At Celeste Towers, Velmora,
The Maserati came to a sharp halt in front of the luxurious apartment complex. The security guard, upon seeing Aveline behind the wheel, immediately opened the gates without question.
Aveline barely registered anything as she drove through.
Her hands clenched the steering wheel, her breathing erratic, her mind a spiraling mess. The moment the car parked, she stumbled out, her legs feeling weaker than they should.
Restlessly riding the elevator to the twelfth floor, Aveline mercilessly began ringing the doorbell. Her face was red, not from embarrassment, but from the wreckage of emotions she was barely holding in. But her eyes…
Her eyes were dead.
When the door finally swung open, Scarlett Fournier stood there groggy, disoriented but instantly alert.
Her sharp, expressive eyes locked onto Aveline, scanning her face. Any trace of sleepiness vanished in an instant when she noted the tear stains on Aveline's cheeks.
"Linnie, what happened?" Her voice was firm, concerned. She didn't hesitate to grab Aveline's wrist and pull her inside.
The door slammed shut.
Scarlett handed her a warm cup of water, settling beside her on the couch. But she didn't force words out of Aveline. She simply waited.
Aveline opened her mouth. Then I closed it. Her throat burned. The words refused to come out.
Scarlett encouraged her, "Linnie…?"
Aveline forced the words past the lump in her throat. "Damien… is having an affair."
Scarlett's entire body tensed. "What!?" Her voice turned sharp, her sleep-induced sluggishness instantly evaporating.
Then she stood up so fast the couch creaked, "I'm going to skin that bastard alive."
Aveline barely managed to grab Scarlett's wrist in time. Her grip was weak, but her voice was steady. "Listen to me, Red."
Scarlett's nostrils flared as she stared at Aveline, her jaw clenched so tight it looked painful. But she failed to contain the fire.
"I told you something was wrong with that bastard. I told you. He never took you out, always claimed he was tired, said he liked peace at home, but guess what? He still walks around like an eligible f*cking bachelor."
Aveline lowered her head. Scarlett was right. She had warned from the very beginning.
The time when they got engaged, as though it were a secret. A wedding with only family members. They believed Damien hated crowds, as he always had to deal with people.
But now… It all felt like a well-played deception.
Scarlet's voice sharpened with fury. "That c*nt-sucking bastard never become your husband but he's out f*cking another b*tch." Scarlett snickered darkly, "Lucky you, he didn't taint you. He doesn't deserve you anyway."
Aveline shifted uncomfortably on the couch as the past continued to sink in.
Damien had left her alone on their wedding night, stating a business emergency. And he was never home on time. Even if he arrived home early, he looked so exhausted that he would apologetically kiss her forehead before he'd collapse onto the bed without touching her.
Before she regressed, after months into their marriage, Aveline had gathered the courage to ask why he never showed interest in her physically.
And then he touched her. Intoxicated.
And then she started falling ill. And it had stopped altogether.
Aveline's vision blurred. Vivienne's moans of pleasure, so raw, so desperate, echoed in her mind.
Mocking her.
Every touch, every word Damien had ever given her felt like a lie.
Her breath hitched, and she whispered more to herself than to Scarlett, "I'm such a fool…"
Scarlett immediately sat beside her, wrapping her arms around Aveline in a protective embrace. "Linnie, you have me… What do you want to do?"
Aveline pulled away, but her eyes weren't empty anymore. There was determination. "Red, I want to find out why Damien married me. His family isn't against love marriages, he could have married anybody, but he chose me although he loves another woman…"
Scarlett's fingers drummed against the armrest as she cut in, "You told me Damien is working day and night to secure the CEO position at Ashford Holdings. Maybe he wants to acquire the Laurents."
Aveline shook her head, "Laurents Industries isn't mine but my brother." She did have some shares but her father was very clear during her wedding that the company will belong to her brother.
Scarlett again came up with a reason, "Maybe that woman is poor and his parents will obviously prefer a socialite…"
Aveline shook her head again, "Vivienne Sinclair has Sinclair Lifestyle, and she is the CEO… I mean, she will be CEO soon." Vivienne wasn't the CEO yet in the current timeline.
Scarlett's face darkened hearing Aveline. She spat through her gritted teeth, "You even know that b*tch!?"
Resisting her urge to rush out and grab Vivienne by her hair, Scarlett exhaled sharply, controlling her rage, "Sinclair never stepped up the ladder where Laurents are at." Laurents were still the best shot for the Ashfords.
Sinclair Lifestyle is a lifestyle and fashion empire that focuses more on trendsetting designs of clothing, accessories, fragrances, and home décor.
Although Laurents Industries is in the same field, they have limited markets. They specialize in timeless, luxury, high-end quality, and designs in their products, with limited supply and exquisite craftsmanship. They are symbols of personified elegance and grandeur.
They weren't competitors. But they had become one-sided rivals.
Then the realization struck Aveline like a bullet to the chest. No, like a thousand bullets, each one tearing through her. Her breath turned shallow. Her nails dug into the couch.
Laurents Industries went bankrupt, and Sinclairs Lifestyle had thrived before she regressed. Aveline's eyes went wide in horror, her heartbeat skyrocketed as pieces clicked together in her mind.
Damien wasn't helping the Laurents Industries with modernization. Instead he was using her and infiltrating into Laurents Industries to destroy them.
He was building the steps over the Laurents for Vivienne to stand tall.
Her stomach churned, her hands clenched until her knuckles turned white. "I- I need to protect my family and their legacy." Aveline mumbled and looked all the more desperate..
'Family and their legacy?' Scarlett failed to understand what Aveline meant. "Girl, you need to save yourself first."
Aveline vigorously shook her head. She still has time before she will be plagued with illness. But if she wanted to protect her family, she needed to act now.
Thinking through, only if she is healthy, she has a fighting chance, and to help her family get out of the clutches of Damien. Thus, she nodded her head again. She has to visit the doctor as soon as possible.
Scarlett stared at Aveline. Aveline was an open book to her. She could read her like no one else. But tonight? She wasn't grasping what Aveline was thinking.
She cupped Aveline's face, "What are you thinking, Linnie?" She was patient with Aveline, looking at Aveline struggling with a lot in her mind.
Aveline's desperacy met with Scarlett's calmness. Her hazel eyes darkened when she voiced, "Damien and Vivienne are conspiring against the Laurents. I don't think Damien will let me go so easily. It might backfire and he will make my life hell." Then she added after a thought, "He might even turn my parents against me." Because he had done that.
Scarlett's anger intensified. But instead of letting it explode, she calmly assessed the situation. Aveline was a very positive person who finds good in everything. Thus she believed in Aveline's judgement when Aveline spoke about Damien and Vivienne.
Hearing that Damien might turn into a dangerous person if Aveline actively stood against Damien, Scarlett came up with a plan. "Act."
"Huh?" Aveline blinked in confusion.
Scarlett held Aveline's hands in hers. "Linnie, you say Damien won't agree to a divorce and create hell if you directly ask him. Then we need irrefutable proof of their affair to use against him. You play the role of his sweet wife until we find proof, just like how he was fooling everyone. Meanwhile, you should start working at Laurent Industries and dig into his plans."
Aveline stiffened, hearing Scarlett.
Scarlett tightened her grip on Aveline's hand, "And if we get rid of Damien, the d*ckhead, I'll quit my damn job and help you with Bloom & Grace."
Aveline exhaled slowly. Then, for the first time in hours, she chuckled at Scarlett's curse words. She hugged her friend and hummed in agreement. After a moment of silence, she added, "I'm scared."
If Vivienne could ask the doctor to kill her, won't Vivienne kill her now? Oddly, Aveline started to believe Damien was also part of her murder.
Scarlett confessed, "Me too…" she continued, "You dumb headed, you can't act. Your face says everything."
Aveline bit her lips as she recalled the woman who gave her the 'Giselle' card. Her confidence was a chef's kiss. She wanted to be that confident, even if she was going to lose the game she was about to play.
'The most dangerous woman is the one who watches, waits, and knows everything.'
Yes, she knew a lot. Now she was going to watch and wait for her turn.
If Damien could deceive her for years, she wanted to show him how to act and put on a show for him.
Only this time, it would be his world falling apart.
"I can do it," Aveline affirmed herself more than she assured Scarlett.