Chapter 89 Vicious Man

Chapter 89 Vicious Man
Ariadne tucked Alex into bed. A knock came at the door. She turned around to see Xander standing against it.

"Is he sleeping?" he asked. 

"Yes." she replied, looking at Alex's sleeping face.

The party had ended an hour ago. She insisted that Alex sleep in her room. She had met with him after nearly two weeks. Xander would bring him back to the hospital in the morning. So she wanted to spend the night with him.

"I've something to talk with you." he said.

"Oh. Wait a minute."

She stood up from the bed and adjusted the lights near the bed. She then went to the couches. 

"Please take a seat." she said while sitting on the couch.

Xander approached and sat opposite her.

"What's it?"

Xander cleared his throat.

"We need to gather evidence against Zidane. Can you help us with this?" he asked.

"Sure. What can I do to help you?"

"Tell me everything you know about him. His personal life, all of his businesses, and their locations. And his secret businesses, if you know."

"I only know what other people know. I'm not sure if he has any hidden business. His main office..." 

"Not now." Xander cut her off.

Ariadne frowned in confusion. 

"It's late. You should sleep now. I just let you know in advance. I wanted to see Alex, so I came." he said, looking at the bed.

He had made it a habit to check on the kids before going to bed.

"Oh. I'll tell you tomorrow then. Is that okay?"

"Sure. Think calmly, and tell me whenever you want." 

Ariadne nodded. They fell silent. They both looked around to avoid making eye contact.

"I saw the interview." Ariadne said after a while, her eyes fixed on the floor. 

Xander looked at her.

"I shouldn't have forced you..."

"No... I should've understood you." he said, lowering his head.

Ariadne raised her head to look at him.

"Why didn't you tell me anything?"

Until now, she assumed he had always loved Crystal. He never corrected her.

"I was a fool. I was blinded by arrogance and jealousy. Whenever I saw Mark, I became envious. And that's why I've never distanced myself from Crystal." 

Ariadne was speechless. However, she was now aware of the situation. She understood how and why everything happened.

She too was blinded by rage. When he told her he wanted to focus on his career, she assumed he was avoiding the marriage so he could marry Crystal.

"I'm glad you're trying to be a good father to the kids." she changed the subject, not wanting to think about the past.

It was filled with hurt and misunderstanding. Even though the truth was now in front of them, there was still distance between them. They sat together but were not together. They couldn't hug each other and make their pain go away. There was an invisible wall between them.

"They're my family.. you too. It's my responsibility. I'll do anything for you all. You have no idea how many things I wanted to do for you, our family." he exhaled. "Anyway. How's your hand? 

"It's much better."

He nodded. 

"They wouldn't stay quiet after your interview."

"Yes, I know."

"Was it a good idea to expose him without proof? He will definitely do something now."

"He's using Crystal. He wants to shift the focus away from himself. That's why he was silent." Xander stated.

"I'm afraid of what they will do next." Ariadne said, concerned.

"We're going to handle everything. Don't worry." 

Ariadne nodded with a sigh.

"I should leave now. You need to rest." Xander stood up.

Ariadne followed suit. He walked to the door, then turned to face her.

"Good night."

"Good night," Ariadne replied.

Xander smiled at her before leaving the room.

..........

"Yee... I won." Autumn yelled with joy.

"Wow. Excellent, Autumn." Ariadne commented.

"Uncle Jose has taught me how to win." Autumn declared.

Adrian rolled his eyes. Autumn stuck out her tongue at him. Everyone laughed. Ariadne sat with them while they were playing in the living room. It was two days after William’s birthday. Xander had taken Alex back to the hospital the day before. He didn't want to return, but he needed to. He had to stay for a few weeks before they could bring him home. His therapy would resume at home after that.

Ariadne's phone began to ring. She saw it was a call from Jennifer.

"Hello," she said, smiling as she received the call.

"Aria, have you seen the news?" Jennifer asked. 

Ariadne's face paled at the urgency in Jennifer's voice.

"What news?"

"Crystal and Zidane appeared together in front of the media. Watch it now." 

As the call ended, Ariadne looked at the phone nervously. Her heartbeat quickened. She knew it was something bad, really bad. 

"Keep an eye on them." she told a maid before entering her room and turning on the news channel.

Crystal's face appeared on the screen. She was crying. Ariadne frowned.

"Are you claiming that everything Mr. Blake said in his last interview was a lie?" 

"Yes. Think for yourself. If he had truly loved Ariadne, he never would've associated himself with me... there would be no rumors about our relationship. Right?"

The anchor acknowledged her point with a nod.

"Mr. William Blake did indeed want Ariadne to marry Xander. But his mother wanted me to be the Blakes' daughter-in-law. Xander also wanted me. That's why Ariadne felt insecure about me. Mr. William Blake threatened to deprive him of the property, so he married her. Thus, he picked his career over me." she stopped and used a handkerchief to wipe her eyes.

"I never imagined he would try to defame me like this. I've kept his dark secrets from the world. And in return he blamed me for breaking up his marriage." she stated in a hurtful tone.

"What secret?" the anchor asked, frowning.

Crystal looked at Zidane. He gave her a nod. 

"Stop hiding anything now. They don't deserve your loyalty." he encouraged her.

"Yes, Miss Miller. The truth should come to light. Tell the public everything. You have our support." the anchor said.

Crystal lowered her face.

"Nobody knows why Xander divorced Ariadne. But I would no longer keep quiet."

"He divorced her when he discovered I was pregnant with his child."

"What?" the anchor was shocked.

"Yes. When I didn't reciprocate his advances, he pursued another option. He got me drunk and forced himself on me."

Ariadne gasped, as did the anchor.

"I got pregnant. My family found out about it. His mother too. He then divorced Ariadne and promised to marry me. But Ariadne pushed me down the stairs and killed my child. She then ran away from the city." 

She burst into tears. "I was devastated after losing my child. He assured me that we would marry and have kids...our own family. I believed him. I stayed with him, but he kept delaying the marriage. For five years, I was kept in the dark. Then Ariadne returned with her kids." 

She paused to drink some water before proceeding. 

"He didn't tell me he already had kids with Ariadne. They kept them hidden, but when the time came, they introduced them to the world and kicked me out of their lives."

The anchor was stunned by the revelation. 

"I've always wanted to marry and start my own family as soon as possible, but he keeps putting it off, saying he's not ready. But, in reality, he already had children and a family. He only used me to satisfy his needs." she concluded.

Everyone fell silent. The anchor looked at Crystal with sympathy. 

"So, everything is clear now." Zidane said.

"He's doing this for his ex-wife. He's trying to impress her by defaming Miss Crystal because he had previously cheated on her. This's his real face." he added. 

"Not only that. He made false accusations against me in the fraud case. He's trying to tarnish my reputation. Just because he's a powerful man doesn't mean he can say anything. Do you still support that man and his ex-wife?"

"This's total chaos. He's such a vicious man." the anchor exclaimed in disbelief.

She turned to the camera.

"So we heard from Miss Crystal Miller and Mr. Zidane Watson. Mr. Xander Blake cheated on his wife then divorced her. He began a relationship with Miss Crystal and eventually betrayed her for his ex-wife. What a cunning man he's. He doesn't have any morals. And Miss Ariadne Miller killed her own sister's child. How cruel!"

Ariadne turned off the television, unable to take it any longer. 

.....

"Their game is over. We have destroyed their reputation. They will never be able to show their faces to the public again. Haha." Crystal stated, leaning into her office chair.

Emma smiled. "Yeah. By the way, what's your relationship with Zidane Watson? You looked good together." 

Crystal smirked as she shifted in her seat. 

"Is there anything going on between you two?" Emma asked with excitement.

"Not yet, but soon we will be the next power couple." she stated confidently.

The office phone started to ring, and Crystal took the call.

"Sent her in." she stated before hanging up the phone.

After a while, Margaret entered the office. She walked directly to the desk, furious.

"You clever woman. You're spreading nonsense about my son. How dare you?"

"Shut up." Crystal yelled, startling her.

"Did you just yelled at me?" Margaret was shocked. Crystal had never been rude to her before.

"Yes. Why are you here?"

"Why am I here? You're making false accusations about my son. How could you be so mean?"

"Because your son has no use to me anymore." Crystal said through gritted teeth while leaning forward.

Margaret was taken aback. "So you were after him for money and power!"

"Haven't you done the same thing? You got pregnant to marry into the Blake family. Don't think we don't know your story." Crystal said sharply.

"Mind your language." Margaret clenched her jaw.

"Oh common. No one respects you. Even after being the Blake family's lady, you're a zero." Crystal stated with an irritated expression.

"So, this's your true face! I went against my own son for you."

"Have you come to lecture us? In five years, you couldn't convince your son to marry my daughter. He had only used her. She had done the right thing." Emma stated. 

Margaret glared at her.

"Soon, no one will respect your son as well. This's the end of the Blakes. Now Get out." Crystal said, pointing to the door.

Margaret glared at the two women before silently leaving the Miller Group. Her head dropped with regret and rage.