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
Tristin“ Did you take care of everything? ” I ask Luca without taking my eyes off Grace, who is standing in the distance.“ Yes, Boss. Ethan will be in for life for everything he did. ” He says.I nod, the weight finally lifting off my shoulders. With Lily gone and Ethan paying for everything he did, Grace is now safe. Still, I can protect her from the physical harm, but I can not shield her from the emotional damage.Lily’s death has had a significant impact on her. I didn’t think she would want to involve herself in her family’s affairs anymore, but she proved it to me.Last night, when she told me that she wanted to arrange a funeral for Lily, I was surprised. A little angry, too, but mostly just surprised.Did I miscalculate Lily’s importance in Grace’s life? Did Grace still hold a soft spot for her evil sister? I kept wondering, but in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to ask her any of those questions.It was clear to me. She needed this. So I didn’t get angry or make her unc
GraceI feel a little uneasy.What will Alma think when she finds out, I held a funeral for Lily and spent a whole day by her grave? I don’t need to explain everything to Alma or anyone. But something in me just doesn’t want Alma to be sad. I don’t want her to think that I don’t care what Lily did to the Roberto family. “ You are back. ” The moment we step inside the mansion and get close to the lounge, Alma’s voice stops me.I grimace, imagining the look on her face. She is definitely going to be disappointed. I should have told her before doing all this.“ Alma. ” I turn around to find her walking towards us. “ Did you take care of everything? ” She turns to Tristin and asks.“ I did, Mom. ” He nods in reply and rubs his shoulder.My gaze is drawn to Tristin’s shoulder. He must be tired. I can tell he didn’t sleep well last night, and from the morning, he was dealing with my issues.I sigh, feeling a little guilty over making him tired.“ How are you feeling now, Grace? ” Alma tu
Grace“ Good. ” Ania nods and straightens up. “ so my condition is… ”The silence stretches, and anticipation builds, making me hold my breath. “ I want to marry. ” Ania finally blurts. “ What? ” Tristin huffs. “ Marry who? ” Alma narrows her eyes.I scoop another spoon of fried rice and munch on it as I watch the interesting scene. Ania is moving at the speed of a train. What is she going to hit, I wonder?“ I want to marry… ” Ania grins and points her finger to our left. All eyes follow her finger, landing on the figure standing in that direction. I choke on the rice in my mouth before hurriedly swallowing it.Oh…wow.“ Luca?! ” Alma is the first to scream. “ You want to marry him? ”“ Yes. ” Ania says without hesitation.“ How long has this been going on? ” Tristin’s voice lowers.“ Since a long time. ” Ania giggles.I give her a thumbs up in my mind. Real smooth. “ What is my sister saying? ” Tristin asks Luca, who is standing there, confused and unsure of what is going on.
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