Chapter 52 A Taste Of Her Own Medicine!
Chapter Fifty-Three
Aria stared at Lucian, a warm feeling spreading through her at his words.
Clara jumped at his harsh tone, her knees involuntarily trembling from fear and kneeling so long.
She fell back on her hind, and George quickly stooped low to lift her up.
She staggered against him, her nails digging into his arms, causing George to suck in a huge breath at the pain.
Clara was breathing hard, still with her head down. But she knew she was not supposed to let her anger show, or even prove to them all that she had indeed being trying to manipulate Aria using the crowd.
It would ruin her reputation!
So she swallowed hard, clenched her dress with trembling fingers and looked at Lucian with tear filled eyes.
“I know she can not find it in her heart to forgive us, but we are sincerely sorry,” she uttered, her voice tight with emotion.
She walked towards Aria, limping slightly as though her legs were all swollen from kneeling.
It made Aria almost throw up, “Oh for God’s sake!” She muttered in quiet frustration.
Clara ignored her exclamation and held her hands in between hers, “I’m really sorry, Aria. Forgive me!”
Aria wanted to snap at her right there and then, but Clara’s hands quickly tightened around hers.
“Perhaps you can come over to the Beaumont home tomorrow,” she uttered, “Your father and I would really like to show you how sorry we are.”
Aria scoffed in disbelief, “You want me to come to the Beaumont home tomorrow? The same home that I’ve not been able to step foot in for twenty years?” She asked, her voice laced with scorn, “Suddenly, you and father want me back home. Are you sure you don’t want to poison me?”
The crowd gasped at such scandalous thoughts, but Lucian’s body tensed.
The idea that, that could be what the Beaumont family was planning almost made him go mad.
He glared at Clara and growled at her, “Back off!”
Clara staggered back, shaken to the bones but she was determined to follow through with her plan.
“Aria, how could you think such of us, your parents?” She cried out, clutching her heart in agony, “How could you do this to your mother?”
Aria bristled, “You’re not my mother!” She replied tightly.
Clara didn’t miss a beat, “Your mother entrusted you into my care at her death…”
Aria scoffed, interrupting her, “You call all that you did, taking care of me?! Stop being so delusional, you two faced bitch!”
The crowd gasped once more, their hands flying to their mouths in shock while others held their heart.
Although Clara was boiling from Aria’s insults, she had some sort of satisfaction from the reaction from the crowds.
She just needs to continue manipulating Aria to behave badly, and soon, she would be disliked by the aristocrats, regardless of the fact that she was the Graves family daughter in law.
What she didn’t know, however, was that Aria literally did not care about what the citizens of Crestmont thought.
She knew their opinions were like the tide, going back and forth. They could not be trusted and she did not place the value of her well being on what they thought.
She also knew Clara’s game, and knew she just had to reverse the card back at the scheming woman and the tide would be in her favour.
The scheming woman would be the one to collect all the criticisms and judging looks from the crowd then.
Clara, still playing her part, reached out for Aria’s hand once more, but she pulled back, her gaze icy.
“Don’t touch me.”
“Aria dear, if I wanted to harm you, wouldn’t I have done that since you were younger and alone in the country side?” Clara asked in a small voice, her nose wobbling with tears, playing her part perfectly, “Why would I wait until now and ask for you to come home in front of all this people, only to kill you?”
The crowd hummed in agreement, and Aria scoffed in disbelief.
“Well played, Clara.” She said to the woman in front of her, “You really should have considered being an actress.”
“When you were younger, you were so overcome with grief at your mother’s death that you asked to go to the countryside,” Clara uttered, sounding impossibly convincing, “You wanted to be with your maternal grandmother and refused our help at all.”
Aria had no idea of what Clara was saying was the truth, but judging from the tightening in her chest at those words, she was sure it was all a lie.
Aria Beaumont had definitely not gone to the countryside willingly all those years.
Even if she had, why would she stay with her grandmother all her life?
That means, there was something else chasing her away from the Beaumont family. Something must had made her leave and it was definitely not fried.
A child would want to be with her other parent if one had died, but George had been too busy thinking of his budding romance with Clara while arranging for Isabella’s burial.
He did not seem to remember that he had a daughter at all.
He was that airheaded.
Aria had had enough.
Since Clara wanted to go this route, she might as well give the bitch a taste of her own medicine.
Clara definitely had something in mind if she was so eagerly inviting Aria over to the house.
Aria knew it was not going to be all singing and dancing when she gets to the Beaumont family home. Something was brewing in this scheming woman and the only way to get it done, was to get Aria out of the protection of the Graves family.
In the Beaumont home, it would be easy for Clara to control things around her, and Aria would be at her mercy.
However, Aria scoffed in disgust.
She was not afraid of Clara’s dirty tricks. Infact, she wanted to see what else the old bitch had up her sleeve. It would be easier to finish her off first.
After taking care of Aria Beaumont’s family, she would focus on the bigger one.
Getting back Vaughn Empire.
So she smiled suddenly, a polite little smile.
“Alright, Stepmother. Since you so badly want me at the Beaumont home, I’ll come over, “ she uttered sweetly, “But my husband, Lucian, is coming with me.”