Chapter 5
Before Michelle even came out of surgery, Anastasia’s phone was blowing
- up.
She curled into Sylas’s arms, panicked and on the verge of tears.
“Sylas, what did I do wrong?” she sobbed. “Why is everyone online attacking me?
“I’m not a whore!”
Then she turned those tear-filled eyes toward me.
“Kiara, why do you keep trying to ruin me over and over again? Don’t you understand how important a woman’s reputation is?
“Are you trying to drive me to kill myself again?”
The second she said die, Sylas went pale.
He pulled her closer like she might vanish at any second, glaring at me with pure hatred.
“Kiara, even if Anastasia was involved in prostitution, I’d still love her- until the day I die.
“So cut the petty games. You’re only making me hate you more.
Suddenly, Anastasia broke free from his arms and dropped to her knees in front of me, sobbing like a tragic heroine.
“I’ll leave, Sylas. I won’t tell Michelle I’m her real mother. I won’t even ask him to divorce you.
Chapter 5
“I’m begging you please just leave me alone. I’ll disappear. I promise.”
Sylas gently helped her up, his voice soft and affectionate. “Don’t say stupid things. As long as I’m here, no one’s going to hurt you.
“I won’t let you vanish from my life again.
Then he whipped out his phone and barked into it.
“I want every single slanderous post about Anastasia gone in an hour. If it’s not done, I’ll make sure you’re blacklisted from this entire industry.”
My nose burned. My eyes welled up.
Last time, when it was me being dragged through the mud online, he had just brushed it off.
“These netizens are just bored,” he’d said casually. “Aren’t you teachers supposed to serve the people? Just think of it as giving them something to talk about.
“It’s not like a few insults are going to kill you.”
you.”
But now I knew that the only difference was that I wasn’t the one he loved.
I turned to leave, my chest so tight I could barely breathe.
But Sylas grabbed me and dragged me into the hospital bathroom.
He ripped at my clothes, snapping photos with his phone as I struggled.
I watched him send them off to his assistant, and I knew–there was no stopping it now.
He tilted my chin up, sneering.
Chapter 5
“Mrs. Howell was caught pleasuring herself in the hospital bathroom-
should be enough to bury the trending tags about Anastasia’s prostitution scandal.
“Don’t look so offended. This is what you owe her.”
Tears streamed down my face, but I held his gaze.
“I don’t owe you anything. And I sure as hell don’t owe Anastasia.
“If you’re so obsessed with that dirty woman, then keep an eye on her. You never know when she might end up back on the market.”
Ignoring the ice in his stare, I pulled my clothes back on and walked out, trembling.
I knew those photos would never actually be posted.
As I passed Anastasia, she had already dropped the innocent act.
She stopped me, her face smug and triumphant.
“Kiara, this is what you get for trying to threaten me.
“You should’ve just played dumb that day instead of running to Sylas. “Oh–you didn’t know, did you? Sylas’s been under my spell for years.
“If I hadn’t been trying to keep that innocent little image in his mind- make him feel guilty every time he thought of me–I would’ve ditched Orlando ages ago. The guy’s a total joke who needs pills just to get it up.”
I clenched my jaw, too disgusted to keep listening.
I didn’t even bother responding. Let her grin. Let her gloat.
I had nothing left to lose. Michelle wasn’t my daughter. That house was
Chapter 5
no longer my home.
I turned and walked away. Back at the Tillery’s residence, the silence hit me hard. The place was empty.
My heart twisted.
Mom died young. Dad remarried and took his new family abroad- without me.
He even forgot to send my monthly allowance half the time.
I’d grown up hungry, neglected, and alone.
And when I collapsed on the street from hunger one day, it was Arnold who found me.
He was just a kid himself,
aring down at me in disbelief.
“Who faints from hunger? Where are your parents?”
That was all it took. I broke down in sobs. Years of pain came pouring out
at once.
He panicked, trying to comfort me. “Hey, don’t cry, okay? I’ll take care of you from now on.
From that day on, I followed him everywhere like a shadow,
But later he left too. Went overseas with his parents.
I was alone again.
So when Sylas came into my life–all fire and passion–I clung to him like
a lifeline. I thought he was the cure for my broken childhood.
But now I knew he was the poison that had destroyed me.
Chapter 5
I flicked on the light, still lost in thought. Only to see someone lying on
the couch.
He stirred at the sound. His eyes opened slowly.
“Kiara, you’re back?”
Arnold stretched lazily on the couch and opened his arms with a grin. “I
knew you’d come here. Come give me a hug!”
Chapter 6
