Chapter 132

Emily

After calming my beating heart down as best as I can, I slowly emerged from the hallway and inched my way towards the dessert table just to the side of the event. The rest of the room has seemingly forgot about me, enjoying playing a bunch of baby games while I seek refuge near the desert table.

I look down at the broad array of desserts, my mouth slightly salivating as I reach out for a simple looking brownie. I buy into it, the decadent flavors of chocolate and sea salt, making an exemplary combination for my taste buds. I have to tell myself to not eat the entire plate, to not scarf down all of food that is laid out in front of me. It is just away for me to handle all of the attention that is on me.

I grab a plate and load it up with a bunch of different desserts — lemon, squares, brownies, a cookie, strawberries, and other berries — and turn around to look back at the room just to see Chloe standing in front of me. I slowly chew on the food in my mouth, unsure what it is that my stepsister could say to me in this moment. The plate of food suddenly feels heavy in my hands, and I set it down, swallowing the last bit of food before opening my mouth to speak.

“Chloe? Is everything okay?” I ask with the hope that she will say yes, that she is not here to yell or scream at me, to be me for all of the things that she has done to herself.

It is a lost cause, though, because I know that she is incapable of feeling any type of emotion of empathy or sympathy towards somebody who is not herself. Maybe it would be better for her if I placed a mirror in front of my face, maybe then she would actually give me a heartfelt apology without having to look at me. It is wishful thinking, truly.

“I hate you,” Chloe begins. It's a strong start. “I hate you and everything that you have. This should be my life, not yours. You should be stuck with Michael and I should be with Logan. It should be me having his child, not you.”

“yeah, well, you did cheat on him with my fiancé,” I can't help but let my comment slipped through my lips, my impatience swearing incredibly thin in this moment, “you don't deserve Logan. You never did. You're just angry that him, and I found each other.”

“I hate you because you have taken everything for me. You have stolen in my life right out from under my feet and I am here to take it back,” Chloe speaks with such venom and hatred in her voice. It makes my skin crawl.

The one detail of our encounter, though, is the fact that her eyes have never left my stomach. Her gaze has remained focused and fixated on my baby bump, my hands instinctively moving to protect it from her. I take a step back, feeling the hair on the back of my neck slowly raise at the sight of her sadistic gaze on my body.

“Look,” I breathe out, not wanting to heighten the emotions between us more than they already are, “I know that it sucks. That your life sucks right now. But you have done every single thing to yourself. Actions have consequences and—”

“Oh, shut up,” Chloe rolls her eyes at me. She finally meets my gaze and crosses her arms over her chest, her nails digging into the skin of her forearms. “shut up with that motherly maternal bullshit. You know what you've done, you know what you've taken to me. You have forced me out of the family home and out of the pack and I am here to reclaim my spot.”

“They kicked you out of the pack? I didn't know that,” I murmur to myself. “You probably deserved it. That stunt you and Reid pulled on Logan and I was absurd. Pathetic, even.”

“Just shut the fuck up already! I hate you!” Chloe raises her voice as well as her hand.

I watch your hand and slowly come to accept my fate, knowing that no matter what I do or say, I am bound to be slept in this moment. It will only work out in my favor with Chloe being labeled as a girl who beats pregnant woman. Very mature of her, I must say.

Before her hand can come down and connect with my face, it is caught by her mother, who wears a collected smile on her face as she looks at me. I narrow my eyes at her and keep my hands over my baby bump, protecting my unborn child from their antics.

“Chloe,” her mother says in a calm voice, finally turning her gaze off of me to look at her daughter, “we do not hit pregnant woman. We are above that, our family is above that.”

“You would think that it's just basic common decency,” I mumble to myself. “You don't hit pregnant woman, and yet you can't spare the same decency for the dead? Where is the respect for those who have already gone? Especially those who are mothers? You would understand what that is like, right”

“Emily,” Hannah finally turns to look at me. She folds her hands in front of her stomach and looks down at me like an evil stepmother would. “What could you possibly mean by that? I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“You know damn well what I'm talking about,” I speak in a low and hushed voice. My hands tremble on my stomach, and I take a step away from them, the back of my legs connecting with the dessert table. “You destroyed my mother's memory. I would honestly rather you hit me right here, right now, if we could go back in time and save her house that you burned down.”

“Oh, my love,” Hannah lets out a cruel chuckle, “you know that I would burn the house and hit you if I had the chance.”

“Ah, right,” I slowly nod my head as she speaks, unable to contain the strained chuckle that leaves my lips, “you are willing to do both things. Just not in public when there are journalists here as well as photographer as I can catch it on video. You were lucky to stop Chloe before it happened.”

“Watch your mouth,” my stepmother warns me, glaring daggers down at me.

“Watch yours,” I counter, complete and utter discussed written across my facial expression. “you are a cruel and vile woman. You are greedy and low. Everyone here knows that you were crooked and are evil. I know what you did to Jack, I know that you have kicked your own daughter out of the house and out of the pack, I know that you are the one who purposely burned down my mother's house because you were holding the lighter in your hand.”

I slowly step towards her, allowing my anger to get the best of me. But it is not really the best of me, but allowing myself to finally stand up for what is right, as well as my mother's honor and legacy.

“I'm going to take you down. I'm going to ruin every single thing that is good inside of your life. I'm going to burn it and rip it to shreds. It is going to start with your daughter then my father and I will save you for last, do you understand me? I'm going to destroy you once and for all.”