Chapter 20
1252 Words
Ellie's P.O.V.
Alice's trembling voice froze the air in my lungs. I spun around sharply.
Her widened gaze moved from my fist gripping Jared's collar to his face, then back to me. Behind her stood Susan and my dad.
For one dreadful second, nobody moved.
Then Jared reacted first. He quickly pried my fingers off his shirt and stepped away from me, straightening his jacket as though nothing had happened.
Alice walked forward slowly, tears already glistening in her emerald eyes.
“Jared only stepped out to answer a phone call.”
Her voice quivered.
“So... why are you here with him, Ellie?”
Riveted to my spot, I tried to explain.
“Alice, this isn't what it looks like. I am here to…”
Susan stormed into the room before I could say another word.
“What it looks like?”
She let out a sharp laugh.
“I'll tell you exactly what it looks like.”
She pointed straight at me.
“My daughter catches her own sister alone with her husband on her wedding banquet.”
Her eyes blazed with fury.
“Even after getting a husband, Ellie is seducing Jared. She can’t accept the fact that she failed to marry him.”
“What? No!”
I shook my head immediately.
“I came here to ask Jared something. That's all.”
“Liar!”
The word cracked through the room.
Susan closed the distance between us.
“How dare you stand here and lie after being caught red-handed?”
Before I could even react…
Smack!
Pain exploded across my cheek. The force of the slap sent my head sideways, a ringing filling my ears.
Susan shouted after hitting me.
“You, wench. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
My hand flew to my burning cheek.
“This is wrong. I didn't seduce him.”
Susan's expression twisted with disgust.
“You have already embarrassed both the Hunt and Walton families once. And now you have come to ruin your sister's marriage too?"
She turned toward my dad.
“I warned you, Camyron. I told you not to let her come. Now look at what she's done.”
Susan walked toward Jared and placed herself protectively beside him.
“My poor son-in-law has barely been married for a few days, and she's already trying to trap him.”
My desperate gaze landed on my dad.
“Dad… It’s not true… Please…”
He didn't even meet my eyes and scoffed, his face carrying nothing except disappointment.
“Do you enjoy humiliating this family?”
The question pierced deeper than Susan's slap.
“No.” My voice cracked. “I came here because I wanted answers.”
Dad ignored my explanation. His voice remained cold.
“You ruined your own wedding. You embarrassed the Hunt family in front of the entire city.”
He took one slow step closer.
“And tonight you chose to embarrass us again. Sometimes I wonder how my two daughters could become such different women.”
Tears flooded my eyes in a split second.
“Dad, trust me. I wasn't trying to destroy anything.”
His answer came without hesitation.
“Then apologize.”
The room fell silent.
I blinked. “...What?”
“Apologize to Alice.”
He gestured toward my stepsister, who stood silently beside Jared, wiping away tears.
“You have caused enough distress on what should have been the happiest day of her life.”
My heart clenched painfully.
One glance at Alice’s pitiful, crying face and the memories of my every visit to Hunt Villa as a child crashed into my mind.
Whenever fragile Alice cried, I was blamed. I had to apologize even when I had done nothing wrong because Alice felt hurt.
Back then, I had obeyed my dad blindly, hoping to get a speck of his affection.
But I wasn't that frightened little girl anymore.
I lifted my head.
“No.”
My father frowned, as if giving me a chance to reconsider my decision.
“What did you say?”
“I said no.” My voice grew steadier. “I won't apologize for something I didn't do.”
His face darkened. For the first time in years, I refused to bow my head before him.
“Ellie, you are…”
Alice gently touched my dad’s arm, interrupting him.
“Please don't argue anymore, Daddy.”
She gave him a sad smile. Another tear slipped down her cheek.
“I kept telling everyone my sister wasn't like this. I always defended her.”
Then she looked directly at me.
“I gave you chance after chance simply because you're my sister, Ellie.”
Her expression slowly hardened.
“But you have crossed every limit, tonight.”
My heartbeat stumbled as she reached into her bag and pulled out her phone.
“People deserve to know who you really are.”
“No!”
Panic exploded in my chest as she lifted the camera toward me.
If any video reached social media this time, the headlines wouldn't destroy me. They would destroy the White Mansion.
Mr. Zackary Walton had only begun rebuilding his reputation. He was slowly recovering after the surgery.
Another scandal could undo everything.
And Zack...
He would never forgive me. He would kick me out of the house for sure.
My heart leapt to my throat as Susan followed Alice and immediately took out her phone.
Her voice was laced with pride.
“I have pictures.”
She held the screen toward everyone with a cold smirk.
“I was quick enough to capture everything.”
A cold chill went through me.
The photo showed my hand gripping Jared's collar while he stood close enough to look intimate.
From that angle, it looked exactly like everyone believed in this room.
And the worst part?
No one would believe me without context.
My breathing became shallow as Alice transferred the pictures to her phone and opened the camera, beginning to record.
Out of options, I looked at Jared with a desperate plea in my eyes, silently begging him for help.
He was the only person who held the truth. One sentence from him would shatter all the lies and clear my name.
However, Jared didn’t even move.
Instead, he looked down, completely unfazed by the chaos tearing my life apart. His expression remained smooth and detached as he casually adjusted the cufflink on his left wrist.
A chilling realization shattered something deep in my chest.
Jared would leave me to face ridicule like our wedding ceremony.
A wave of pure panic crashed over me. My own silence would seal my doom if I didn’t speak up now.
No!
If this video spread, Zackary’s name would become tomorrow's biggest scandal.
As desperation forced my hands, I decided to apologize once more.
Every ounce of pride inside me screamed not to surrender. But if my apology could stop another disaster… Perhaps my dignity wasn't worth much.
Tears rolled down my cheeks as I lowered my head.
“Fine.”
The word barely escaped my lips.
“Let me…”
Suddenly, the door swung open with a loud bang, cutting me off midsentence.
Every head turned.
A tall man in a perfectly tailored black suit walked inside, followed by five security guards.
He spoke calmly.
“Put the phone down."
His sharp gaze settled on Alice.
“Unless, of course… you would rather spend the rest of this banquet explaining your actions to the police."
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