♡♡♡
Quinn
I didn't know if it was the fact that my mum was involved in all this.
Or the fact that Ace was showing a side I had never seen before.
But I know that after that day nothing would be the same again.
Vlad stayed on the bed silent as the soft breeze occasionally blew the curtains open only to drag them in right away, he hadn't said a thing or moved an inch.
Ace's mum stayed in silence trying to put herself together while Ace's gaze burnt holes in her skull.
"I want you to know that I love you, Ace. And everything.... Everything I've done has been to keep you safe even if you don't believe me," she said softly and sniffed back a tear. Her neck strained and her cheek burnt a bright pink colour showing her pain and the emotions she was pushing down inside her. "As you know it happened years back."
She paused and her bright blue eyes sharply caught mine. "This would also greatly affect you, Quinn. You two are more connected than you think and this dating proposal wasn't something your aunt or grandfather brought up. We-" she pointed at herself and my mum "-we planned this. To fix things."
Confusion masked my face. I looked at my mother who pursed her lips and stared back at me with teary eyes. She parted her lips and took in a deep breath. "Yes Quinn, she's saying the truth. Your dating story was the beginning of our revenge journey."
"It was difficult for us to reach this stage. So you both must understand that this needs to be kept a secret until our next step is in motion."
"Can you stop this and actually explain?" My voice came through as my breath quickened and my eyes scrambled between the two of them.
"I know what you're thinking Quinn..... Yes, it does have to do with Angus." My mother's voice cracked and the tears spilled from my eyes.
Dylan was right. They did it. The Winston's killed my brother.
No no, I can't just jump to conclusions I have- I have to confirm everything.
"I know it's hard to swallow right now. But your dad, Ace. He was cheating- he was cheating on me with two actresses and a teacher from a high school. Angus found out when he saw your father was threatening his high school teacher to abort the pregnancy saying a baby from outside would tarnish his family name. She didn't listen. He made her lose her job and house, she practically became homeless and she- she died before she could give birth. Angus found out all this, she was his favorite teacher. Miss Josephina."
Miss Josephina.... They told us she overdosed on drugs and was found dead at home with a baby. I never knew, Angus never told me. She really was this favorite teacher.
"Angus was a very righteous boy. He couldn't let your father go for what he did. He began to threaten the company by sending recordings of stuff your father said to Josephina which were very explicit. He wanted your father to confess to the police to killing her. Your grandfather found it funny that a young high school boy was trying to ruin his family's image. That's why he did it...... He told Angus to come to the company that day and..."
I couldn't feel my legs or control my body. The tears flooded my vision and my heartbeat clouded my ears. I felt everyone's eyes on me but I couldn't hear a thing. The sobs escaped my lips and my hand automatically grasped my hair trying to control my emotions but I couldn't as I let out a heart-shattering cry.
I couldn't take it. My Angus.... My Angus.... Murdered for just wanted justice. My Angus who couldn't even kill an insect murdered brutally. My Angus whose biggest dream was having kids and giving them the best life.
My throat went dry and the cries escaped my lips without a break. My hands began to shake and I couldn't even feel any part of my body. I couldn't believe he went through all that. I felt the presence of Ace beside me and a feeling or something I never thought I would get from him overtook me.
I felt disgusted and terrified.
I pushed him away so hard he almost fell and I couldn't stop shaking. I let out another cry and felt the blood pumping through my veins and I couldn't control anything. I had to leave. I ran through the doors. I ran down the hall and collapsed on the floor once I got to the wall. My arms wrapped around my trembling body and the tears came like a waterfall.
The scene of the accident rushed through my mind again and I crawled up into a ball, my hands grabbing onto my hair so hard it could have called off. The feeling that overtook my body when I saw my brother's car get roughly hit by the tuck and roll over again and again causing the whole world to collapse before I got hit myself. It couldn't stop the scene from replaying over and over in my head which increased the pain I was feeling. I couldn't take it.
Something came over me and I immediately took off the ring on my middle finger and threw it on the floor with so much rage. I couldn't believe how wicked his family was. I can't believe I was with the son of the family who ruined my life and ended the life of my brother.
I felt so disgusted at myself and wondered how Angus must have been feeling. I couldn't stop myself from crying and thinking about my dead brother.
Who was murdered by my fiance's family?
I hated him so so much.
~~~~~♡♡♡~~~~~
Ace
I knew we shouldn't have come
I never wanted to.
I tried to go after her but they stopped me.
Believe me that didn't mean anything but I saw her expression. This disgust and anger as she pushed me away and ran from me. She hates me because of my father.
I don't blame her. I hate my family too.
My eyes were already red and my hair was in a mess because of how many times I ran my hands through it. Quinn's mum went after her and I hung my head low. A million thoughts ran through my head.
It was Quinn.
The girl I saved the day that accident happened. I knew she looked familiar but I never in a million years expected it to be her. I can clearly remember when I was about to cross over to the company when the truck hit a black Mercedes. I can remember how loudly the girl standing beside me shrieked and yelled out Angus, now I remember the name she called out. I remember how her bag dropped from her grip, and how she mindlessly tried to walk into the accident scene when she got hit by a motorcycle.
I immediately rushed over to her side as the person driving the motorcycle sped away and I tried to wake her up but she was blacked out. I noticed the red staining the ground beneath her curly black hair and immediately called the hospital. They were taking their precious time so I immediately resulted to carrying her in a bridal way to minimize her bleeding and ran to the nearest hospital.
I had no idea I would ever see her again.
I felt my mother's hand on mine and I instantly grabbed my hand away and raised my head.
"She'll be okay Ace," she told me and I chuckled.
"Why didn't you say it? Why did you keep it a secret if you knew about it? You're just as terrible as they are!"
"Don't you ever say that. Your father didn't kill her." She shook her head and I shook mine in disbelief. "She died from an overdose. She was depressed from losing her job and being pregnant. Your father is a terrible man! I won't deny that! And I'm just doing this for you!" Her voice broke and the tears ran down her cheeks before she could wipe them off with the back of her hand.
Her eyes stared directly into my mind begging me to believe her. It was all too much to take in. All that was going through my mind was Quinn and how much she must be going through.
"After the incident with Angus, I found out everything and then I knew that your grandfather was a dangerous man who would do anything to get what he wanted. I couldn't let things continue like that. I had to do something to save you later. I couldn't take you with me, Ace." She moved closer and her soft hands gently cupped my face and this time I didn't even have the strength to pull her away. I let my emotions weaken with the touch of my mother.
"Believe me that was the most painful thing I've ever had to do-" she spoke with so much pain "- but I had to. I didn't want you to find out about anything that happened. I know how you can be when something like that happens. I had to protect you. I couldn't let your grandfather know you knew anything. I was in danger when I found out. The whole house and company were in a ruckus. Your father..." she turned to him, "he was losing his mind. You know him. He doesn't have a mind for what his father did. He couldn't even talk to me properly when I found out."
"He asked me to save myself and said he was sorry. Told me to apologize to you on his behalf if something happens to him. His father was forcing him to stay hidden until he could control himself. I remember the day I spoke to him last. We came up with a plan. To escape and fake our deaths. We plan to make him pay in the future when you're old enough to understand. We knew he would protect you because you're the only heir Ace. We didn't abandon you, we protected you, by leaving you in the house we offered you the best protection even if it meant us living in hiding." She was a sobbing mess when she said the last sentence and her eyes were bloodshot red.
"The day I planned to leave in silence. I heard a noise from the room your father was locked in and peeped in only to see your father bleeding from his neck. With your grandfather staring before him doing nothing." She paused. "Even as your father slit his own neck to show how tired he was and how he would choose death over living in misery. Your grandfather simply called for him to be taken to the hospital and left him bleeding," She laughed in pain and sniffed looking back at the man lying on the bed with his eyes open but not moving.
I suddenly had a flashback of when I slit my wrist demanding to see my mother years back and shook my head at how funny life was. I was in extreme pain back then and when I thought it couldn't get worse it did.
"I almost had a heart attack that day Ace, I couldn't believe my eyes. I immediately went into the room once he left. Some staff also came in to call an ambulance. Your father's blood stained my hand as I tried to stop the bleeding from his throat and his eyes began to water. I knew I needed more help so I called up your grandmother. She helped me look after your father in the hospital and faked his death, she brought him to me here. I left that night. You might not remember but I went into your room that night when you were sound asleep with your father's blood stain on my hands and tears dripping from my eyes. I saw you only last time before leaving."
She wiped the tears that escaped my eyes and forced a smile. "Your father lost his voice that day and his ability to walk."
I sucked in a sharp breath instinctively and the tears came dropping like a rainfall from my eyes. I couldn't believe everything I heard. I was kept in the dark for so long. I was definitely not expecting this much. I didn't know how to act but I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't stop trembling and I totally lost it when she pulled me into her embrace.
Her warm embrace.
Her warm embrace that I was derived from for so long.
Her warm embrace I couldn't even remember.
She pulled me closer as I couldn't stop the tears and emotions from pouring out of me. My heart felt heavy and the burden on my shoulder weighed me down every second but her embrace.
Oh dear Lord, how I missed her embrace.
I stood up after I had managed to gather myself together and slowly walked to my father's bed as my mother held my arm beside me. I saw his bloodshot eyes following my every move and saw the slick glistening tear go down from the side of his eyes.
I stopped beside him. He looked so helpless. So useless.
He raised his hands to hold me and I shut my eyes before I held his hands and heard a slow groan escape his lips. My heartbeat quickened and his grip on my hand tightened like he was trying to imprint the feeling of my touch on his skin. Before I knew it I leaned forward to engulf him in a hug and a cry escaped my lips.
This man has been dead for as long as I can remember but here I am holding him in my arms. I felt a mix of emotions. He cheated on my mother and indirectly caused the death of that teacher and Angus the brother of the woman I love but he never meant to kill anyone. I was in a conflict with myself over how to feel. Feel relieved that his alive and not a murderer? Or feel mad because he cheated and caused all these things?
I was happy to be reunited with my family.
My broken family.
And it hurt me that I felt that way.
~~~~~♡♡♡~~~~~
Wow😭
I definitely cried while writing this chapter.
It has to be one of the saddest chapters in this book so far.
Hope you all enjoyed it😭 and I hope you're not too broken.
Finally, light is shed on the issues.
What do you all think of Ace's parents?
Do you think they made the right decision?
Let me hear all of your complaints and opinions!🤍