Aria sighed with deep relief on seeing Dante's message. At least, there was someone still out there, yearning for her.
She immediately sent a message back to him. [Yes.]
Why did she even think she was going to be able to survive two whole weeks like this? No way!
In one week, she was finally going to walk away for good. And start another life afresh without Sebastian in it.
The moment Aria walked into the house, her eyes met Jasmine, relaxing in the living room, while wearing her favorite pajamas.
Aria's only, and favorite pajamas.
Jasmine sat up on seeing her. “Oh, here comes the wretched woman. How was your night? I hope you suffered just enough.”
Before Aria could say anything.
Jasmine got to where she was standing and tucked a strand of Aria's hair behind her ear.
“Aw. Poor Thing. You look like you barely made it out alive. If misery had a face, it would definitely be yours. You look like shit!”
She moved even closer, clearly flaunting the bite marks on her neck. “Look. Sebby did all these. He was in heaven last night. He confessed that it was…the sweetest sex…he has ever had.”
Jasmine had a lot to brag about. She leaned even closer, her hands mockingly cradling Aria's neck.
“He didn't even want to let me go. But with you, he said he always prayed for it to get over as quickly as possible.”
Those words were the last straw for Aria. She snatched her sister by the hair and shoved her away. “Mind your words, Jasmine. I'm legally married to Sebastian. While you are just a mistress he is using to fulfill his desires.”
“Don't be a fool. If you keep misbehaving like this, I won't hold back on revealing who you truly are to the world—You are nothing but an orphan that was bought to temporarily replace me anyway.”
Aria had always taught herself to be calm no matter what. But Jasmine had already made that impossible to do. And she would not be holding back any longer.
Jasmine took another step forward. She was about to grab Aria's hair too, but froze when she saw Sebastian walking towards them.
In a swift movement, she grabbed Aria's hand instead and used it to smack herself on the face. “Aria, forgive me. It's my fault. I should have stayed away from you and your husband.”
Aria's eyes widened with confusion.
But Jasmine sprinted off to the stairs. She was about to jump when Sebastian caught her mid-air just in time.
“No, Jasie. This is my house, and you belong here. Anyone who wants you to leave would be the one to leave instead!”
Jasmine smirked secretly.
“How dare you lay your hands on her?! Sebastian hissed sharply.
Aria stood her ground. “I didn't do anything to her. Do not put the blame on me. And shouldn't you be worried about where I was last night?”
“You are—” He growled,
Aria stopped him mid-sentence, “You should be worried about—”
“I have no reason to worry about you, Aria!” He spat icily. “You have no right to lay your hands on Jasie. You know what…you should be punished severely. I'm going to demote you.”
To him, Aria was proud of her Executive Assistant position. So he thought stripping her of it was the perfect punishment.
But he was mistaken. Aria wasn't proud of the position. She was only proud of the things she had accomplished with it for Sebastian.
Sebastian's stomach churned with worry when he saw that Aria's eyes were wet with tears. But that changed nothing. He held Jasmine's hands and walked away with her.
“Keep her locked in the storage room until she apologizes,” Sebastian ordered his security guard before leaving.
Aria watched them leave in silence. But the tears that had gathered in her eyes slid down her cheeks.
How can the man she had given up on herself for treat her like this?
Aria always wanted to be a fashion designer. But she gave that up to love and work for Sebastian. Yet he was treating her like she didn't matter.
For two days, Aria was made to stay away from the main and guest house. And locked in the storage room.
Four times a day, the security guard would ask if she was ready to apologize for hitting Jasmine. But Aria always said nothing. Except keep her face buried in her palms.
There were only a few days remaining and she would finally be out of here.
Aria was sitting in the same position in the storage room when her phone kept buzzing with several text messages from Jasmine, but she never bothered to check any of them.
The last message came in when she was about to finally walk out of the house.
[Good-digging leech. I told you, I'll make sure I make you too hopeless to live. You can't win over me. I can keep Sebby away from you to be with me for a whole year.]
And Jasmine was right.
For days since Aria was locked out of the house, Sebastian hasn't been around.
But Jasmine didn't stop keeping her updated.
Aria received voice notes of Sebastian's moaning Jasmine’s name.
Another was a photo of Jasmine wearing nothing but Aria’s silk scarf. "He said I looked hotter in it."
Then, there was a short video of Sebastian in the shower, and Jasmine giggling behind the camera. “He said I taste better than you ever did.”
Two years ago, Aria would've felt heartbroken and humiliated. But, not anymore.
A man who was capable of hurting her without remorse was better off forgotten.
On the last day, the security guard still kept her locked in the huge storage room.
She decided to take a stroll around the room. Out of nowhere, a cat jumped in and landed on her face.
She fell to the ground. Even though an ordinary cat shouldn't have made that possible. But she was almost already like a walking corpse that hasn't had a proper shower, sleep, and meal in days.
Aria began to feel like she couldn't breathe again. But it was just way worse than the last time. Her chest was heaving aggressively, and soon she began to cough out blood.
She was gasping for air as the pain spread through her ribs. Her lips were already starting to turn blue.
She knew what was coming.
