Tristin“ Stop whining. ” I lean back and look towards the nervous man staring at the scene. “ I like actions. Show me your sincerity. ”Mona Alfonso is a smart woman. Before my gaze flicks back to her face, a loud noise echoes through the room. She lifts her hand and slaps her face. But it’s not hard enough.If she doesn’t want me to destroy everything she has built by being everything she called Grace…She should show some more sincerity in her apology. I close my eyes and rest my head on the couch, listening as the noise continues. Once, twice, thrice. I lose count as my mind diverts back to Grace’s face.I should have considered that this time was not right for a fight. Ethan’s return has made her nervous, and she is reacting more strongly to everything around her.But I think his return is having the same effect on me. When she told me she came across him in the corridor, I almost lost my mind and searched her eyes to see what she felt.She is not the only one who fears things.
GraceThe music from the club thunders in my ears, but I barely focus on it. My attention is drawn towards the private room that is Tristin’s usual spot. I make up my mind about everything I will tell him. I will start by telling him that such projects are not as important as the trust between us. We don’t need to fight over such things and get angry at each other. Then, we can talk about everything that he has been keeping inside him. Yes—that’s the way. Mom says that communication saves relationships, and she has learned it the hard way. So, I should not let go of that important lesson.As I near the door, my heart starts pounding. What if he yells at me again?For a moment, I hesitate. I told him we should stay away from each other for a while, but I am the one running to him after just a few hours.This is so embarrassing. But no embarrassment is worse than the cold silence between us, I tell myself. Just as I reach the door, I find it open. When I peek inside, all thoughts dis
GraceGreen eyes. And dark hair. A gaze that’s lazy but deep. Ethan.His arms are locked around me, his hands gripping my waist as if he is afraid I will disappear. His dark eyes meet mine, wide and intense, but there is something else—something off.He is blinking too much as if fighting to stay awake. My gaze drops to the crimson liquid beside his head. Blood.It’s pooling on the sidewalk, a stark contrast to the concrete.The color drains from my face. “ Ethan. ” I can’t take my eyes off the blood that keeps flowing and staining everything. It touches my fingers that are placed over his shoulders, and suddenly, the night when I almost killed him flashes before my eyes like a haunting ghost that refuses to leave me alone.I whisper, my voice trembling. “ Ethan, you are bleeding.”His eyes flutter closed, and for a terrifying moment, my heart almost comes to a stop.“Ethan!” I shout, shaking his shoulders, panic rising in my chest like a tidal wave.His head lolls to the side, and
GraceI was in a daze the whole night. I sat in the corridor outside Ethan’s room and stared at the doctors and nurses who passed by.I should have been scared of him. But staying here seemed like a temporary escape. I had a hunch that Tristin wouldn’t come to find me here, and I was right.He didn’t come. Unconsciously, a little of revenge had been served cold to him. It must have hurt him to know that I was here all night.Or maybe not. What if he didn’t even care about me enough to worry over such things now? I thought and then lost the ability to think.I sat there—numb, cold, empty inside. And it was better. Memories didn’t haunt me as long as I focused on the accident and not what happened before it.Just when I was beginning to get used to the numbness, two familiar bodyguards arrived and stood beside me. They didn’t say anything—they didn’t have to.He didn’t come himself. But he sent his two minions to ensure my safety. It was funny to me.What was the point of keeping me s
GraceUntil you don’t hear genuine concern in someone’s voice for you, you stay cold, numb, and empty, but when someone sincerely asks…Is everything fine? It’s like the wall crumbles, and emotions flow out. I feel it now—the lump that I can no longer swallow, the pain in my chest, the sting in my eyes. Before I can control it, she speaks up again. “ Grace, where are you? Tell me right now. I will come to get you. ”“ Mom. ” I choke on my breath. “ I—I am not a child. I am just…busy with work. I—I will come back in a while. ”I don’t like lying. But how do I tell her what I have seen and where I am sitting right now?“ You don’t sound like you are busy. ” Her voice lowers. “ tell me what’s wrong. You didn’t come home, and Tristin didn’t come home. You two have been gone for the whole night, and now Luca says that he can’t tell me what’s gone wrong with you two. What is this all about? ”“ Oh. ” My shoulders slump.So, she has an inkling. I rub my eyes with my free hand and suck in a
Grace“ Mrs. Calder, Boss is resting. If you are going to stand there and disturb him, you should take your leave. ” A familiar voice says.A frown etches between my brows. I look ahead to find the same assistant addressing me as ‘Mrs. Calder.’It irks me out. “ I am Mrs. Roberto. Tristin Roberto’s wife. ”He remains unfazed and stares at me as if he is not even interested in what I have to say.I sigh, my gaze drifting to Ethan again. My mind was clouded with emotions before, but now, I can think a little.And I refuse to believe that Ethan’s heroic act is a coincidence. With Ethan Calder, coincidences are not only rare—they are nonexistent. I stroll inside and stop a few steps away from the bed. He still doesn’t look up.“ Are you deliberately ignoring me? ” I question, anger simmering beneath my tone.Slowly, he picks up his head, and his green eyes meet my narrowed gaze. He blinks and remains stoic before he looks down again.“ What are you doing here? ” He asks, his voice devoid
GraceThe car speeds down the road. Everything seems blurred in the broad daylight. My chest feels tight, constricted by the silence radiating from Tristin. His hand is locked around mine, his grip almost painful, but I don’t care about the pressure. I care about the way his eyes refuse to meet mine, fixed instead on the bright world rushing past the window.I don’t understand what’s happening and why he looks so…strange. And it’s making my heart race. “Tristin. ” I whisper, my voice low but edged with worry. “ Tell me what is going on. ”He doesn’t answer. His jaw is taut, and his expression is unreadable. Beside the driver, Luca stares intently at his phone, his fingers flying over the screen. Every few seconds, he dials a new number, but from the stiff way his shoulders hunch, I know he is not getting the answers he wants.“ Luca, at least you should tell me what is wrong! ” I hiss, unable to stay silent anymore.“ Mrs. Roberto. Please stay calm. We will be there soon. ” He rep
Grace“ But… ” He hesitates, glancing at me before focusing on Tristin. “ Young master was with them. He was taken to the hospital too, but… ”Young master…Sebastian.It’s like the world around me ceases to exist as I step closer to the man, demanding an answer. “ But what? ”The man swallows hard. “ He—He is not there anymore. We believe he was taken. ”The words don’t make sense. They can’t.“ What? What do you mean by taken? Taken where? ” My voice is barely a whisper, but the man hears me. He turns to me, his expression a mixture of pity, regret, fear, and so much more. Why…Why is he looking at me like this?My head is spinning. “ I am sorry, Mrs. Roberto. We believe the Young Master was kidnapped on the way to the hospital. We are looking for him and will find him soon. The kidnappers couldn’t have gone far.”Kidnapped. The word echoes inside my head like a broken record. I can’t hear anything else. My ears ring as panic claws up my throat. I turn to face Tristin, my hands
GraceThe maids look for the knife everywhere they can, but after hours of search, they return…empty-handed. I sit by the window, just watching the sun rise in the distance as Mom questions the maids. After receiving the answer she wanted, she turns to me smugly.“ What do you have to say about it now? ” She asks, and I have nothing to say.I can only think in silence. My doubt has been confirmed. Someone in this house is helping that child do this. Was it Serena who planted this mole or was it Ethan? I couldn’t tell for sure before, but now, that doubt is cleared too.It has to be Ethan. Because Serena is gone as Tristin told me. And so, she can’t give any more orders, can she? So…Ethan Calder is still pulling the strings.He planted someone in our house, and she helped that boy get to my son’s room, without getting into the video of any CCTV camera installed in the corridors. Even the knife Sebastian used disappeared as if it never existed.The only person who ever saw that boy
Grace“ I took care of Serena. We are keeping that boy and she won’t return. ” Tristin says.He has been talking for some time, but I can’t really focus. He is telling me that he did just what I wanted…Yet…I feel like I have made a terrible mistake as if I have played right into Ethan’s hands once more.Did he want us to adopt this boy and push Serena out of the way? Was the real problem always…the child I decided to keep without giving it a second thought? “ What are you thinking and what were you doing in— ”“ The kid… ” I speak up for the first time, and glance out the window, towards the garden. “ he tried to harm our son. I woke up…in the middle of the night and saw him holding a knife, aiming it at Sebastian’s neck. I—I pushed him away, and he went back to his room and— ”“ What? What are you saying, Grace? ” Tristin is on his feet, his anger rising as he paces back and forth.I explain the situation to him again, and it becomes impossible for me to stay still. Just when he
GraceI don’t wait for her response. I slip out of the room, the trembling refusing to stop as I make my way to Sebastian’s room. My bare feet are soundless against the cold floor, the hallway stretched longer than usual in the dark. My head spins, my stomach curling into knots.I am not going to treat him like a child anymore. I need to know why he would try to kill my son. I push open the door, my breath catching in my throat. I prepared for every scenario. I thought he would be panicking or trying to hide—something a normal child would do after doing something wrong. But he…Sebastian is in bed, sleeping soundly.I freeze there for a moment, a frown etching between my brows. I walk closer to him and loom over his sleeping figure.He is sleeping as if he never got up from this bed. I glance towards the side tables and start checking them for the knife. I came in just five minutes. He couldn’t have gone and hidden the knife somewhere in such a short time.After looking inside the
GraceMy body moves before my mind catches up.I grab Sebastian’s wrist mid-air, my fingers squeezing around his skin as the knife nearly comes down. A gasp erupts from my mouth and I shove him back. The knife drops from his hand, and lands on the floor with the loud cling noise. My motherly instincts kick in. My other arm wraps around my son’s shoulders and I pull his face into my chest.Seb startles awake with a soft gasp. “ Mommy? ”Everything inside me goes on high alert. My heart slams against my ribs as I stare ahead, my breath hitched in my throat. Sebastian…He bends down, reaching for the fallen knife. The moment his fingers curl around the handle again, my stomach twists violently.Is this…a five-year-old child?“Sebastian… ” My voice is nothing more than a whisper, barely escaping my lips.I don’t understand. My breathing speeds up as I tighten my hold over my son’s head, and prepare to get up and push Sebastian away.But…He turns away from me and walks toward the door.
Grace“ Why did you need to return so fast? You should have stayed there for some days, Ania. ” I sigh as I sit beside Ania on the bed and watch Sebastian cooing at his new, little sister.“ I couldn’t stay a moment more in that depressing, shitty place. It reminds me of the foolish mistakes I made in the past. I think I can recover at home better. ” She grumbles, glancing in the direction of the cradle. I swallow the rest of the words when she mentions the past. Back then, she was constantly trying to hurt herself and often ended up in the hospital. Now, she has gotten out of that phase, and she is doing so much in life. I look in her direction, noticing how pale her face is before sighing softly.If staying at home helps her recover faster, then so be it. I will look after her.Silence falls in her bedroom as we watch Sebastian playing with the new baby. It feels like a rare moment of calm has befallen when a storm is still raging.If only I could stay here, and continue to watch
EthanThe satisfaction a person feels after watching the last piece fit into an impossible puzzle is unparalleled.That’s exactly what I feel right now. A deep-rooted satisfaction that is more intoxicating than any drug in this world.“ Theodore took Serena. It seems he will keep her locked up and torture her for a while. She won’t be returning anytime soon. ” I hear the report calmly, my gaze drawn towards the almost complete puzzle of her face.The last piece is still in my hand. And I have been holding back from fitting it in. But now, I can. I lean in and place the piece in the puzzle, completing the picture of her perfect face. In that picture, she is smiling so brightly at me that it makes me want to bring her to my side faster. “ Won’t that cause a setback in our plan, Boss? ” My assistant asks.I just shake my head. I know Grace must have told Tristin to simply send Serena away after adopting the boy and signing an NDA. But Tristin didn’t listen to her. He didn’t let Serena
TristinI didn’t even need to convince her. It felt like she was waiting for me to bring this up in front of her. After she signs the documents, a wide smile spreads across her lips. “ I was thinking…Tristin— ”“ Don’t call my name. ” I stare at her face calmly.Her smile wavers and she shudders before she continues. “ I was thinking Mr. Roberto…I can stay in the annex because it feels strange to live in the same house as Mrs. Roberto. This way I can stay close to Sebastian and I won’t be in Mrs. Roberto’s way either. ”I tilt my head to the right and study the fake nervousness painting her face. She thinks…after everything she did, and after she just signed the documents, I will still keep her around.Then again, I did tell her that after adopting Sebastian, I would let her stay. But I never mentioned… the place where I am planning on letting her stay.As if on cue, the door opens and Adler steps inside. Three other bodyguards follow him in, and instantly come to stand behind the c
GraceI take a seat on the wingchair in the corner and watch the boy’s back. He has been standing in front of the window for a whole five minutes now.He is desperately trying to ignore me, but his curled hands and tense body give him away. Children…shouldn’t have to try so hard to hide their emotions. But, for some reason, he is trying to exercise extreme control over his nerves.“ I heard you refused to eat. You broke the bowl of soup I sent to you. ” I break the silence.I have no idea how I am supposed to communicate with a child who acts nothing like a child. If I talk to him in a baby voice and attempt to treat him like a baby, it feels like he will get more offended.“ And you have been trying to bully Sebastian. ” I add, my shoulders tensing.He scoffs. “ Sebastian is my name. ”I sigh and run my fingers through my hair. “ You both share the same name. You are Sebastian and he is Sebastian. ”“ No. Sebastian is my name. It can…just be my name. ” He says, without turning to fa
GraceSilence falls between us. The steam lifts from the soup and hides his deep eyes for a moment.I take that time to pick up the tray so I can go to my son. “ Seb must be hungry. I need to— ”“ I gave him chocolates. He is sleeping now. ” Tristin interrupts, making me pause.“ You gave him chocolates for breakfast? ” My eyes narrow on him.He rubs the tips of his right ear and looks away. I want to tell him that Seb needs nutrients rich diet at all times because he was born weak, but I give up when I recall what happened earlier.I put the tray down and stand there, just watching the steaming soup. The silence between us stretches, and neither of us looks at each other.Then, as if sensing that it has been too long, Tristin breaks it first. “ I can bear anything as long as you and Seb stay happy and oblivious to how ugly things can get. This is not a sacrifice. This is my duty. ”“ If we use that logic, then isn’t it my duty to ensure that you don’t lose your sleep over your decisi