Tristin“ I heard you met Ethan earlier. ” I say as she stops beside the car and turns to face me. Her eyes widen, and lower to my chest, a nervous look flashing across her face. I clench my jaw, mask the anger behind a hurt look, and keep my eyes on her. After witnessing her almost jumping down from that building, I have been doing my best to remain composed in front of her. One tick—one wrong move from me, and she might start climbing the railings again. She doesn’t say anything to me and slips inside the car, taking her spot in the passenger seat. I glance at Luca who is standing beside another black car, watching me. He nods in my direction and knocks on the window of the car, instructing the two men inside about what needs to be done. I will have to come back after I send her home, but the guards must remain outside the penthouse and ensure that Ethan doesn’t catch her off guard again.After I am satisfied with the arrangement, I slide beside her and start the engine. “ I—
GraceFor a week, Tristin didn’t come back. I didn’t contact him either.It felt like…he was too afraid to meet me instead of the other way around. And I? I didn’t know what to think or feel. Like an idiot, I looked forward to his return every day but he didn’t come and I had to stay inside the penthouse, staring at the city view, wondering what else I should do in life. Ethan didn’t cheat on me. But like I told him, it was not only about sleeping with Lily.He was always choosing her, putting her first, and thinking about her instead of me. Then why does it matter if he slept with her or not?Now, I was not even mad.I just felt disappointed in Tristin.I would have dwelled on my disappointment even more if I hadn’t received a surprising call this morning. My heart almost pumped out of my chest when I heard what she had to say to me.I would have expected anything…But I would have never expected Alma to actually ask me to come over, to the Roberto Villa. I thought about refusing
Grace“ Tristin. ” Alma releases me right away and turns to the man behind me.I swallow, and grip the hem of my dress, unable to do the same as Alma. “ I told you to leave her alone. ” His voice becomes low and cold. My stomach flips, as I lower my gaze to the floor. How hard is it to do things the right way? He can…come to me and tell me that he is sorry instead of giving explanations. “ I was not— ”“ Mom, this is enough. I don’t want you to— ”I turn around. He pauses. Our eyes meet, and a shudder runs down my back.A week. How can I miss someone in a week? I was away from him for three months before. Whole three months with no word, no meetings and I survived.Because I didn’t know what it was like to truly receive his affection back then.And now when I know what he has to offer…I keep wanting more. I have become greedy for his attention. “ Alma didn’t say anything to me. I am fine. ” I whisper, averting my gaze to the flowers.The greenhouse is beautiful, no doubt. But it
TristinI shouldn’t have. Yet, I couldn’t help but come to her room in the middle of the night. But, she was not here. So, I waited. I sat on the chair in the corner and stared at her perfectly made bed as I tried to come up with something I should say to her.‘ I fell in love with you. ’ She said to me, and I couldn’t hear anything more.I could only stare at her, watch her mouth move, her eyes sparkle under the sunlight. I knew I loved her too, and she was important to me.But I didn’t realize how important she was until she uttered those words. After hearing her tell me that she was falling in love with me, the guilt grew, threatening to swallow me as a whole.I gave her a week to come to a decision, and she never once reached me. But now, I can not wait. I want to tell her that I am sorry, that I didn’t mean to stay silent when she said she loved me. It was just that…My mind went numb.It felt like I was in a dream, and I didn’t want to speak up. I was scared she would disapp
GraceI feel like I am burning, literally boiling in a pot. I huff, trying to shift but the arms around my body pull me back to the warmth, refusing to let me go.Annoyed, my sleepy eyes snap open and land on the familiar face. A scream almost spills out of my mouth, but I press my lips together at the last moment and go silent.Tristin is staring at me. His eyes are droopy and look dead but he is watching me from so close. My gaze runs along his exhausted face, his disheveled hair, and the redness in his eyes.What’s…happening? I wonder as I slowly start to recall waiting for him last night. I sat on his bed and fell asleep but he didn’t come back.Now, he is here, holding onto me like I am going to disappear if he lets go.A frown etches between my brows, anger bubbling to the surface. “ Did you not sleep? ”Okay. That’s not what I was trying to say. I wanted to ask why he was suffocating me.“ No. ” Tristin finally blinks, before his eyes close. Curious and a little worried, I l
GraceI don’t realize when I fall asleep beside him again.The next time I wake up, the sunlight burns my back, and Tristin’s warmth consumes me once more.I blink, slowly recalling what he said before he fell asleep. My eyes fall on his peaceful, resting face. Tristin’s breathing is steady, his chest rising and falling gently against me.For a moment, I just lie there, savoring the sensation of being held so closely, so protectively. But then I remember that we are not completely fine yet. My heart skips a beat, and I begin to pull away. But just as I do, Tristin stirs, his arms tightening around me as if sensing my desire to run away. His eyes flutter open, and he gazes at me with a sleepy, soft smile. “ Good morning, Little Butterfly. ” He murmurs, his voice husky with sleep.I bite my lip, feeling a mix of emotions—happiness, embarrassment, and an overwhelming need to be away before the reality of our situation catches up to us.“ It’s noon by now, I am sure. ” I whisper back, m
GraceI sigh, shifting my attention to the roses beside me. “ So you do care about them. But if you care so much, why do you keep hurting them? ”Ania glares at me for a moment longer, then turns to leave. I glance at her back.“ Keeping yourself locked up in your room or hating your family won’t solve your problems, Ania. The truth will not go away, and you won’t stop hurting. ” I whisper, a lump forming in my throat.I shouldn’t be interfering, but I can’t help it. If Ania keeps hiding herself like this, soon, she will find herself unable to break through this wall. I don’t wish for her to find herself in a state where she finds it hard to even get up from the bed.“ How does it stop then? You are talking as if you know a better solution! Are you not as pathetic as me? Your own family hates you, and you— ”“ That’s right. ” I interrupt and look down at my hands. “ You are right. My family hates me, and I am far worse than you will ever be. ”A moment of silence passes between us, b
GraceAlma just can’t leave me alone. I can tell that she is working hard to establish a better connection between us.It feels weird but not bad. “ What do you think about working again if you get bored? ” Alma asks, sitting beside me on the couch in the lounge.I take my eyes off the news channel on the TV and look at her. “ I want to complete my Masters first. ”“ Are you thinking about returning to— ”“ No, Alma. ” I interrupt her before she can go all full panic mode on me. She leans back, giving me the chance to explain what I plan on doing. I smile, noticing how she forces herself to calm down because she doesn’t want to scare me again.“ I am thinking about transferring to a college here. It might not be easy, but— ”“ You have nothing to worry about. I will tell Tristin to handle everything. ” She grins, making me sigh.“ I want to handle this on my own, Alma. He already has so much to deal with, and I can’t continue to rely on him. ” “ Then you can rely on me. I will make
Grace“ I don’t know what you are talking about, Mrs. Roberto. ” Luca says, bringing my attention back to him.“ Do you expect me to believe Tristin has abandoned his old ways completely just to appease me? Or do you think I am blind and deaf? Or maybe…do you think I don’t know about the people you and Tristin tortured in the past few days just to find Sebastian? ” I scoff, my eyes beginning to burn.Luca’s brows lift as he stares at me. I can see the wheels turning in his head.“ I will have to ask Boss before I— ”“ Make sure to tell him that I will go alone if he tries to come in my way. If he can’t even pretend to trust me a little, then he might as well not try to act as my husband again. He can stay with that secretary he likes these days. ” I snap, get to my feet again, and start walking away from him. “ when you are done with your usual thing, get that old man. I expect him here in a few hours. ”“ Boss is not with any secretary. He is cleaning up the mess you created, Mrs. Ro
GraceIt’s fine to see Tristin’s face, but what are those intense emotions?Ethan has moved on. Or that’s what he desperately wants me to believe. So why did he have that look in his eyes?I throw away the blankets and get out of bed. As I am passing by the mirror beside the door, I pause and look into it.There are scratches all over my neck—injuries I have caused myself. I brush my fingers against a long line before smiling at myself.A few weeks ago, when I cut my finger while trying to make apple pie, Tristin made a terrible fuss over it. He had stayed home for the whole day to look after a small cut—something I have found so extra on his part.But now that I am covered in scratches, he won’t come. I swallow as my gaze drifts higher to the bandage on my forehead. He knows…what Ethan has done to me. There is no way I can ever…sleep with Ethan in my right mind or anyone who is not Tristin, for a matter of fact.And yet, Tristin didn’t…give me the benefit of the doubt. Not even once
Grace“ There are no traces of drugs in your system. ” Doctor Yvonne Smith, who is a woman in her 30s, sighs as she hands me the results.They have done everything as fast as possible, but now the results have come out opposite of what I was expecting.I stare at the report, and another suspicion starts growing. What if Ethan has bribed these people, and I am being an idiot for believing this?“ And about the other thing, we can’t really be sure, Mrs. Roberto. You were taking a shower for so long, and there are no clear signs of penetration. It can be because you had gentle consensual intercourse, or it can be because you didn’t have any intercourse at all. There is no way to tell. ” She continues in her professional voice that’s tinged with a hint of sympathy. I stare at the paper in my hands, going over every line several times as if searching for something that will confirm my doubts and not go completely against it instead.When Mom and the servants found me in the bathroom, I fe
GraceHe wraps his arms around my knees and looks up at me, hoping for me to pick him up. He was gone for so long.I reach out with shaking hands and pick him up. He presses his face into my neck before I hear him sobbing against me. My knees give out from under me, making me drop in the middle of the lounge. His cries grow louder.I pat his back weakly, my eyes burning but no tears welling in them. He continues to cry for a long time—or maybe it feels like that for me because my arms have gone numb.“ Seb, don’t cry. Be a good boy. Don’t make your Mommy worry about you anymore. ” Mom steps closer and caresses the back of Seb’s head.He pulls his head out of my neck and stares at me with his wet, round eyes. It’s like someone has gripped my heart, refusing to let it go.“ Are you…worrying, Mommy? ” He murmurs, grabbing my cheeks in his small hands.I shake my head, like a robot who has no feelings but only knows how to respond. “ I am fine, Mommy. See. ” He shakes my cheeks as if tr
Grace“ He came out of nowhere and saved you? ” Now that he says it aloud, it sounds so weird. Even Ethan’s reasoning regarding that matter is making my head spin. “ Yes. ” I nod, the guilt tightening like a noose around my neck. “ I…ran out of the cabin while…they were busy fighting among themselves. A kidnapper chased me, and I ended up falling from a low cliff into the lake. ”“ And Ethan saved you again? ” He says before I can finish what I was trying to tell him.The noose tightens. I nod again. “ he did. ”“ What happened then? ” Luca asks calmly.I continue, knowing that Tristin might not listen to me, but if I can convince Luca to believe me, Tristin will listen to him. He trusts Luca, after all.“ I had no phone on me. And I was freezing. We were wandering in the woods when we came across the cabin and that old man. He offered to let us stay until the morning because there were dangerous animals in the woods at night. I didn’t want to stay—I swear…I didn’t. But…I had no opt
Grace“ It’s better if he doesn’t show up in front of Boss for a while. ” That’s what Luca said when I tried to take Ethan with me.Ethan agreed with what Luca was saying. I was desperate, but even in that desperation, I had realized what would happen if I asked Ethan to explain things to Tristin while he was still reeling with the shock of seeing what he did.That’s why, without saying anything, I followed Luca. Tristin was long gone, and the journey back home left me feeling numb.Now, as I sit in the backseat of the car and stare at my home, I feel foreign in my body. Tears have dried, and my mind has grown eerily silent. How much can someone cry anyway?What is the use of crying, to begin with?There are some things in your life that you can fix and some mistakes that can be amended. But then there are things, these mistakes that don’t get fixed or can’t be made right. “ Doctor Smith is waiting inside. He will take a look at you. ” Luca says from his spot in the passenger seat.
GraceEthan looks at me like I have grown two heads. Then, he shakes his head, his breath coming out heavy. “ If they were drugged, I would have been affected too. I drank the same alcohol you did, Grace. Don’t you remember? ”“No...” My voice falters, my knees threatening to give out beneath me. My mind is racing, trying to piece together fragments that don’t exist. I can remember—I tell myself.But everything is so blank. “ You are lying. Tell me you are lying. Say we didn’t...that we didn’t do anything. Please, Ethan. Just say that this is all your plan, and we… ”Ethan’s jaw tightens. He runs a hand through his hair, his voice rising in frustration. “ I would have told you if I could, but I don’t remember anything! I don’t remember touching you or…or leaving those marks on you. But they are there. So, I must have.”The weight of his words crushes me. My legs give out, and I collapse onto the floor, clutching the sheets to my chest. Tears blur my vision as sobs wrack my body. Th
GraceMy head pounds like someone is smashing a drum inside my skull. I groan, my body heavy and sluggish, and that’s when I feel it—a hard yank on my body. Rough. Unforgiving. My eyes flutter open, and the blurry image of Tristin comes into view. I want to call his name, but my throat feels so dry, and my head is about to explode.Tiredly, I blink while trying to reach him. And that’s when I start to make out what he is doing. He is above Ethan, fists flying as Ethan lies on the floor, blood dripping from his nose and lip. My brain can’t catch up with what is happening.“ Tr—Tristin? ” I croak out. My hand instinctively reaches out, grabbing his arm to stop him. “ What—What are you doing? Stop… ”He doesn’t stop. Instead, his arm jerks, shoving me backward like I am nothing. My head slams against the headboard, and a sharp pain shoots through me. Warm liquid trails down my forehead, and when I touch it, my fingers come back red. Blood. I am bleeding.I push myself up, my vision bl
Grace“ A woman…like that came here. But she didn’t come alone. She came with her husband. ” The man blurts suddenly, making me freeze in my spot. Husband?For a moment, everything stops. But I can’t think too much. I have to check. I push open the door to the cabin. Luca is right behind me, pulling the man along with him. The air inside is thick, heavy, and the dim light from a single lamp makes everything look wrong.I don’t think. I just move.I open the door to the only room. And then my heart stops.There she is. Grace.The world around me comes to a stop, and everything inside me turns upside down.She is lying in bed. Bare shoulders exposed to the light, the blanket barely covering her. For a moment, everything feels distant. Is this real, or is it my hyper imagination tricking me again?I don’t understand what I am seeing. My eyes move down, and I see a man’s arm wrapped around her. Holding her. Pulling her close.No one does that. Only I do. She will never—never let anyone