Chapter 56 Framed.
Fifty-Seven
Tori’s smile froze at those words and she blinked at Lucian in surprise.
Lucian was staring at her, with eyes as cold as the arctic, his brows drawn with irritation at being disturbed.
Tori had not expected such an hostile response and she was immediately unnerved.
She swallowed hard, and decided to try again. She smiled and tucked strands of hair behind her ears bashfully once more, then bent to pick up the glass of orange juice.
“Mr Graves,” she uttered as she walked towards where Lucian stood, watching her coldly, “I brought this for you. This should refresh you this hot afternoon.”
She stretched the glass out towards him and Lucian glanced at it coldly then back up at her.
“Take it back,” he uttered dismissively as he sat on the bed, “I don’t need that right now.”
Tori gritted her teeth, her fingers tightening around the glass she was holding.
This was becoming harder than she’d thought. Why was Lucian Graves so dismissive towards her? Wasn’t she beautiful, smart and attractive enough? Surely, he found her to be even better than Aria Beaumont?
“Do not worry, Tori.” She thought to herself, “If things seem hard, you try and try again, until you achieve your aim.”
She took a deep breath and decided to try again.
“Mr Graves, it’s just orange juice,” she uttered smiling sweetly, while drawing close to the bed, “Surely you don’t think it’s poisoned or something? I was hoping I would keep you company here until Aria returns.”
“Get out!”
Tori jerked at that cold order, but the next second her mouth tightened in a defiant line and she sat on the bed.
“Mr Graves, don’t be like this. You know what it is I want, and truthfully, it’s want you want too, right?” She uttered, placing a delicate hand on his, “Aria Beaumont will never be the woman for you. But I…I am a perfect match, don’t you think?”
Lucian stared once at the hand which was slowly caressing his and bile rose in his throat. His stomach flipped and his germophobia erupted.
He flung her hand away from his with force, making her shriek in terror as she almost tumbled from the bed.
“I said, Get out!”
“Mr Graves!” Tori squealed, her chest heaving while angry tears filled her eyes at being rejected.
Why on earth was he rejecting her?
“You…you are rejecting me?” Tori could not help but ask, her eyes wild with disbelief, “you’re rejecting me, Tori Sanders?! Are you perhaps, really in love with that country bumpkin, Aria Beaumont?!”
Lucian’s face was as hard as granite as he stared at her, “Disrespect my wife again, and I’ll make sure you don’t leave here with your complete limbs.”
Tori could not believe what she was hearing.
The great and mighty Lucian Graves, whom she’d pined after for years, was actually rejecting her because of a woman who was below her status.
This was not what Tori had been expecting and it was a huge blow to her pride, nearly rendering her to her knees with shock.
She had made sure she refined herself, doing everything so she could be perfect for him even though they had never met, but he was rejecting her?
She clenched her fists tightly by her side, glaring at Lucian with a burning desire mixed with hatred.
“Even if you’re in love with that country bumpkin, I will still not let her have you peacefully,” she muttered through gritted teeth, while Lucian only stared at her in irritation and disgust.
“Lucian Graves, you’ve stolen my heart and now, you want to shatter it to pieces? Never!” She said in a trembling voice, pointing at Lucian, “You’ve brought this on yourself. Don’t blame me for what happens next! I can’t let you go!”
Lucian stared at her with increasing irritation.
What the hell was wrong with these people?
The fact that Aria was from a family like this, surrounded by people who schemed their way through everything, saddened him greatly.
He narrowed his eyes at the girl before him, “I said, Get the hell out of here!”
Tori let out a shuddering breath.
The next instant, she grabbed the glass of orange juice and smashed it on the ground.
The glass shattered, spilling orange liquid everywhere, with bits and pieces of glass tearing at her skin.
She grabbed the hem of her dress and a tearing sound resounded through the air. She did the same for the neckline of her dress, revealing her bosom.
She glared at Lucian, who was still watching her with calm disgust. The next instant, she slapped her face hard, leaving a red imprint on her cheeks.
“Arghh! Mr Graves, why are you doing this to me?! Please stop, don’t do this!” She threw herself to the floor and started screaming hysterically.
Tears streamed down her face, as she huddled by the bed, hugging herself in terror.
“Why did you do that to me?! Please stop!” She screamed, while all the while glaring at Lucian with a malicious gleam in her tear filled eyes.
Lucian remained where he was on the bed, his face contorted in calm disgust.
“Trying to frame me now, are you?” He thought, shaking his head in obvious disbelief and irritation, “How crude.”
Immediately, the door opened and Clara barged in, followed immediately by Selena, who had a cell phone posed for recording in her hands.
“Mr Graves, what are you doing?! This is unacceptable! How could you assault Tori?!” Clara yelled in anger as she rushed inside the room.
She ran to lift Tori up from the floor, pointing in fury at Lucian, “You will pay dearly for this, Lucian Graves! I will make sure of it!”
Selena pointed the camera directly in Lucian’s face, “Look here, Mr Graves, I’ve got everything on camera,” she uttered with a cruel smile, “You can’t worm your way out of this! If you ever try to, I will make sure I ruin you!”