Shut Up

Shut Up


Nova held on to Lucas' body as she cried.

Lucas stared at Ella and then back at Nova, "What is it, Nova? Why do you keep crying?" He asked.

Nova looked up at Ella and asked, "Why? Why did you do this to me, Ella?"

Lucas stared at Ella in surprise, "What's going on here? What is she talking about, Ella?"

Nova said, "Dad, I told you about Aiden, isn't it?"

"Yes, you said he's your boyfriend. You guys have been going out and you were very happy about it," Lucas replied.

Nova nodded, "Everything was all planned by Ella. She sent Aiden into my life, she sent him to pretend to be my boyfriend all because she wants to beat me in school, just for the sake of bigger grades. She sent Aiden to my life so he can destabilize me."

"What?" Lucas looked at Ella who was shaking her head and said, "Ella? That's not possible."

"But she did, Dad." Nova cried. "Do you remember the girl I used to refer to as my archenemy? Well, she's the one standing right in front of you. I'm pretty sure she's..... Oh my God! She's the one you are seeing. She came into your life as well?

She must have come into your life to steal you from me and make sure I have no one to turn to. Ella, all this just to be the best in school? How could you be so cruel?"

Ella shook her head, "No... no, it's not true. No, it's not true. I did no such thing."

Lucas said, "Hold on, Nova, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"I'm not mistaken, Dad. What are you saying? Are you doubting me? Do you know what happened? Aiden himself confessed.

He confessed that he's in love with Ella, that despite knowing that he loves her, she sent him to me just to break my heart."

"What?" Lucas asked.

Ella said, "No! Aiden is not in love with me."

"Shut up!" Nova screamed. "Stop denying, Ella. Of course, if he were in his right mind, he would never have said it. He had so much to drink, and he began to cry, 'Ella, Why did you send me to Nova when you know that you're the one I love?'

You sent Aiden, knowing how much he meant to me, knowing about my feelings for him. You sent him to me to trick me, isn't it?

Perhaps the plan was to break my heart when it was closer to our final exams so you will come out as the best student, and by that time, my dad would be too besotted with you that he won't even care to look at me. I will have no one to turn to, and as such, I will end up with bad grades. Was that not your plan?"

"No..." Ella cried, "No, I can't do such a thing. Lucas, I didn't do it."

Lucas said, "Hold on, Ella. First of all, why didn't you tell me that you and Nova were enemies back then? You told me you both have a good relationship."

"Yes, in the past, we were enemies," Ella replied. "But I tried to resolve our issues. I tried to be her friend after I came to..."

"Shut up," Nova said. "Stop telling lies. How did you try to be my friend? That's a lie, Dad. She sent Aiden to me. He told me all sorts of lies just to get me to fall into their trap."

Tears began to fall from Ella's eyes, as she said, "It's not true. Aiden doesn't love me. Aiden and I have just been best friends for years. No, how can Aiden love me? It's not possible. If Aiden loves me, he would have told me."

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, Ella," Lucas said. "Please be honest. Did you send Aiden to Nova?"

Ella nodded, "Yes, I did, but it wasn't to date her."

"Hold on," Lucas said, "Were you aware of my daughter's feelings for Aiden?"

"Yes, I was aware," Ella replied.

"You were aware of Nova's feelings for Aiden, and you sent him to her to trick her?" Lucas asked.

"No, no, I didn't do that, Lucas. I would never do that," Ella replied.

Nova shook her head. "Dad, I can't believe she is even lying to our faces. I can't take this."

She ran into her room in tears while Ella moved closer to Lucas and said, "Lucas, I swear to you, please listen to me. I didn't do it. Yes, I'm guilty of trying to be friends with Nova. That was all I tried to do.

Please, the only reason why I sent Aiden was that if I had gone to her, she wouldn't have spoken to me. I sent Aiden because she did not hate him. I just wanted him to be the bridge to connect the both of us."

"Stop!" Lucas said. "Stop, Ella. You know what? This was a mistake."

"Please, don't say that, Lucas." Ella cried. Please, don't say that."

"Calm down," Lucas replied. "Listen, what do you want me to do? Look at my daughter. Look at what you've done to her, Ella. You know how it feels to be in love with someone, so how could you do that to her?"

Ella shook her head. "I'm sorry, Lucas, I never meant to hurt Nova, I swear. I had no idea that Aiden had feelings for me."

Lucas said, "In any case, I can't do this anymore. My daughter needs me, so I think you should just go. I'm sorry, but I don't think there's a future for the both of us."

Ella shook her head, "No, Lucas. You're only saying that now because you're upset. You don't mean that."

"Just go, Ella," Lucas said.

"Please, Lucas, I'm sorry," Ella begged.

"Just go," Lucas repeated and walked away. He went into his house and closed the door while Ella stood there, staring at his door.

She stood for a long time shivering as her body felt feverish. After a while, she decided to go into Lucas's bedroom and convince him, but when she got to his door, she stopped.

She turned and slowly began to walk out of the house. As she got outside, she saw that it was raining heavily and stopped moving.

Her phone began to ring and when she looked at her screen, she saw that her mum was the one calling. She wiped the tears from her eyes, ran into the rain, and went to where her car was parked.

She got into the car and began driving home. As she drove, she kept recalling what Lucas had said and her hands kept shaking, as she cried.

When she got home, she got out of her car and walked into the house. Her body was already soaked from the rain and as she walked slowly, she felt as though her world had come to an end.

When she got into the house, her parents, who had been waiting for her, quickly ran to her side.

"What happened, Ella? We've been so worried. Why did you get soaked? I told you to take an umbrella," her mum said.

Ella threw herself into her Mom's arms and began to cry.

"Why are you crying?" Isabella asked.

Angelo quickly went to Ella and led her to her room. He waited outside while Isabella helped her take off her clothes and change into dry clothes, but Ella could not stop crying.

"What happened?" Isabella kept asking, but Ella kept quiet.

Angelo finally came into the room, and so did Cameron.

They all stared at Ella as she lay on her bed crying. Angelo took her hand in his and said, "What happened, Princess? Tell me. Tell your father what happened. If you do not speak, how are we supposed to help?"

However, she still did not say a word.

Angelo got up and left the room. He took out his phone and called someone. When the call was answered, he said, "Hi, it's been a while. I need you to do something for me. My daughter has been seeing someone recently.

I want you to find out who it is and what they've been up to. I need that information as soon as possible. Okay, thank you."

After making the call, he went back to the room and stared at Ella. She was whimpering at this point, and her body was curled into a ball while her hand clutched her tummy.

Her face was streaked with tears, and she wouldn't speak to anyone. Eventually, Isabella said, "I think she wants to be alone. I'll be back later when you are able to talk, Princess. Remember, talking helps with whatever pain you may be going through."

After speaking, Isabella walked out. Her eyes were also red as she wiped away her tears.

"What happened? Why are you crying?" Angelo asked.

Isabella shook her head. "It's just that seeing Ella in so much pain hurts me... I think she got her heart broken."

"How can you tell?" Angelo asked.

"Because I cried the same way so many years ago. I understand the feeling of having a broken heart."

"I'll not spare him," Angelo said.

"Hold on first. Even if you find out who he is, let us hear what happened from Ella before you take any steps. I know you're also hurt by this, but let's not make any rash decisions."

Angelo turned and angrily walked into his room.

Lucas stayed in his room, thinking about what to do. After a while, he recalled that Nova was in her room crying and ran out to go and meet her.

However, when he got to the room, he was surprised to see that she wasn't there. He checked the bathroom, but she wasn't there either. He checked all around the house and still could not find her. He became worried and wanted to go out, but since it was raining, he went into his bedroom and took out an umbrella.

When he came out of the house, he was surprised to see her sitting on a bench closer to the gate. She was under the rain, drenched, and crying.

He quickly ran to her and covered the umbrella over her head. When the rain stopped pelting her body, Nova looked up and said, "Dad....

"I understand. Let's go in, okay?" Lucas said.

He helped her up from the bench. She shivered as he held her and took her back to her room.

"Take off your clothes and change into better ones," he said. He picked out some thick clothes from the wardrobe and kept them on the bed. "I'll be waiting outside. Once you're dressed, I'll be back."

She nodded and said, "Thank you, Dad."

Lucas waited outside while she quickly took off her wet clothes and put on the dry ones he had picked for her.

After changing, she lay on the bed and said, "Dad, you can come in now."

He sat by her bedside and said, "I'm so sorry, darling. How could Aiden do this to you? That boy... I'm going to deal with him. I disapproved of him from the start and I wish..."

"Don't worry, Dad," she said. "It's not Aiden's fault. Perhaps he couldn't say no to Ella."

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked.

"Well, aren't we all in love? Doing foolish things for love? I love Aiden, Dad. If I wasn't so blind, I would have seen that he wasn't so into me. I guess I failed to read the signs.

Aiden also loved Ella and was willing to do anything for her. All these years, I've always seen them together, and he was always doing everything to make her happy. I thought they were best friends since that was what they made everyone believe.

Also, you loved Ella and wanted to introduce her to me. It's not your fault, Dad, so don't beat yourself up. I also made mistakes. I should have been wiser. I should have known. Ella has always been my enemy. She has always seen me as her rival. How could she change overnight? I was too desperate."

"Don't say that," Lucas replied. "You're not desperate, my dear. You only loved the wrong person. It's a good thing you found out about this early enough, but I don't know why it's hard for me to believe that Ella really did this."

"What? Do you trust her over me?"

"No, no," Lucas said. "I trust you completely. But Ella...I could feel her love for me. Ella genuinely loves me, and I know that for a fact.

I'm not a child, Nova. I know that she loves me, but I do not understand what went wrong. Something must have gone wrong somewhere."