Valentina pov
When did I react? When did I start yanking my mother in law’s hair?
Well maybe it was the part when she had called Alexander a monster. When she had told me everything she had done to him to ensure his obedience or according to her: To make sure he was the perfect tool to use for her plan.
She had said that Alexander was incapable of love and that was why I had hated him so much I couldn’t even bear the sight of him. That Alexander wasn’t meant to be loved, only feared. That he would eventually end up alone, never knowing what it meant to be loved.
Maybe that was why I was currently yanking her hair back and forth, clearly catching her off guard.
“Let go of my hair! How dare you?! Do you know who I am?!” she screamed, trying to pry my hands away.
But I only gripped tighter, pulling harder as she grabbed a fistful of my own hair in retaliation. Pain shot through my scalp, but I wouldn’t let go.
“Who gives a damn who you are?!” I snapped. “Take back what you said about Alexander! How can you even call yourself a mother?!”
I sneered, eyes shut tightly against the burning pain radiating through my scalp.
Fuck, this woman had such a strong grip- what the hell, my hair was about to be yanked off.
“Let go of Mommy!!!” Felix gasped out, the words barely audible as he began pulling Sera away from me with his little hands. His eyes narrowed into a glare, and the warmth that had been there for her a moment ago was completely gone.
When Sera didn’t budge, he actually started hitting her legs, his mouth opening as he repeated the words louder.
“Let go of Mommy!”
This time he got her attention.
“F-Felix, how could you take her side? I’m your grandmother, she started it first!” Sera looked hurt as she turned her gaze to Felix for just a brief second but that second of distraction was all I needed to gain the upper hand.
“You might be his grandmother but I am his mother, bitch!” With reflexes I didn’t know I had, I swiftly reached for her hand, pulling it away from my hair before tightening my grip around her wrist. In one smooth motion, I turned her around until her back was pressed against me, my grip unyielding.
Sera gasped, her hands in the air as she tried to turn around. She must have been good at fighting because she raised her hand and tried to elbow me but I caught it effortlessly, and pulled her closer towards me, my lips close to her ear, my eyes narrowed into a glare as I hissed under my breath.
“Take back everything you said about Alexander right now. How can you even call yourself a mother? How do you think he would feel hearing all that?” I asked, remembering how she had just bragged to me about forcing Alexander to kill his own dog and how he had done it without hesitation, as if that somehow proved how evil he was.
To be honest, even if I didn’t remember much about Alexander, something deep inside told me she was lying. Why? Because of the way she spoke about him with pure, unfiltered hatred. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought she was his enemy. No- scratch that. Who needed enemies when your own mother talked about you like that?
“Y-You, how dare you! Do you know-”
“Do you know who I am?” she started, but I cut her off with an eye roll.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that line before. It’s getting boring. I don’t give two fucks about who you are. Just take back what you said about Alexander and never speak about him like that again. Alexander is not a monster, like you claimed. He’s not heartless. He’s not some tool for you to use. Even when he’s cold, he’s still your son. And what? You were bragging about sending assassins after your own child? How twisted are you? Have you ever thought about how that would make him feel?”
The moment those words left my mouth, both Sera and Felix froze. I could feel Felix’s gaze on me and when I glanced over, I caught a flicker of disbelief in his eyes and something else I couldn’t quite name.
But I didn’t have time to figure it out, because Sera scoffed, her tone dripping with mockery.
“Look at you, pretending you don’t think the same way I do. I guess losing your memory really did change you. You say Alexander’s not a monster? Then tell me when has he ever acted like a decent human being, even once?”
This time, she actually stopped struggling and asked as though she was genuinely curious.
I raised a brow at her words. Alexander? Acting like a decent human being?
Of course- plenty of times. Or at least… I thought so.
I opened my mouth to respond, but the words wouldn’t come out.
“What do you mean Alexander has been decent? He-”
“You disobeyed me again. I told you to sit and watch. Now, I’ll make it worse. What happens to him from here on out is because of you. So, watch closely.”
The memory of him torturing someone right in front of me flashed through my mind, freezing me mid-sentence.
I blinked. The room was quiet, everyone waiting for me to continue.
I swallowed hard and tried again.
“Alexander has-”
“Don’t you dare call me by my name. You don’t deserve to speak it, and you sure as hell don’t deserve to call me your husband. If I have to remind you again… you won’t like it.”
“…”
“He-he-”
“Kill them all. Do not spare any of them.”
Oh God.
Why couldn’t I remember even one good thing Alexander had done?
Why did every interaction with him end in anger, pain, or death?
I flicked my gaze toward Felix. He was frowning, stroking his chin, clearly trying to come up with something redeemable about Alexander.
Sera snorted. I could practically hear the eye roll in her tone even without seeing her.
“See? You can’t even say one thing. Just one damn thing about him. Why do you think that is? Because you know the truth about Alexander too.” She paused. “Wasn’t that why you wanted to leave him before your accident?”
My eyes widened at her words, and my grip on her completely slipped, giving her the advantage she needed to pull away and grab my arm, yanking me toward her.
I froze as I saw the look in her eyes, her smirk widening as she stared at me.
“You hated him, Emily. You hated him so much, you wanted him dead because you know what kind of man he really is,” she hissed, then turned to Felix. “He hated his father just as much. Everyone despises Alexander. So drop the act, you know none of the things I said was a lie”
I frowned as silence followed her words. Both Felix and I hated Alexander?
That had to be a lie. I didn’t hate Alexander, and even if Felix occasionally got upset with his father, I highly doubted he hated him.
“See? You know that I’m right-”
“I don’t hate Daddy,” a soft voice cut her off.
We both turned toward Felix. My heart dropped when I saw him glaring at Sera, and something about his expression froze me in place.
In that moment, he didn’t look like a child at all- he wore the exact same look his father had when he was ready to kill someone.
Sera seemed to feel it too because she staggered back slightly, while Felix watched her with narrowed eyes.
“And Daddy isn’t the monster. You are. You’re a bad mommy to Daddy,” Felix said louder this time. His voice was no longer a whisper.
The suddenness of it caught both Sera and me by surprise. I winced as her grip on my wrist tightened. She frowned but a second later, she forced a smile.
“What do you mean, Felix? Your daddy is the bad one. Your daddy kills without emotion! He’s cruel. He shot me twice. He wanted to kill me!” she screamed.
I hissed, trying to yank my hand free, but before I could, a strong hand gripped her wrist and yanked it away from me.
I gasped as I was pulled behind a broad back and I didn’t need to see his face to know it was him.
Alexander.
A scream tore through the air followed by the sharp click of a gun being cocked.
My eyes widened as I lifted my head.
Alexander stood in front of Sera, a gun aimed directly at her head, his eyes narrowed into a deadly glare.
“And it looks like I didn’t finish the job,” he said coldly.
“Mother.”