design requests. “I can see someone’s in good spirits this morning. Not escaping like she’s been doing for weeks.” My head snaps toward Martha’s cheerful voice. She’s wrapped in layers, cheeks pink from the cold as she lowers herself onto the bench beside me. Her gaze flicks to my sketch. Heat blooms in my face because she’s right. I have been running, hiding since Hulio crushed my fingers. But that night he apologized. He asked us to start over. And since then he’s been tender, attentive. Sweet. Listening. The constant tension has lifted, at least on the surface. “Hulio asked us to sta

Hulio. Wednesday, December 10th. Four days later… I sit in my wheelchair, which is parked in front of the door, waiting. Prudence and Martha live here. I’ve never been to this address before the wedding, but I remembered it from her employment file. My heart thunders in my chest. Guilt weighs me down as I wait. Stephan rings the bell again, then glances at me. “Maybe we should go back, Mr. Ripples,” he murmurs. I lower my eyes. Regret gnaws at me. Despite everything I did to her, she had a chance to destroy me and didn’t. She made sure Helia didn’t report me. ‘You should thank your stars Prudence got through to me in time. I would have fucked you up for life.’ Helia’s voice from the morning after that incident still echoes. The door suddenly flies open. I look up and there she is. Prudence. Her eyes wide, unblinking. Afraid. She staggers back, ready to slam the door shut. I stretch my foot forward. Her gaze drops to it, and I know exactly what she’s remembering. The time my fo

Alexa (Prudence)Wednesday, December 31st. Six days later…Night…Lights. Music. Cameras. I stand in the middle of the party at my supposed home with Hulio, watching guests mingle on this cold night. Waiters glide past with trays of food and drinks that look divine, but my stomach twists too tightly for appetite. Especially with the news that I discovered yesterday. ‘Congratulations Prudence. You're going to be a mum…’ Those words delivered yesterday by my doctor, were the biggest stunners of my life. Stunned me all the way to the house. Even when Martha asked how my day was at the doctor's. ‘Are you alright, Love? You seem lost.’ She asked, concerned. I snapped out of my shock and I spoke. She was super excited. Hugged me all through. But then again, her face fell.‘Please don't tell me you would have to go back to him now…Please…He doesn't even need to know you're carrying his child.’ But I argued against it. ‘Hulio has the right to know, so that we can both think of a way for

Elviira Hills. Alexa stares at me as if I’ve uttered blasphemy. The silence is heavy, choking between us. So I break it. “Ta da… This is where you laugh and say, grandma, you’re joking, right?” I try to lighten it, but she shoots to her feet instead, eyes wild. “What are you talking about, Gran? No…NO…that can’t be possible. This shouldn’t even be a joke to begin with.” Her voice cracks, panic spilling from her. I rise, steady, and cross to her. I take her hands, firm, calm. “But I’m not joking, Alexa. It’s the truth. The truth and your true identity. The one I tried to reveal at that party months ago. The same night you chose Hulio instead.” She flinches. I see it pierce her, but I don’t stop. “And now you and Hulio are finished, we can proceed as planned. You will be announced as Alexa Hills, my heiress. The sole owner of everything your grandfather and I worked for. Only this time, not at a party. At a press conference. Here. In your real home.” Her legs give out, and she sin

Alexa Hills. Later… Triumph rings all around me as we arrive at Hills Corps. Cameras. Reporters falling from the skies like rain. All eyes craning to see the Hills’ descendant returned. But my focus isn’t on them. My focus is on Helia, on the way he methodically shields me and Grandma through the crush of people, straight into the elevator. Martha tagging along. His hands firm, never leaving my side. A solid wall in my broken life. And all he’s offered me is vengeance; destroying our siblings for destroying me. Inside the office, my breath catches. Grandma’s infamous office. The one we used to cry to visit when we were kids. Now it’s mine. Elegant, polished, timeless, just like her. Apparently Ashley hadn’t changed a thing. Either that or her taste mirrored Grandma’s. “You can change whatever you don’t like,” Grandma says, her voice carrying that firm, commanding edge. “I asked Ashley not to touch a thing.” I nod, silently correcting my earlier assumption, and my gaze falls on th