Chapter 35
It was quite the mission to wait until Lindsay finally conked out, and then Heloise tiptoed out of the hospital room.
She whipped out her phone and didn’t hesitate for a second before hitting up Beverly’s number.
“Beverly, what’s your deal, seriously?”
Beverly’s low chuckle came through the line, slithery and venomous, “Well, what can I say? I’m still feeling a bit salty here.”
“You got problem with me, then come at me. Picking on my mom? You’re asking for war!”
Beverly snorted with a couldn’t–care–less attitude, “Well, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Your mom didn’t school you right, let you grow up into this uncouth little brat. Doesn’t she deserve a little lesson? You keep throwing yourself at Benny as if I don’t exist!”
Grinding her teeth, Heloise was seething, itching to tear Beverly a new one. The usual prim and proper dame was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a bitter, spiteful shrew.
Heloise ducked into an empty stairwell, “As if you had nothing to do with that?”
“Blaming your shamelessness on me now?”
“You know damn well what went down last night! Just because Benedict didn’t lay a finger on you doesn’t mean I’ll let you off the hook!” Beverly, lounging in her car, eyes narrowed, fiddled with her freshly manicured nails, “Kyrell didn’t seize the moment, he’s so useless(”
Heloise clenched her fists, “I knew it was you!”
Her memory was fuzzy after feeling tipsy on the couch last night. She remembered Kyrell supporting her, but how it all switched up to Benedict was a total blank.
“So what if it was me? Think Benny would question me for you?” Beverly gloated.
The thought of Heloise being whisked away by Benedict last night, and not emerging from the estate until this afternoon, it was obvious what went down, considering Benedict’s physical power.
Driven crazy with jealousy, she spat out viciously, “You were all over Benny begging him to sleep with you last night. No man would turn down an offer served on a silver platter. He used you and tossed you aside like you were nothing but a cheap fling. Better get your head straight, honey. You’re no match for me!”
She hung up with a sneer.
The phone screen went dark, and in the stark white light of the stairwell, Heloise’s pale face reflected off the screen.
Hearing a nurse calling her, she quickly composed herself and stepped out of the stairwell.
The nurse handed her a form. There had been a rush to get Lindsay admitted this afternoon, and some paperwork was still pending. She needed to head over to the billing desk to sort it out.
By the time she wrapped up the paperwork and came back, the corridor was buzzing. Lindsay had woken up, panicked not seeing Heloise around, and her cries filled the once quiet floor.
She was out of it, disoriented, thinking she was still trapped in that godforsaken bathroom where no one could hear her screams.
In the end, it took both the doctor and nurses to hold her down and give her a sedative. Her eyes slowly shut as she finally drifted back to sleep.
Heloise’s heart was wrenching as she looked at her mom’s disheveled and pale face, unable to fathom the depths of her despair over the last twenty hours.
The ringtone suddenly pierced through, and her hand shook as she saw it was Benedict calling.
-M
A surge of complex emotions welled up in her chest hurt, resentment, all making it hard to breathe. She hustled out of the room, worried Lindsay might wake up again, and didn’t dare stray too far. She picked up the call in the pantry.
“Hello?”
Benedict’s voice was cold, “Why did you take so long to pick up?”
“My mom just fell asleep.”
She thought he must’ve been clued in by Rand. But she was wrong about why he was calling.
“Don’t forget to take your pill.”
Heloise shuddered, a sharp pain stabbing at her heart and crawling up to her throat, choking her, “Okay.”
Before Benedict could say anything else, she hung up, her hands trembling. So, that’s why he called to remind her to take the birth control pill.
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14.50 W
Chapter 35
Heloise stood there, took a deep breath, her chest aching fiercely. She leaned against the wall, gasping for air like a fish out of water, it took a good while to catch her breath.
She retraced her steps, saw that Lindsay was sound asleep, and then left the room to buy the birth–control pill at a nearby pharmacy.
She swallowed the pills dry, without water. The pills stuck in her throat, making her gag till she was almost throwing up. Tears fell as she almost wished she could slap herself.
Leaning on the planter, head hanging, she scoffed at her own foolishness.
Never learning her lesson, always the same mistake.
Kyrell found her as she sat on a bench not far from the pharmacy, her knees drawn up to her chest, looking like a flower battered by the storm, shivering in the wind.
“Heloise!”
She turned to see Kyrell, clad in a black windbreaker, jogging towards her.
As he drew near, Heloise could tell he hadn’t rested well, the dark circles under his eyes deep, giving off a defeated vibe.
“What’s wrong?”
“How are you?”
They spoke at the same time.
Heloise shook her head, replying, “I’m fine. It’s my mom who’s not feeling well.”
“I meant last night,” Kyrell seemed to struggle to broach the subject, grinding his molars, his gaze locked on Heloise’s eyes, “You and Benedict…”
Standing in the draft, her hair blowing into her face, she felt a sting.
The mention of Benedict made her eyes well up. She quickly looked away, also finally getting why Kyrell was acting this way.
“You know that.” She faced him again.
She had never figured out how to turn Kyrell down. He was a good guy, so good she didn’t have the heart to friend–zone him. But today seemed like the moment.
Kyrell’s brow furrowed, feeling a sharp pang in his heart.
He had told himself countless times that maybe last night was a misunderstanding, maybe Benedict had accidentally brushed Heloise’s lips. But all the excuses in the world couldn’t stand up to Heloise’s words – “You know that.” His world crumbled.
“You might not be blood, but to everyone else, you’re family! How could you…”
Heloise clenched her fists, grunting in affirmation, “I’ve had feelings for him for years. I’m sorry.”
“I knew you had someone in your heart, but I never thought it was him.” Kyrell felt a moment of helplessness.
He had fallen for Heloise at first sight during one of Jenkin’s fencing competitions.
Jenkin used to bring Heloise along to the fencing club, and Kyrell would watch her from afar, never daring to get close.
He kept dropping hints to Jenkin, kinda beating around the bush about not wanting to fly solo anymore, until Jenkin offered to hook him up with a friend. The moment he found out it was Heloise, he was over the moon.
Jenkin had warned him – Heloise was hung up on someone and couldn’t shake them off. He wasn’t fazed, figured given enough time, he could bump that guy out of her heart. But now, it wasn’t a case of him not cutting the mustard, it was Heloise not even giving him a
shot.
“He’s getting hitched, ever thought about the mess you’ll be in? Doesn’t it bug you at all?”
Heloise played it cool, “I don’t give a hoot.”
“You’re going down a slippery slope!” Kyrell grated out, his composure shattered for the first time. He’s been a good guy his whole life, and this was his breaking point.
The first person he ever fell for.
Heloise went pale, a cold wind slicing through her, feeling like she’s been shot through the heart as she caught the look of utter disappointment in Kyrell’s eyes. She figured a short, sharp shock was better than prolonged pain.
She cracked a smile, “Now you see the real me, Kyrell. I’m not the saint you made me out to be. I’m head over heels for Benedict, and I wanna stick by him no matter what. I couldn’t care less about what others think.”
Kyrell’s eyes reddened as he replied, “Fine.”
912
11.50
Chapter 36
Chapter 36
When Heloise got back to the ward, Lindsay was still out cold. The nurse said she’d probably sleep till the morning. She was beat, nearly hadn’t shut her eyes for a whole day.
After asking the nurse to keep an eye on her for a bit, she headed home to grab a change of clothes and some toiletries.
Lindsay’s picky, won’t use just any stuff you buy off the street. Luckily, her place wasn’t too far from the hospital, so the back–and–forth didn’t eat up much time.
In the taxi, she spaced out, staring through the window.
She thought about the stuff her mom had said when she woke up.
Landon was originally introduced to Lindsay by Mrs. Miller. At the time, she didn’t think much of it. The Miller family was looking to tie the knot with the Harringtons – legit in–laws. The families were tight, so she trusted Mrs. Miller.
Heloise remembered Beverly saying she’d heard about Landon overseas, but it wasn’t just hearsay; Beverly knew Landon.
It was all Beverly’s doing.
Including her phone number and photos getting leaked online recently. The cops gave an answer, but her gut told her someone was muddying the waters.
It was still Beverly.
No wonder Benedict hadn’t brought it up; he knew Beverly was behind it.
The deals she was talking about kept falling through. Those folks were in cahoots with the Smith family/Now, thinking back, the Smiths knew the Harringtons had her back and wouldn’t dare make a move. Beverly’s handiwork was probably in there too.
Turns out, long before she knew Beverly, Beverly was already aware of her.
Beverly’s moves were all about taking her down.
All these recent events, every single one of them, she was going to get justice from Beverly!
The cab stopped at the entrance of her apartment complex. Heloise snapped back to reality, scanned the code to pay, and got out.
The hallway light had been busted for a while, she’d reported it to the property management several times, but they were too lazy to fix
- it.
As she stepped out of the elevator, it was pitch black, save for the dim green glow of the emergency exit signs.
Key in one hand, phone flashlight on in the other, she prepared to unlock her door.
“Ah-” Suddenly, the light flickered, she screamed, and flopped onto the floor, her face turning ghostly pale in an instant! There was a table by the door with flowers, offerings, and some candles, all decked out with white satin ribbons like a wake.
The eerie green signs and the dim light from her phone made for a creepy scene.
And there, on her door, was a giant deadee.
it was straight up
It was Landon, grinning, dead Landon! Like he was about to crawl right out of the picture and wrap himself around her, just like that night!
“Ah-” The images from that night flashed through her mind, Landon’s black and white face growing in front of her eyes. Heloise was petrified, her whole body went limp.
The elevator dinged open.
“Heloise!”
In the light from the elevator, Benedict immediately saw the scene at the door. His face changed, and he rushed over to Heloise, kneeling to embrace her. But Heloise was flailing, trembling, as if she couldn’t hear, see, or recognize him, her eyes vacant.
“Heloise!” Benedict frowned.
“Get away! Get away!” Heloise was hysterical, refusing to let Benedict near, her pale face and empty eyes haunting.
Benedict’s heart sank. He forcefully pulled her into his arms, “Sixer!”
Back when Heloise first came to the Harrington family, after her family’s tragedy, she was thin and frail. The Harringtons treated her like an outsider, the relatives called her Heloise, the servants called her Ms. Beaumont.
Only Benedict, who wasn’t too fond of her, called her Sixer.
He didn’t like her, but he treated her like family. He gave her a sense of belonging.
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