Chapter 96 BECOMING RICH
SLOANE’S POINT OF VIEW.
A FEW DAYS LATER.
It’s been three days since it felt like my world had cracked open, and for the first time in forever, I feel as though I can finally breathe again. I haven’t gone back to my….well, Reginald’s house ever since the night of the play. It felt wrong to even think about setting foot in there, let alone spending a night there.
My entire life was a lie, and I don’t even know how to deal with it.
Instead, I’d been staying with Amara. Lucien didn’t like it, though; he wanted me to come with him to his house, but the thought of spending the night under the same roof as Eldric Ravenscroft… it didn’t feel right for some reason.
I placed my AirPods in my ears, blocking out the outside world, as music blasted in my ears. All I wanted to do was hide….at least for some time. It felt like I was in a dream, and in a few hours, I’d wake up from the nightmare.
Valerian has been quite literally everywhere I turn. He’s showing up at Amara’s place, wanting to talk to me since I started sleeping there; hell, he even showed up at school, probably because he thought I was there. Seraphina has also texted me for the first time in forever, wanting to see if we could talk about everything.
I have since ignored her text. It felt weird to talk to my boyfriend’s ex-fiancée about this….especially cause she’s lost the evil look ever since the news broke out. I was relieved that she would never be Lucien’s….at least not like I am.
But at the same time, talking to her… it feels weird to say the least. Ace also reached out. Heck, he came over to Amara’s place, making me wonder how he even knew where her house was located. He barely glanced at me the entire time as well. All he could stare at, or rather ogle, was Amara, who tried to avoid his gaze and mine, with a furious blush on her face.
It felt like there was something both of them knew that I didn’t.
My phone dinged in my jacket pocket, halting me in my steps as I pulled it out. The notification was a text from Valerian… the sixth text in the past hour.
I groaned internally, feeling somewhat guilty about the way I’ve been ghosting him. I don’t think it should be that way though…..I think I should at least have a few days or weeks to myself before I can face everyone again.
‘Hi, Sloane. Um….I wanted to ask if you’d be available for dinner with the family. No pressure, if you want to, and only if you absolutely want to. There will be a seat waiting for you. If you’re interested, again, I hope I’m not putting any pressure on you, let me know, and I’ll have the driver pick you up.’
The guilt in my chest twisted like a fucking knife as I frowned at the text. I didn’t know whether or not to go. It felt like I should, but at the same time, everything still feels weird. I mean…my life was basically uprooted.
Ms Vale….or my mother, has since quit her job at school from the night of the play, resorting to sending me baskets every day since filled with fruits, vegetables, expensive dresses, and different things. My heart longed with the desire to be with them, to know about everything my memory still felt blank over, but at the same time, it felt like I was betraying someone… the man I thought was my father.
‘What do you mean by that?’ Amara’s voice rang out in my head. ‘You mean the man who deceived you your entire life, stole you from your actual family, and basically tried to murder you all, while coveting what’s rightfully yours. Hell, let’s not even talk about how he made that horrible spawn of the devil torment you for years while you thought she was your mother.’
She had a point, though. It felt stupid to even think about this. That’s it, Sloane. You’re going to try and have some sort of union or bond with your actual family, and that man, Reginald, will not stop you.
I tried giving myself a pep talk as I replied to Valerian’s text.
‘It’s alright. I’d love to.’
He didn’t even waste a second, because as soon as the text read was delivered, his response came in swiftly;
‘That’s lovely! The driver will pick you up at eight.’
‘No, I think Lucien can bring me over.’
I replied, I wasn’t sure how comfortable I’d be with his driver. Lucien was familiar, and besides, I’d need the calm he brought me while I prepared myself for this dinner.
His reply took some time before it came in. His disdain for Lucien didn’t go unnoticed by me. I could see how he stared at my boyfriend with disdain every time he spoke….and it concerned me, because I hoped it wouldn’t be an issue later.
‘Alright then. I respect your wish.’
‘See you at dinner.’
‘See you soon’
I heaved a heavy sigh and placed my phone back into my pocket as I walked over to where Amara’s car awaited me.
“Finally! Where were you?” She asked as soon as she saw me.
“Sorry, I had to take a walk.”
“It’s okay. We’re running late, that’s all.”
I smiled as I fastened my seat belt.
Hopefully, school gives me some sort of reprieve from the madness that was my life.
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“Well, well, well.” Roxanne’s voice slithered in like a wet snake, forcing me to halt in my tracks. “Look who decided to stop hiding after so long. What’s wrong, Sloane? Couldn’t handle the disappointment that comes with thinking you’re some rich girl now? Hell, the world’s talking about it. Did you see the news? Everyone knows you’re an actual loser now. I mean….your daddy sold you out for tuition money so you could keep the scholarship, and now, another daddy has popped up with the thought of him being your actual daddy. But I guess everything went south cause look at you, hiding from the world. Did you spend the past three days crying, baby?
She said with a fake pout, looking like a bubblefish for a moment there, as I cocked my head to the side. I wanted to give myself a moment to breathe and hide from everyone’s stares, especially because Lucien wasn’t in school due to a business trip.
She stared at me with a winning smirk, her hands folded on her midsection. I looked at her uniform, taking in the slight change of colour in the fabric. I smirked internally at the sight.
She was no longer dressed in the elite uniform, but she wanted to hide it, so she didn’t get the actual print designed for the scholarship students. I noticed her posse was no longer shadowing her every move, too.
They probably abandoned her because of her fallen status. After all, no one wants to get on Lucien’s bad side.
I smiled at her, a new idea propping in my head for the perfect response.