Chapter 3: Free From My Toxic Home

Hunter's mother was pacing in the main hall when Emily more or less hobbled there, still aching from her wounds. In the room was Veronica, Hunter's sister who was already glaring at her, Hunter who was angrily looking anywhere except at her and Antoine Thorne, Hunter's mother herself, and the family's matriarch, Antoine Thorne. If Emily had any illusions that someone in the family was going to listen to her and save her, she knew how impossible it was now. She missed Hunter's father, if he had been there, she would have been rest assured that he would save her. But now...

Antoine Thorne had never been one to smile, but the look on her face now was terrible enough to curdle the blood of a demon, never mind those demons never had blood. Her perfectly made-up face was drawn up in a snarl, that would have stopped Emily in her tracks if the slap hadn’t from Carla hadn't.

“You evil bitch! How dare you try to kill my sister-in-law out of envy? Just because you can’t have a child doesn’t mean you should kill other people’s own. I knew you were only going to cause trouble in this family.”

Emily stood transfixed. Red welts formed on her cheeks, and the fingerprints of Veronica splayed across her face. Hot tears rushed to her eyes as she unsuccessfully tried to blink them away.

She looked at Hunter, who was still staring at her with repulsion and unconcern, as though his sister hadn’t just slapped her, his wife. The tears blurred her sight of him.

“Stop it, Veronica,” his mother Antoine spoke up, ending the silence, “She will be punished but I won’t have it be said that we harass our in-laws in this home. We have had enough problems to deal with lately.” To others, it might have felt sincere, but Emily could recognize the smirk and the small smile on her lips, even Antoine was happy about the slap.

She turned to Emily and snickered,

“I can understand what must have led you to do that. After all, it must have been hard to see your sister-in-law being wealthy, beautiful, and pregnant with the heir of this home, while you, well, you are just you. So, I’ll give you a chance, kneel and apologize to Veronica and maybe the police won’t need to get involved.”

Emily looked tearfully around her. Maybe if Sir Frederick, Hunter’s father was still alive, he might have defended her. But now she was on her own.

“I swear, Mother, I didn’t push her. She was the one hurting me, but I still did nothing to her because of her pregnancy, please believe me.” She pleaded.

“Shut the fuck up you lying bitch!” Veronica yelled. She raised her hand to slap Emily again but dropped it by her side when someone else spoke up.

“Don’t. Please. Don’t force her to kneel. I know she would never apologize, after all, she has taken the one thing I had left of my husband, my unborn child. I know she was jealous but why kill my innocent baby?” Carla sobbed and began to scream. Emily hadn’t noticed when Carla had walked in, but she however recognized what was happening when Hunter’s mother began to walk towards her angrily.

“You stupid girl, you killed an innocent baby because of your selfish reasons, and you are still trying to defend yourself. I blame my husband for allowing our son to bring in trash like you! From today, you'll know the full wrath of the consequences of your evil act.”

Maybe Emily would have accepted the slap if Antoine had not called her trash. But when she heard that statement, she wasn’t thinking when she pushed Antoine, nor did she hear the gasps, the only thing she could see was Hunter’s cold eyes and his tightly pursed lips, but before he could also try to slap her or yell at her, she did the best thing she should have done three years ago; she spoke up.

“I didn’t push Carla, Hunter. But you have never believed me, and I don’t expect you to. So, Hunter, I’m sick and tired of forcing myself on you, and I know you hate me, so let’s get divorced.”

The room was shocked into silence. Even Carla had stopped sobbing and was looking at Hunter to see his reaction, they all were. Hunter laughed maniacally,

"You want to get a divorce? Sure, go ahead and try, just don't come running back when you discover how much you've been enjoying here. Let's see if you'll survive."

He took Carla's hands in his, rubbing them and smiled at Emily evilly.

Emily's eyes stung with unshed tears threatening to fall at any moment. She had always known that Hunter loved Carla, as much as he hated Emily, but he had never humiliated her as much as this. He was flaunting his mistress, his brother's own wife in front of her, and he didn't care.

" You want me to leave right? Sure, I'll leave your Godforsaken home for you." Emily yelled, as the tears she had been holding in rolled down her cheeks. Emily walked down the large room and out, each step painfully sweet. At last, she was free, free to leave this miserable place she had tried to call home. It didn't matter anymore, Rex would never love her. She knew that now.

Some of the maids smiled sadly at her, while the others merely stared, only one of the maids, Stella, walked up to Emily.

"Ma'am, please don't leave. I know you weren't guilty and the master knows that too or he will, but you can't leave. The world out there is cruel, you won't survive."

Emily smiled sadly and walked on, ignoring the maid.

When Emily walked out of the huge mansion gate, for the first time in three years, she was smiling. Smiling so hard her wounds were threatening to reopen. For three years she had tried all she could to win the love of the Thorne family, even sacrificing her own happiness. But she was done now.