Chapter 20 - Hurtful Taunting

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Chapter 20 - Hurtful Taunting

Ava

"And this is the latest update, Grandma," I said to Grandma. Currently, I was face-timing with her.

Despite being on a vacation with Grandpa, she stayed in touch with me almost every day. It was a sweet thing, and I liked it. I never got this much attention from my family because Dad was my only family and he was always busy.

"Is our Lily okay now? Has she been eating properly in between her work?" she asked.

While Luna and Aunt Chloe had initially decided to explain everything to Grandpa and Grandma when they returned, it was hard to exclude them from the good news, so the situation had been explained to them over call. They had been thrilled, even Grandpa. Despite his stern demeanor, he loved his grandchildren. That's why he supported Liliana, just like he did with Aunt Chloe when she got pregnant at sixteen.

I gave a nod to Grandma and told her, "Aunt Chloe is making sure that Lily is in stable health and not taking too much load. Besides, we all are here for her. Don't worry and just enjoy yourself. Don't let Paris sightseeing wait for our sake. Send me pictures, okay?"

She smiled at me. "Thank you, dear. I will do so. It should be time for supper there, so you should get going now. Bye. Take care."

"Bye. You too, Grandma." I finished the call.

"Was that my grandma again?" Ace spoke up when he got into the room. He hadn't returned from the office like he usually would at this time, instead, he had stayed home the entire day. As Emma had her part-time job today and wouldn't be back until everyone else did, he decided to stay home all day.

"Yes," I replied politely. "She was checking up on us. It's really sweet of her, you know."

"Yeah," was all he said and went to the bathroom.

I posted a recent blog on my social media. I had Ace take some shots of me in a light blue jumpsuit on the terrace today. I had initially planned to talk to him about Emma but thought nighttime might be a better time to talk.

I waited for Ace to get out of the bathroom, and when he did, he started fixing his hair in front of the mirror. I had learned he often liked to set his hair, even if it looked perfect.

"Hey, Ace?"

"Yeah?"

"I needed to talk to you about something."

This time, he stopped running his hands through his hair and shifted his gaze at me, arching an eyebrow. "About what?"

"About Emma."

"What's wrong?" He made his way to me and sat on the bed.

"Ace, have you noticed the way Emma is? Have you ever wondered why she is the way she is? While she is open to our family, doesn't it feel like she isn't exploring the outside life like she should be? As if she's been holding back from everything."

"Wait, where is this coming from? What do you mean? I don't get it " Ace was genuinely confused.

I had to organize my words and say them properly. Ace was really protective of his family and has a tendency to fly off the handle, so I had to explain it to him from Emma's point of view.

I sucked in a deep breath and explained, "Look, the private school Emma is in, don't you think she doesn't have as much freedom as one has in the public high schools? We were in our respective public high schools, and we enjoyed it a lot."

"That is exactly why I put her in the private one. I don't know about you, Ava, I wasn't a big fan of my experience in a public high school. There were too many unnecessary, uncalled dramas in it. I didn't want her to have an environment like that, and I still don't," he responded strictly.

"That is exactly my point. Drama is the best part of being in public high schools. This drama helped us understand many things. People bitched about us, they sabotaged us, they lied to the teachers about us, they dragged us through the mud, they were stupid, and all kinds of things. But still, those things gave us experience. Because people don't change. Whether it's in university or the work field, they remain the same. And Emma needs to be ready to deal with that. Not to mention, I can't picture going to high school wearing a uniform. And look at her. She's living such a joyless life."

"I said no means no, Ava. Emma will lead her life the way she's living."

I stood up, feeling anger rushing through my veins. Was he not understanding what I had been trying to tell him? Did he not care about Emma's mental health, just like her teachers didn't?

"Why not, Ace? Emma is not happy there and, still, you want her to stay the way she is. Why is that? Don't you care about her mental health and her happiness?"

"How can you even ask that?" he bellowed this time, startling me at the sudden outburst. "Why will I not care about my sister?"

"Then why aren't you allowing her?" I yelled back.

"Because I am keeping her safe here. Just for her silly wishes, I can't risk her security. I have enemies everywhere. Plus, did you forget how much bullying goes on in public high schools?"

I rolled my eyes. "You can keep bodyguards for her and still let her lead her life the way she desires. Also, if bullying does happen, she needs to learn how to stand up for herself. Otherwise, she will suffer for the rest of her life. People will walk all over her like a doormat if she remains the way she is now."

"No, Ava. She will do fine in that area. She's my sister, and I won't let anyone walk all over her, so don't you worry about that," he said sternly. "Just try to understand her safety takes priority.

"But Ace—" I was harshly interrupted by him.

"Stop acting like you are really my wife, Ava."

As soon as he said that, a gasp escaped my lips.

I looked at him in shock.

He just didn't say that.

Ace's face was filled with immediate regret. But it was too late already.

Controlling my tears which were threatening to fall out of my eyes, I said with a sad smile, "I don't have to act, Ace. If you forgot, I am your wife. I thought I had the right as well. But I guess I was a fool who even ended up liking you."

He was dumbstruck at my sudden confession. But I wasn't in the right state of mind to realize that this was the first time I had told him that I liked him.

"Ava, I—" before he could continue speaking, I stormed off the room.

A tear slid through my eye. I roughly wiped with the back of my hand.

I decided to get out of the house for the time being. I needed some fresh air.

Just because he lost control of his anger didn't mean he could say mean things to hurt me. When he said that I should stop acting like his wife, it clenched my heart. What was there to even act? I was his wife, wasn't I? We signed the marriage registration papers and even got married in front of the eyes of the paparazzi.

It was my fault to force him into this marriage. He didn't marry me of his own will, after all. It made sense that he didn't consider me his wife for real. He married me because I was his best friend and he couldn't turn down my request. I tied him down into this unwanted relationship, so of course, it was about time he taunted me about it.

"Are you going somewhere, Ava?" a sudden voice brought me out of my chain of thoughts.

I looked at Simon. He had a glass of lemonade in his hand.

"Woah, look at you. You look pale as a ghost and scary as hell with those bloodshot eyes. I think you need the lemonade more than I do." He handed me the glass. "Come on, drink it. It might help you feel better," he said with a smile.

Hesitantly, I started drinking the lemonade. Simon was right. I really need this now. My throat was parched.

Once I finished the lemonade, I handed the glass to one of the servants who was walking past us.

"Thank you, Simon. I needed that," I mumbled, my mind still stuck on what Ace said earlier.

"You are welcome." He continued speaking, "So were you going somewhere?"

"Yeah, I just needed some fresh air," I let out.

"Great. I was on my way out as well. I didn't feel like having dinner at home today. And guess what? I know just the perfect place for relaxation at this time. Come on, I will take you there," he offered me.

I shook my head. "No, Simon. I will just take a stroll nearby and return home."

"Ava, trust me this time. You will love the place." His voice seemed like he genuinely wanted to help me out, so I gave a curt nod. He grinned. "Let's go then."

He walked ahead, and I followed him. He opened the car door for me, and I got in with a small smile.

Once he started driving the car, my eyes started to feel heavy, and soon, darkness engulfed me.


A/N: If you are loving my novel so far, please follow me, trimagical_, and stay tuned for more updates! Have a nice day!


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