AUTHOR’S POV
SYDNEY’s WIDE EYES ROAMED AROUND THE BROKEN PICTURE FRAMES, VASES, and whatnot on the living room floor.
The vases and portraits were wedding gifts her mother had given her the day she wedded Gavin.
Ashley told Sydney, all the first daughters in her family had it. It was a symbol of fidelity and growth in a marriage.
Sydney guarded it and cleaned it every week and now, they were all broken and ruined. Who would do such a thing?
Avery walked into the living room, carrying a box of Sydney’s wedding gifts. When Avery saw Sydney, a wicked smile played on her lips.
” Thought you finally came to your senses and jumped into the ocean or ran into a speeding car,” Avery said cynically and dropped the box carelessly, causing the glass wares inside to break.
Sydney looked at Avery in a daze.
How the hell can she just take her stuff and ruin it? And she knows how much they meant to Sydney. Wasn’t Gavin around? Why would he let her do such a thing?!
Sydney walked into the living room, her gaze fixated on the broken items.
Avery’s smile widened at every inch of Sydney’s despair.
She goaded. “You didn’t return early, so I had to take your stuff out myself; they were trash anyway. I needed a room for preparations for the baby; Gavin said I could have any room I wanted. ”
Sydney’s glacial eyes met Avery’s immediately. ” There are five free rooms; why the hell did you choose mine!”
” I like yours; it would be warm and cozy for Gavin’s baby.”
” You are really sick in the head Avery! All the rooms are literally the same thing!” Sydney snapped, veins of fury bulging on her cheeks.
Avery shrugged nonchalantly. ” It doesn’t matter; Gavin said I could choose any room I fancied; if you have any problem with it, then you can hit your freaking head on the wall for all I care.”
Sydney jumped in brashly. ” You know what these things mean to me, yet you ruined them. Avery, I can never get them back; what was stopping you from treating them with care? ”
” It would be an extra load for me and I can’t risk my baby dying like yours did. But, you wouldn’t understand; you never cared about your child.”
Sydney’s jaw tipped open at Avery’s statement. It took everything in her not to give Avery a clout on her stupid face.
” What are you even saying? You killed my child. Avery, it was all you. You poisoned me and my child! I loved my baby; I didn’t go for prenatal because you deceived me. ” Sydney barked, her emotions kicking in.
Sydney had realized Avery was the cause of Xavier’s death. The soup she had been serving Sydney during her pregnancy contained caffeine, and that caused Xavier’s death and nearly took her life.
No sign of remorse crossed Avery’s face; it was rock-hard with immense hatred. ” Don’t blame me for your losses Sydney. You killed your child! Your carelessness and stupidity killed your child and ruined your marriage.”
Sydney couldn’t object. Avery was right. She was careless and stupid to blindly trust someone like Avery and allow her to dictate everything she did.
Avery used her insecurities against her, and Gavin was too focused on himself to realize what was happening to his wife.
Sydney stared at Avery in anguish. She wanted to know her wrongs; she was oblivious to why Avery would betray her this way.
Knowing Avery had spent years trying to ruin her, Sydney knew it wasn’t just jealousy that made Avery loathe her so much.
In a small voice, Sydney asked, ” Why Avery? Why are you doing all this? Why the hell do you hate me so much? We used to be good friends Avery.”
Haha! Avery laughed.
Good friends? Haha!
” You and I friends?” Avery laughed loudly and suddenly stopped.
She glared at Sydney.
” You are so absorbed with yourself that it makes you so delusional. I ceased being your friend the very day you took what was mine away from me.”
Avery looked at the glasses on the floor and kicked them viscously. ” All these gifts are meant to be mine, but you took it from me. This house. This luxury. This fame. Wealth. Gavin. Everything you have now rightfully belongs to me.”
Sydney jumped in. ” If it’s fame you wanted you should have asked for it. If it’s all this, you should have asked-”
” You didn’t ask when you took them for me, did you?”
” That’s because it never belonged to you.”
Avery snapped, ” Yes, I did! All these belonged to me! Gavin was mine, you took him away from me.”
” You broke up with him. You didn’t love him.”
” I did love him, maybe not as much as he loved you behind my back, but I did. I broke up with him because my mother died when I was busy listening to you cry and complain about how your life is a second hell; I didn’t realize my mother was dying.”
Avery took a step closer to Sydney.
” And when I expected you and Gavin to be there for me. You two we busy f**king and having a good life while I suffered. My father started gambling and drinking because my mum passed away; everything was taken from me.”
” From Avery and Gavin to Sydney and Gavin. Gavin was better off without that bitch. Oh, Gavin and Sydney look cute together. I was mocked, forgotten, and ruined all because of you, and you expect me to act like it’s fine and let you live a peaceful life?”
” As if you weren’t ruining my life enough, you got pregnant and because of that, my dad got fired. I couldn’t afford to go to college, I worked as a housekeeper in a stupid hotel. I cleaned shit, vomit, and all sort of things while watching you and Gavin on television. Enjoying your life!”
Tears slid down Avery’s cheek and she quickly wiped it off.
Sydney’s jaw was clenched, she couldn’t say anything. Avery’s mother died? But… Mrs. White was in Japan, wasn’t she?
No wonder Avery seemed off and went from A to F in her academics. No wonder Avery wore black clothes for a whole year.
How could she be so stupid not to realize Mrs. White had been dead for fourteen years now!
Gavin wasn’t the only self-absorbed person now, was he?
” I- I swear I didn’t know your mother died-”
” I’m sure you didn’t up until now. You can stick your apology far up your a**, run away while you can because I won’t let you breathe a single air in peace.” Avery said through gritted teeth.
She turned around to see Ethan wearing a matching scowl like hers. She nearly had a heart attack.
Sydney looked at him and her eyes widened. Before she could reach him, his mouth was already spilling out venom.
” You won’t dare touch my mum. I’ll tell Daddy you killed my brother! You are a witch; you’ll burn in hell like your fellow witches do!” Ethan barked.
Sydney called out softly. ” Ethan-”
His glare shut her up. ” Don’t talk to me, I’m still mad at you!”
For the first time, Ethan saw the broken items on the floor. The toys Grandmumny had got for him and Emily was broken!
Hot tears filled his eyes as he looked at Avery. ” You broke my toys? Grandmumny and I used to play with this together, she said it was for her daddy!”
Ashley had given him the toys with tears in her eyes. Ethan hates seeing her cry. If she found out it got broken, she’d cry.
Avery bent to look at him, a wicked smile grazed her lips as she pinched his jaw. ” I’ve always wanted to see you cry, I thought you were made of stone.” She laughed.
” You can tell your old granny to go meet her daddy in the grave and get another toy!”
In a fit of rage, Ethan pushed Avery away with fierceness making her fall to the ground and scream loudly.
Sydney gasped and held Ethan back. He was quick to push her hand away from his.
” Ethan! She’s pregnant.”
Gavin came flying down the staircase with Emily behind him. He looked unshaven and disheveled. His eyes, with dark circles beneath them, widened when he saw Avery on the ground with her hand bleeding.
He ran to her instantly. ” J**us! What happened Avery?”
Avery cried in pain and pointed wickedly at Ethan. ” That boy! He pushed me because of her. I think-”
” I’ll push you again if I can. You are a bad woman!” Ethan growled.
Gavin looked at his son in awe. How can he push a pregnant woman? Who the hell thought him to do such an evil thing?
” Did you push her Ethan?”
Ethan looked at him squarely in the eyes and replied. ” Yes, I did and I will do it again.”
” Ethan, that’s enough, please.” Sydney cut in, her heart raced as Gavin began to rise.
” You’ll do what? Have you lost your mind!” Gavin barked at his son making him flinch.
Emily ran to Sydney and hid behind her. ” Tell them to stop please.” Emily cried.
” No, Daddy! You’ve lost your mind. Because of this fat ugly witch, our home is broken-”
” She’s your elder you’ll speak to her with respect!”
” Sunday school teacher said we should respect those who respect their selves. She’s a shameless woman with no self-respect, and I will never respect her.”
Sydney could swear she saw smoke erupt from Gavin’s nose.
She quickly stepped in. ” Ethan did nothing; he’s right, Gavin. Avery-”
” Shut the f**k up.” Gavin snarled. His eyes met hers for the first time since he got to the living room. ” Teach your son how to f**king speak.”
” He’s your son too.”
” No, I’m not. I don’t have a father. This man isn’t my father! My father died the day I was born. You are a terrible man-”
Gavin raised his fist to Ethan and Sydney quickly stepped in. Gavin’s fist nearly collided with her jaw by a centimeter.
Sydney tried to hold back her tears, but when Ethan and Emily began to cry, she couldn’t. Worst of all, Avery was in the background, smiling with all glory.
Then she mouthed, ” Bull’s eye!”
Gavin looked at his family with wide eyes. Once again, he’d let his anger get the best of him. Did he just try to hit his son?
Sydney finally snapped. ” Hit me Gavin, hit me! If you ever try hitting any of my children, I promise you, I’ll kill both you, that b**ch, and myself.”
Gavin lowered his hand. He looked at Ethan who was crying and shuddering. ” I’m sorry Ethan, I didn’t mean it. I got angry-”
” I hate you! I hate you so much.”
” Ethan!”
” E- Ethan!”
Ethan ran to the door. He pressed his thumb abruptly on the fingerprint scanner. As soon as the door unlocked, he ran out of the house.