Elysia's POV:
My lips parted in shock. Aubrey seemed equally stunned seeing me.
"Elysia..." she uttered, a smile forming on her lips, but its warmth didn't quite reach her eyes.
I pressed my lips together, nodding curtly in response to her greeting. Despite the years that had passed since that day, I still couldn't forget the hurtful words she hurled at me when she believed I had betrayed her.
"You are the worst thing that happened to me, you traitor. You stole my only happiness. I wish you never find happiness in your life."
Those were her parting words that day, echoing in my memory. She kept screaming until her voice faded while I rushed out of the corridors.
"You didn't go inside?" I glanced behind Aubrey to see Ares approaching. Her smile froze at the sound of his voice, and she turned toward him, disbelief evident in her expression.
Ares' steps halted abruptly, his furrowed eyebrows and clenched jaw revealing his surprise and tension. His gaze shifted between Aubrey and me, then back to her, creating a palpable tension in the air.
My heart raced as I observed Ares' unreadable expressions. Aubrey looked at us back and forth, the resentment in her gaze shocked me; the intensity in her eyes suggested deeper animosity than I had anticipated.
Her chest heaved rapidly, jaw clenched firmly. She was about to speak when Ares briskly walked toward us, stopping right in front of me and blocking my view of Aubrey.
I craned my head, looking up at him in confusion. His expressions were inscrutable as he moved forward, causing me to step back involuntarily.
What was he doing?
He stepped forward again, and I followed suit. When I attempted to step back further, he placed his hands on my shoulders, preventing me from moving.
Once he ensured I was in place, he removed his hands from my shoulders and turned around to face Aubrey, effectively keeping me behind him.
Was he intentionally creating a distance between Aubrey and us?
"Yes, talk now," his voice sounded unfamiliar, frosty and ruthless, a tone I had never heard directed at me before. While Ares had been angry and yelled at me in the past, this was an entirely different demeanor.
"A-Ares, why are you with her? Elysia, what are you doing with my boyfriend—" Aubrey's voice rang out before Ares interrupted, glancing at his watch.
"Mind your words, woman! And snap out of your delusions." I tilted my head slightly to get a better view of Aubrey, who was now looking at Ares with watery eyes, hurt clearly etched across her face in response to his words.
What am I doing here?
I felt increasingly uncomfortable, realizing I was unwittingly caught in the middle of their personal conflict. They were a couple once, and I felt like an intruder in this tense moment. I wanted to leave but feared that Ares would notice.
"You're saying this because she fed you lies about me, didn't she? Ares, don't listen to her, please. She always wanted to break us—" My eyes widened at Aubrey's accusatory words. How could she make such baseless claims?
Ares' gaze sharpened as Aubrey attempted to approach us and her words trailed off. He emanated a commanding aura that seemed to freeze Aubrey in her tracks. The chilling intensity of his stare, paired with an unspoken warning, made Aubrey instinctively halt, realizing the futility of pushing any further. "Say one more word..." His icy voice carried a sharp, menacing edge, shutting Aubrey.
He looked back at my hands, now entwined in front of me, and took one of them in his warm hold. Without another word, he guided us towards the restaurant, leaving Aubrey frozen in her spot.
To say I was shocked would be an understatement. As I glanced back at her, she was glaring at our hands but didn't make a move.
We entered the restaurant, stopping at our reserved table. That's when Ares finally let go of my hand.
"Sit!" he instructed, guiding me to my seat before inquiring, "Where's Maron?" His voice retained its cold edge, but strangely, it felt different, especially compared to how he was talking to Aubrey just a few moments ago.
"Uh, he...had to take a call." I responded, gesturing toward the window. Ares nodded and sat across from me after ordering our food.
Awkward silence enveloped us, the ambient hush only broken by the rhythmic taps of Ares typing on his phone. I wanted to clear what Aubrey said about me but I didn't know how to start it.
"Um," I cleared my throat, successfully diverting Ares' attention from his phone. He placed it on the table, fixing his gaze on me.
My hands clasped tightly in my lap, I began, "About... the things she said, I... I never—" I hesitated, shaking my head.
"I know," Ares interrupted, his calm acknowledgment catching me off guard.
"You...do?" Surprise widened my eyes, seeking answers in his light brown gaze.
He nodded, a silent affirmation. "I know everything, Elysia. It's clear you guys aren't friends anymore," Ares stated, adopting a relaxed posture that contradicted the gravity of the situation. He seemed quite uncaring for the man who just met his ex, who was probably his first love...
My eyebrows arched in disbelief, when I noticed Ares' lips twitched slightly. I observed him closely, but his unreadable expressions offered no insights into his thoughts.
Crossing his arms and one ankle over the other, he leaned back comfortably, waiting for my response. "Hm, we aren't, anymore..." I stated, closely following his strange expressions.
As Ares' lips hinted at a smile, my surprise grew. His calm demeanor seemed almost content.
"Why?" Ares asked, the tone of his voice surprising me again. There was a peculiar sense of satisfaction as if he found solace in our fractured friendship.
"She thinks I told you about her and Gabriel," I confessed, sighing softly, studying Ares for any sign of emotion. Yet, his calm facade remained unaltered.
"Did you?" Ares asked, his demeanor now serious.
Meeting his gaze, I shook my head. "I didn't."
"Why?" Ares straightened, placing his hands on the table. His demeanor shifted, a cold anger simmering beneath the surface.
"It was some anonymous number, but why not you? Is it because she was your best friend?" Ares questioned, a tone of accusation in his words. "You chose her over me. Maybe, most people would side with their best friends in that kind of situation, and we weren't even on talking terms at that time, but... it wasn't once, Elysia!"
Ares' anger became palpable, the intensity of his gaze burning into mine. "Aubrey didn't cheat on me once or even twice. It was several times. Did you guys think you could make a fool of me like that? Was I a joke to you?" His voice turned colder, the anger restrained but evident.
I swallowed hard, rubbing my clothes nervously. "If... if I say I didn't know, would you believe me?" I uttered in a low voice.
I wanted—no, needed to put this all past me. If I had decided to let Ares go for good, then it was necessary to put all this behind me, once and for all...
Ares' eyebrows furrowed as he leaned forward. "What do you mean?"
"Whatever I tell you, would you believe my words?" I questioned again, seeking an unfiltered response.
I needed to gauge the extent of his trust before revealing my side. The pain still ran deep from when he had turned away in the past without giving me a chance to explain. Offering explanations would prove futile if he still harbored doubts about my honesty.
For years, I had abandoned expectations from others. In the past, I placed more trust in him than in myself, only to be left unheard and abandoned. This time, I needed to gauge if he would be open to hearing my side. If there was any hesitation, I vowed not to utter a word. He could believe Aubrey, the world, or anything he pleased, but he would never hear an explanation from me. This was the least I deserved for the time we spent as friends – a chance for him to seek my side of the story.
Creases formed on Ares' forehead as his gaze scrutinized my face. I allowed him to search my eyes without a word, looking for any hesitation or uncertainty in his piercing gaze.
"...I believe you," he declared after a few contemplative moments, as if making a firm resolve. "Your words are 'it' for me, Elysia Lawson." His voice held strength and conviction, causing my heart to suddenly skip a beat.
My lips parted in astonishment, staring into his clear eyes, momentarily unable to utter a single word as the world around me seemed to fade into the background.
Ten years...
It took him more than ten years to say those words...
To say that he believes me...
I looked down towards my entwined hands in my lap, sniffing and pushing back the tears that welled up in the corners of my eyes.
Inhaling a deep breath, I composed myself and began, "A week before you found out, Aubrey was absent from school for a few days, so Mrs. Clarke asked me to deliver her marked reports and assignments. That day, I intended to drop the assignments to her guard outside, but surprisingly, there was no one present at the mansion gates." I explained truthfully whatever happened that day...
I held the assignments in my hands, staring at the mansion gate, uncertain of what to do.
Since Aubrey and Ares started dating, she hadn't talked to me much, and I was already avoiding them both. Not to mention, Sven and Esme were always by my side, so Aubrey never approached us. It felt awkward to suddenly appear at her home.
Just as I was about to call Aubrey and inform her about my presence, I noticed the mansion door open, revealing a familiar figure: Gabriel Prescott, his shirt wide open from the front.
Whether it was his appearance or the marks on his face and chest, I hid behind the wall, watching as he left on his bike while talking on the phone.
Observing his departure, I turned towards the mansion, deciding to give the file to Aubrey face to face.
Entering the mansion and walking towards her room, countless thoughts swirled inside my head.
"Aubrey..." I knocked on her room's door, which was slightly ajar, and pushed it open.
As soon as I saw Aubrey standing beside the bed with nothing but sheets covering her, the file slipped from my hands, falling on the floor with a soft thud.
Aubrey... was cheating on Ares?
Aubrey was visibly shocked to see me standing there. My mind went completely blank, struggling to assess the situation.
"You... like this," I muttered, blinking to clear my head, pointing towards the direction I had come from. "I saw... Gabriel Prescott out there. What... What is going on?" A throbbing ache in my head made me wince suddenly.
The guy I had been trying so hard to forget was being cheated on by his girlfriend...?
"Elysia..." I shifted my gaze to Aubrey, tears rolling down her eyes uncontrollably.
Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion, I was taken aback when she suddenly rushed forward, wrapping her arms around me, sobbing on my shoulder.
Her crying broke my trance, and I realized that her body was trembling. "Aubrey, what happened?" I held her shoulder, looking into her eyes.
"Ely, he... Gabriel forced himself on me," Aubrey spoke between sobs, delivering another shock in the last ten minutes.
•••
"When she told me all that, I didn't know what to do at all. She was your girlfriend at that time, and I didn't think it was appropriate for me to tell you something like this about her," I glanced towards Ares, registering his shocked expressions, and continued, "I convinced Aubrey to tell you about it, and she said she would. I didn't know she was feeding me lies until the day I saw her in school."
Reflecting on that day now, I feel foolish for believing her lies. She kept feeding me blunt lies and I believed her because I genuinely thought she could not lie about something so sensitive. Sven and Esme had warned me about Aubrey multiple times, expressing their lack of trust in her, but I used to defend her at that time. However, the events of that week proved me wrong; truly wrong.
I had been burned by Aubrey Anderson once in the past, and I refuse to let it happen again.
I wasn't the same naive girl I used to be. Those years without Dad, Sven, and Esme—when there was no one except Mom and me—taught me one thing at the very least: not to trust a soul.
Now, I didn't even trust my own shadow, let alone Aubrey Anderson.
I didn't even trust Ares anymore—not in my consciousness, at least, if I consider Dr. Jennifer's words about my subconscious trusting Ares.
Forcing my fingers to stop fiddling with my clothes, I shifted my gaze towards Ares, attempting to appear calm despite his silence.
However, my anxiety was intensifying as I observed his face shifting from shock to nothing but a blank sheet of canvas.
Does he not believe me?
Or is it challenging for him to hear the truth about the woman he once loved?
Or perhaps, unintentionally, I've reopened his wounds?
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Third Party's POV:
In the dimly lit study room of the Knight Mansion, Alfredo Knight sat regally in his chair, a cloud of cigar smoke swirling around him. The atmosphere was thick with authority.
"Is he pulling strings?" Alfredo's deep voice cut through the air, punctuating the gravity of the conversation.
Jonathan Thomas, the seasoned butler, responded with a file in hand. "He definitely is. He's causing turmoil in Silva Group's headquarters, making it difficult for them to leave the country."
A chuckle escaped Alfredo's lips as he puffed on his cigar. "My brat thinks I wouldn't know," he scoffed, shifting his gaze to another file on the table.
"What about the other matter I asked?" Alfredo's expression turned serious.
"I've done as you ordered, Mr. Knight. No obstacles until we execute our plan," Jonathan reported, placing a file on the table.
Alfredo hummed in response, releasing another plume of smoke. His gaze fixed on the second file as he inquired, "Is he taking action on this?"
Jonathan nodded, affirming, "He's hired a private investigator. It won't take long for him to uncover everything. Should I intervene?"
Alfredo shook his head, dismissing the need. "No need. By the time he finds out, it'll be too late to turn back. Did you initiate the preparations?"
Jonathan, a bit uneasy, responded, "Yes, Mr. Knight, I have. But...is it really necessary? Are we really going through with it?" His hesitation was palpable.
"Absolutely, John. Do you think my brat of a grandson would ever be able to marry with that stupid mahogany ego of his? Not to mention, he sucks in pursuing women. Without our interference, he would be spending his life alone, forever!" Alfredo asserted.
"But do you think it'll work, Mr. Knight?" Jonathan voiced his doubts.
"It will indeed. Ever heard of the 'Push and Pull' game?" Alfredo teased, amusement glinting in his eyes.
Jonathan's face contorted in confusion. "Push and Pull?" His gaze locked onto Alfredo Knight's face, now chuckling mysteriously.
"He's strategizing to keep the Silvas at bay, but little does he know, I'm always a step ahead. He has no idea what's coming his way." Alfredo murmured, placing his cigar down, anticipation dancing in his eyes for his cunning plan to unfold.
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What are your thoughts today's chapter lovelies? What do you think is coming their way now? 😉