Chapter 36

Clara was a really nice woman, it was nice talking to her. She was a jovial lady who was hired by Sheryl to help us around the house until our stay here.

She looked to be in the thirties with two children and a Handicapped husband. She was the breadwinner of her family, it must be hard living such a life and still hold a warm aura. Tensions of paying bills to children's school fees must have put her through a lot of soul-crying situation. But I salute her boldness to face the world in such a tough environment.

Uninformed about my hard time she succoured me from my life-killing thoughts. I felt like I make good friends with female workers in the kitchen than my level people, they were pretty good to chill for sometime.

"Today's my daughter's birthday," she beamed while cleaning off the last utensil.

"Oh that's nice," I said. "How old is she going to be?"

"Fourteen."

"Oh, she's going to turn fourteen on fourteenth. Nice."

She blinked in bewilderment. "Heaven, today is thirteen not fourteenth."

"No, today is...." I glanced at my phone and it was indeed thirteen.

"I'm sorry, but I have to leave. My kids must be getting ready for school." She quickly grabbed her purse off the island and rushed off from the kitchen. "I'll be back in an hour."

"How?" I whispered to myself, furrowing my brows further.

When you think something's going the wrong concentrate on it and try to find it.

Gamma's voice whispered in my ears, ringing warning bells in my brain. I was damn sure something was missing somewhere.

I opened the calendar on my phone, and the blue circle was around thirteen November not fourteen.

How the hell was this possible.

I clearly remember going on the date with Lucas on ninth then all the shit happened, I got to know about Lucas and fainted at the café and then there was news spreading around when I found myself in this cottage. And according to me on twelfth, he revealed he was a demon behind that easy smile and fainted again due to a panic attack. Then on the thirteenth, I rejected him, so it should be fourteenth today.

I ran a hand through my open short black hair, frustration as I stared continuously on the dates, trying to solve it.

Those words of Gamma Mason inched at me whenever I failed to find an opening to the enclosed mountain around me.

My breath began shallow and a bit panicked when I re-read the dates and it somehow ended up on fourteenth in my case, but why the hell the circle was on thirteenth. Even when I searched on Google it showed the same date which wasn't fitting to me.

I huffed, throwing the phone aside. I lolled on the sack softly massaging my forehead.

***

I gently closed the wooden door behind me, it was night time and sleep refused to knock my eyes like last night. It was freezing in the house and the cold jacket did less to protect my body warmth.

I paced back and forth in the empty corridor, the date issue was invading my thoughts and when tried to occupy on something else my mind went automatically to Alpha Lucas' cruel impartation.

I was practically roaming everywhere in the house, keeping my steps light so others won't have a problem, but when I tried to turn back I heard sounds of laughter. It was Ava, she was laughing to her heart's content and I tip-toed cautiously towards the source.

There was a slight gap between the doors and the lights were oozing out of it from the gap. I heard voices of their talking, Sheryl and Ava. From a distance I tried to see in the room, I could make out Ava continuing the joy with a drink bottle in her hands, followed by Sheryl's laugh, Michael... I couldn't see his face, but long legs were visible.

"She's so dumb." I heard Ava howl in laughter again.

I got close to the room a bit, goosebumps rising on my arm as I felt cold prick my skin harshly.

Dumb? Who is she calling me dumb?

"Calm down, you'll wake her up." Sheryl chuckled, she seemed drunk too.

My eyes tugged up to the small gap, they were talking about me, they were calling me dumb. My senses heightened and my brain all of a sudden concentrated on them. What was happening?

"You guys should've looked at her swollen face," she stopped laughing for a bit. "Oh aunt, how did you manage to do all of that?"

"I just used the situation to my accord."

"How?" Michael asked, his voice serious unlike Ava's.

"After you guys went to fight him, I brought her here and manipulated her brain with fake news articles," she said, not at all bothered by it.

Fake news?

What did she mean by that?

"And created as if she met him near the location he promised to meet and used the opportunity to mess with it, made it as if he revealed his plans to him, the panic attack and the hospital, I used my powers on her," she admitted. "It was all my creation and that poor man has no idea about it. I pity her."

I slapped my mouth with my palm, shock and surprise that they had played with me and my emotions. They showed me the fake proofs just to mess with Lucas, that means Lucas never considered it as a key to his power?

"You are a genius, aunt." I saw a glimpse of Ava giving thumbs up to Sheryl. "Your witch powers are amazing. The recording, fake articles and the fake meeting. I love you so much, you made this all so easy for us. Dad and uncle can rest in peace once he dies."

My back hit the wooden rectangular-shaped pillar, breaths came unevenly as I clutching my chest.

Betrayal, regret, guilt, self-loathe and anger, all attacked me like a world war as I moved away from it.

Sheryl was a witch.

She created everything and made Lucas look bad.

She broke my heart.

Lucas was innocent.

And this was all my fault, I didn't trust him and made all of them get to him through me, they just used me as their pawn and they succeeded. They freaking succeeded.

I never saw Lucas during the first confrontation, she used her powers when I was sleeping and made it all look real. Lucas was never a bad-minded person and actually, truly loved me. And I made a fool out of myself.

I ran towards Ava's study, I needed to search proof for her wrongdoings, I was going to strip her out of her title, and the revenge of messing with my pack.

I broke so many hearts because of them, mainly I broke his heart instead of listening to him. This was all my fault. I was a half-witted girl to show my back to my loved one and support the villains so blindly.

I was mostly hurt by Sheryl, she was like a mother to me then and now, but all of this was a revenge obsessed lie, she never considered me her child, not then and not now.

They were going to pay for this, especially, Sheryl.