Semua Bab Ex and Son Beg, But I Never Turn Back: Bab 71 - Bab 80

Willow’s POVLogan stopped on a dime and turned around on his heels to face the restaurant manager. He instinctively puffed out his chest, his expression earnest, and his smile smug.“Yes?” Logan asked, his expression making it clear that he thought the restaurant manager was going to apologize. But the restaurant manager’s next words caused Logan’s smug smile to drop.“I need you to take back the special selection of red wine you sold to us on consignment,” the restaurant manager said, his tone formal. “None of them have sold and we need to make room in our wine cellar for some new wines from Mr. Hernandez’s winery.”“But that’s…ten cases of wine,” Logan faltered. “You’ve barely given the wine a chance.”“On the contrary,” the restaurant manager said. “”We’ve tried very hard to sell you subpar wine. No one wants it. We’ve had nothing but complaints about the quality. As per our consignment agreement, I’m returning all ten cases to you. I’ll have my staff bring them into the lobby.”“Y

Beatrice’s POVTrudging through the mall, I made my way to the next store. A boutique store that sold high-end clothes, jewelry, and other assorted crap. But they also sold perfume, and even though it wasn’t my favorite store in the world, beggars can’t be choosers.My company wasn’t doing well. Hm. A sharp decline in sales was cause for worry, but instead of stewing, I’d decided to hit up the mall to scout out the competition. By getting a good, first-hand look at what was trending and selling in popular stores, perhaps I could rebrand my own perfume to gain a better competitive edge.The moment I arrived at the store though, I was surprised to see Diana standing at the perfume counter. The sales associate was spraying perfume onto Diana’s wrist. I approached them both as Diana lifted her wrist to smell the perfume.Huh. I scrutinized the delicate bottle from a distance, but I didn’t recognize the label. So I decided to quietly make my way over so I could eavesdrop. Huddled behind a m

Willow’s POVMy mouth was agape as I watched all the people around Beatrice lavish her with compliments. Reporters vied for attention, calling out her name to ask her a slew of questions, one rapid fire after the next.“Beatrice, tell us more about your perfume company’s collaboration with a wine company. Where did you come up with such a brilliant idea?”“Beatrice, tell us about your husband.”“Beatrice, is it true that you’ve adopted a child?”Beatrice, Beatrice, Beatrice.She answered the questions, posing and smiling gracefully, tossing her head over her shoulder and poising with her hand on her hip, as though she were some sort of movie star.All around me people whispered, praising her as the personification of kindness, as though this back-stabbing, manipulative woman was some sort of angel sent from Heaven.I couldn’t believe it! Beatrice was the last person who deserved praise and adoration. Everything she said was a lie, and the reporters were gobbling up her lies, taking eve

Third Person POVWillow saw that she was assigned a table next to Beatrice, and her mood instantly plummeted. Doing her best to brush off the unfortunate table assignment, Willow set out all her equipment.“Welcome everyone,” the emcee said into the microphone, signalling the start of the competition. Nervously, Willow fixed her eyes on the emcee and listened intently as the emcee joyfully announced the theme of the competition: “The Beauty of Family.”“What?” Willow thought when she heard the theme.Family?A wave of sadness flooded through her as her mind flashed back to the shadows of her original family. The void left by her mother’s early death was poignant in her mind, as was her father’s subsequent favoring of Beatrice.From the moment her mother died, the warmth she’d felt in her family had dissipated, replaced with a distant, disconnected feeling towards her father as he embraced and praised his illegitimate child over her.For a moment, she felt a stifling suffocation squeeze

Willow’s POVBeatrice was trying to provoke me, as usual. In a way, she was right. Dropping out now would be a lot less embarrassing than giving the judges an empty bottle, but I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t let her win. Glancing at the clock, I saw that I still had time.Looking back at the audience, I found Luigi again. He gave me a slight nod, his eyes calm and firm. He believed in me; I could tell by the look on his face. Just like Adonis did. If I could just believe in myself, then maybe I could pull through this.Suddenly, out of nowhere, a flash of inspiration came to me.Luigi. Carl. The mansion. Luigi’s protectiveness of me the night of his birthday dinner in the restroom with Logan. Carl’s tight hugs of dependency. The way both their eyes lit up whenever they saw me. The warm laughter the three of us shared. The time we spent hovered around the kitchen island making lunch together.Family wasn’t in my father’s house, and it definitely wasn’t in my home with Logan. Luigi, Carl