Grace“ Have I ever hurt you before, Grace? ”I sit up straight and just sigh again.Alma shakes her head and takes a seat in the chair Tristin vacated. She places the basket on the bedside table and turns to me.Her posture is rigid as she starts.“ I see that you didn’t follow through. ”“ What? ” I clench my hands into fists.I feel a sense of shame after coming across her and then there is a part of me struggling to not bring up the video and tell her that I feel bad.“ You didn’t fulfill your promise. I didn’t take you for one to go back on your word. ” Alma whispers quietly. My heart sinks. I broke my promise to her. The sense of shame and guilt grows some more. “ I am sorry for not keeping my promise, Alma. Trust me, I wanted to…I tried my best. And I didn’t mean to disrespect you. ” I admit truthfully, hoping that my words will soothe whatever anger she feels towards me.Alma’s eyes droop and the usual polite look displays in them. “ It’s not just about promises, Grace. Now y
Grace“ Uhm… ” Celine stands in front of the door, her nervous eyes scanning the room, lingering on Tristin, and then landing on me. “ Am I disturbing— ”“ No. ” I force a smile on my lips. “ You came just in time. I am getting discharged today. ”I heard that she got discharged three days ago and Tristin arranged for her to stay at a hotel. Given that she has no passport and we were literally shipped into this country illegally, she has no choice but to stick with Tristin’s plans for now.And I feel bad. It’s all because of me that she has to go through all this.“ Oh, that’s great news. ” Celine smiles widely but that gesture falters when her gaze meets Tristin’s stoic face.I murmur under my breath. “ stop scaring her. ”“ Am I? ” Tristin says, still staring at her but a cryptic smile creeps up his lips. “ Am I scaring you Ms. Vitana? ”“ N—No. ” Celine stutters, shifting her weight from one foot to another.“ Tristin. ” I sigh and rub my temples.What does he have against her?Is
TristinFuck, Fuck, Fuck no!What the fuck do I do now?I pace back and forth, panic settling into my bones.Earlier, I took Grace back to our penthouse and helped her settle in. She was all quiet and compliant, not saying a word or asking about what will happen with that obsessive Ethan situation now. It fucking melted my heart but the stabbing pain started spreading again as soon as I told her that I have matters to take care of and left for my office.Now, I can’t help my nerves. I made a mistake. A grave fucking mistake. To make sure that Grace helped me in my elaborate scheme of revenge, I showed her fake pictures and lied to her that Ethan had been cheating on her for a long time.He was an asshole to her. An abusive piece of shit who hit her, liked to make her cry, and killed their child. He did everything to make her walk away from his life and for that, I consider him the biggest fucking idiot in the world.But now, I am on the verge of getting pushed down the same rabbit
GraceThe soft glow of candlelight bathes the elegant dining table, casting a warm glow over Tristin’s face.Tristin has chosen a cozy restaurant with a view of the city lights, and it feels like the perfect setting for our first date because I have never visited this place before. We are sitting across from each other, and for the first time in a while, I feel a sense of peace.I admire the city view while Tristin’s eyes remain on me, causing my cheeks to heat up every time I have to look at him. I haven’t felt this giddy in a long time and it is making me dizzy. Tristin looks relaxed, almost too relaxed as if he is trying hard to make the evening perfect. His efforts show…but the way he keeps moving cutlery around once in a while gives away some kind of unease.As we start our meal, he speaks up for the first time. “ Do you like it here, Little Butterfly? ” I chew on the juicy piece of steak in my mouth and nod quickly. “ It’s…perfect. ”“ You won’t mind coming here with me ever
GraceI stare at him for a moment, then avert my gaze to the city view. The lights are still twinkling and everything seems so bright under the dark night but the beauty I saw in this view before is gone.Maybe, it was not even about the view.When Tristin was here, even the simple arrangement of the table seemed out of the ordinary.“ He gave you these pictures. ” Ethan speaks up when I don’t say anything for a long time.I glance at the pictures he has placed on the table and they are the same that Tristin showed me.“ How did you get your hands on— ”“ They are fake. ” Ethan says, his voice dropping.A cold shiver runs along my spine and I stop myself from shuddering in front of Ethan. “ Some convincing poses, right? ” Ethan runs his forefinger down his face on one of the pictures. I look up, and meet his gaze. “ what’s the point of it, Ethan? ” “ Do you not get it or are you pretending to be dumb? ” His eyes darken, and he pushes the pictures towards me.But I don’t take them.
Grace“ Leave me alone! I don’t want to see you. You are not my brother! ” I halt in my way when I hear Ania screaming from the other side of the door. “ Ania, I am still your— ”“ You are a liar! You knew what Mom did. You knew everything and you didn’t—you didn’t tell me. You all must be laughing behind my back, waiting for the perfect moment to ruin my life. ” She yells, before something heavy drops on the floor.I flinch, shooting Luca a side glance. He doesn’t say anything, but I know he also thinks it’s a terrible time for me to go in.With a heavy heart, I walk away from the door and take a seat on the bench in the corner of the corridor. I shouldn’t have come here. I should have waited for him at home.But…I still can’t bring myself to move, to just go away. Because it feels like my head will explode if I don’t see him soon or if I am not close enough to reach out to him.Luca stays outside the hospital room, his expression stiff while I stare at him. Occasional noises soun
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