All Chapters of Ashes of Love; Fire of Vengeance : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

120 Chapters

His punishment

“I just want you not to be hard on the kids?” I ask, keeping my voice steady. “Why are you involving me in this?”I force myself not to look away.He doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he sits back down slowly, the chair scraping against the marble floor with a low, deliberate sound. He folds the newspaper neatly, aligning the edges with unnecessary precision. Everything about him screams control.“You’ve already involved yourself,” he says at last, lifting his coffee to his lips. Steam curls between us. “You might as well see it through.”I can feel Mrs Rose watching from the doorway, rigid as a statue.“And,” he adds lightly, as if it’s an afterthought, “if they refuse to cooperate, you will not interfere with how I handle it.”There it is.The unspoken edge beneath the civility.“They’re seven,” I say quietly.“And I am their father.” His tone doesn’t rise. He knows how to make people obey him. I draw in a breath. “Fine. I’ll bring them down. But no shouting. No humiliation. If y

Humiliated or Failing Them

“I wasn’t interfering.” I straighten without meaning to, my spine aligning as if pulled by a string. “I was helping them. Saving them from your wrath.”For a brief second, nothing shifts. Then Mr Shaw laughs. The sound is sudden and full, echoing against the high ceiling and polished marble. Without carrying warmth, it fills the room the way thunder fills a valley, loud and impossible to ignore.My shoulders lock in place. Across the room, the twins glance at each other. Their identical brows knit together as if they cannot decide whether this is amusement or danger.“My children do not require your protection, Miss Smith.” Mr Shaw tilts his head slightly, studying me as though I have just made a fascinating but misguided argument. Each word leaves his mouth with precision, measured and deliberate. “You are very quick to assume authority here.”Leo shifts closer to me. Subtle, almost instinctive. The soft brush of his sleeve against my hand feels like a silent plea. I fight the u

I won't fail them

When I finally step into the hallway, the clock shows exactly 12:55 p.m., the sound of my heels echoing faintly against the polished marble floor.My palms are damp, slick with nerves. Wiping it away with a tissue, I force myself to walk quickly. I have no intention of giving Mr Shaw another opportunity to dissect my behaviour with that sharp, assessing gaze of his. The bitterness of the morning confrontation still lingers in my mind.The car is already waiting near the entrance, its dark exterior gleaming under the afternoon sun.Mr Shaw stands beside the rear door, one hand adjusting the cuff of his sleeve while the other checks his watch. He does not look surprised when he sees me. If anything, there is a quiet certainty in his expression, as though he calculated the precise second I would appear.“You’re punctual,” he says, lowering his wrist slowly. Though his tone is neutral, his eyes study me.“You said one,” I reply while meeting his gaze despite the dryness in my throat.A fl

Changing thoughts

“Are you trying to justify their deed?” Ethan’s mother raises her voice slightly. The edge in it is sharp enough to quiet the room.All eyes shift to me.Headmistress Taylor steps in before the tension climbs any higher.“Miss Smith, do you have any insight into the boys’ perspective?”Ethan’s mother exhales, clearly unconvinced. “Context doesn’t excuse sabotage.”“No,” I agree. “It doesn’t. But it influences the motive.”I turn slightly toward Leo and Oliver. “Why did you do it?”Oliver’s fingers knot together in his lap, twisting the fabric of his sleeve. Leo answers, his back straight, voice steady despite the strain beneath it.“Because he said we are cursed.”The words fall like a stone dropped into still water, settling heavily among us.Ethan’s gaze drops immediately to the polished surface in front of him, as though the grain of the wood has suddenly become fascinating.His mother’s back stiffens at once, then she brushes it once. “Children repeat foolish things. That hardly j

Awkward moments

The moment the car stops in front of Bellamore, the twins drag me inside before I can even protest. After handing the car to the valet, Mr Shaw follows behind us.“Leo, Oliver, slow down. Jennifer is sick.”Both brothers calm down instantly. Then they bring me to a table beside the kids’ zone and make me sit carefully, like I’m a porcelain doll.But the moment I sit down, they abandon me and run straight toward the trampoline. Mr Shaw arrives and sits on the sofa opposite me.“If you want, we can sit inside a private room,” he says, watching the twins. A satisfied smile appears on his lips.“It’s okay,” I say evenly. “If we sit inside, we won’t be able to keep an eye on them.”Bellamore is a large food court. Expensive too. Even the entry fee gets added to the bill later.On one side is the kids’ zone. Beside it is a family seating area where parents watch while their children play and eat. Loud nursery music plays constantly, enough to give anyone a headache.The couples’ zone is com

Uncertain future

“Leave me… right now. Or I will shout.”Mr Shaw doesn't even react to my warning. Instead, he calmly turns me toward him and steps closer. Too close… for a moment my breath catches in my throat.From this distance I can see everything. The faint scars on his skin, the sharp lines of his jaw, even the texture of his skin. His presence feels overwhelming, almost suffocating.“If someone walks in right now,” he says quietly, “they will start asking questions. For example… what you are doing in my bedroom.”My mind goes blank.“Your room?” I stare at him in disbelief. “But Mrs Rose said this is Leo and Oliver’s room.”His eyebrows lift slightly.“Mrs Rose said that?” His fingers tighten around my wrist. “And you expect me to believe that?”I try to pull my hand free, but his grip only tightens.“She said the room next to mine is Leo and Oliver’s,” I explain quickly.For a second he simply watches me. Then suddenly he bursts into laughter. A loud, genuine laugh, as if I have just told the

Unwanted proposal

I stare at Jason like my brain can’t catch up with the words coming out of his mouth. The world feels suddenly smaller, air tighter… like someone has quietly shut the oxygen supply.“What the hell are you talking about, Jason?” My voice comes out sharper than I mean it to. “Me and Mr Shaw? That’s impossible.”Jason’s jaw works, a muscle ticking near his cheek as he watches me. I force my shoulders down, force my breathing to slow. If I lose control, he’ll smell it.“Adrian will come back,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. “He hasn’t forgotten me… or our baby.”Jason’s eyes flick… down for a split second, to my stomach…and then back up with something colder.His laugh is short and dry, like a cough that isn’t funny at all. Then his tone shifts so fast it makes my skin prickle.“Yeah, right.”He steps closer, not enough to touch me, but enough to crowd my space. He looks straight at me, unblinking.“Where was he,” he asks slowly, “when the police came to arrest you?”It feels like

A brother's betrayal

The night stretches like an endless corridor with no doors.I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling until the darkness starts to look grainy, like it’s made of ash. The sheets twist around my legs from how many times I have turned.My mind keeps replaying last night, not like a memory, but like a punishment. Every time I close my eyes, I hear Mr Shaw’s voice again. Calm. Certain. Unmoved.And the worst part is that I cannot tell which frightens me more: the threat itself, or how easily he said it, as if he was stating a rule he had already decided long ago.When the first pale line of morning light slips through the curtains, it lands across the edge of my bed like a blade. I sit up immediately, as if the light has struck me awake. My body feels heavy. My hands tremble when I push my hair back.After freshening up, when I look into the mirror, I see dark circles underneath both of my eyes.I pick up my phone and call Watson.He answers, his voice thick with sleep and confusion.“Jenny?”

First kick

“Are you still my brother?” I yell, questioning Jason.But he doesn’t react. He just walks inside, as if the woman outside is not the sister he once cherished more than his own life.Steve gives a small signal with his hand. More guards appear, trying to intimidate us.I argue. I demand. I tell them they cannot do this. I tell them Watson is my lawyer. I tell them this is illegal.They do not care.Maria grips my arm, fingers digging into my skin with a desperate plea.“Please, Miss Smith,” she whispers, voice shaking. “Don’t make a scene.”I try to pull away, but she holds on.Watson steps forward, his voice snapping into authority. “This is unlawful. You are detaining her against her will. There will be legal consequences.”The guards keep moving. They do not flinch.Jason’s voice cuts through everything like a knife.“Mr Watson,” he says, “you are fired.”Watson’s eyes flash. “I don’t work for you.”Jason smiles, slow and unpleasant. “You won’t work for anyone after this.”My stoma

Vanguard

(Adrian’s P.O.V.)It has been a month since Jenny left our apartment.On the screen, the hallway outside our main door waits in perfect, merciless clarity.I have watched this footage so many times that the scene feels stitched into my eyelids. The same pale tiles. The same narrow strip of wall. The same flicker from the light that always hesitates for half a second, like it is unsure whether to stay alive.I rewind and watch. Then rewind again.I am not there in the footage. I never was.That is the part that makes it worse.The horror of that day is still burned into me, even though I only experienced it through a camera lens. The footage gives me angles, not answers. It shows movement, not intention. It shows faces, not thoughts.Jenny appears on the screen, and my throat tightens like someone’s fist has closed around it.Her shoulders are stiff. Her steps are too careful. Her chin is lifted, but her eyes look different. Those eyes are the part I cannot forget. They are the eyes of

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