âGot a thing for me?â Elgin pressed, âAfter that one night, in all these days weâve been together, did
your heart ever boat for me?â
She stayed silent.
âIf you
donât answer, Iâll take it as a yes. Take it as⦠you love me.â
Letitia tugged at the corner of her mouth, squeezing out a smile uglier than tears, âWhatâs the point of
love? You love me and I love you, but does that mean we can be together?â
âI just wanna know your answer.â
If she just said she loved him, then⦠heâd go through hell or high water for her!
Elgin locked his eyes onto her fiercely, âYouâve fallen for me, Letitia. I donât buy that your heartâs made
of tough stone. Youâre trying so hard to protect the kid because you caught feelings for me that night,
didnât you?â
âNo!â
âYes!â Elgin insisted, âYou mightâve never said it, but I can tell, youâve been waiting for the guy from that
night to show up, to whisk you away, to give you hope! Well, Iâm that guy!â
Letitia answered word for word, âI love the man who was ultra tender to me that night. The man who
whispered marriage vows in my ear. A man of his word and a gentleman! Not the Elgin standing before
me now, frightening and selfish!â
Those words were like a knife twisting in Elgin with an already battered heart.
âI hate you, Elgin, Iâve said it more than once, how could you think I love you?â Letitia scoffed, âWhat a
joke! Who would fall for their nemesis who ruined their entire life?â
These words hurt Letitia too. But she wanted to hurt him more, ten times more!
Even though she hurt herself a little, she could make him suffer a lot!
Letitia turned and walked away, her figure disappearing at the stairwell.
She bit her lower lip until it bled to keep from bursting into tears.
Why⦠why did it have to be Elgin that nightâ¦
Fate was such a cruel trickster.
The man she yearned for was Elgin; the man she loathed was also Elgin.
How could there be such a contradictory person in her life?
In the living room, Elgin stood alone under the chandelier, looking utterly isolated.
The one he should love was Letitia.
Heâs been misplaced all along.
But even if he didnât know she was the woman from that night, he had already fallen deeply in love with
her.
Guess that was fate.
Now this love was deeper and stronger than ever!
Elgin knew heâd done a lot wrong, he owed Letitia⦠but the one thing he got right was marrying her.
Thank heavens he married her back then!
if only it wasnât for that childâ¦
in slowly raised his hands, storing at his palms. He had killed his child with his hands.
Could there be a greater regret?
Suddenly, Elgin bent over and spewed out a mouthful of blood, splattering red dots on the carpet.
Fury overwhelmed his heart.
He was in real painâ¦.
The butler walked in at that moment and was shocked, âMr. Ramirez!â
Elgin waved him off, wiping the blood from his mouth, acting like it was nothing.
âShould I call the family doctor? Or go to the hospital?â
âNo need. Have someone clean this up,â Elgin said with a stern face. âHowâs Shela?â
âLying there, silent.â
He turned to leave Ivory Towers.
At the bottom of the stairs, Shela lay bloodied and motionless, but upon closer inspection, she was still
breathing.
Elgin walked up to her.
The more he hated himself, the more he hated Shela!
This woman ruined everything!
âMrâ¦. Mr. Ramirezâ¦â Shela slowly lifted her head, âSpare me⦠I, I really know⦠I was wrongâ¦â
âCanât take it anymore?â
âI was wrong, I shouldnât have⦠shouldnât have replaced Letitia, lied to you, and kept you in the darkâ¦â
Elginâs eyes were cold as ice, âShela, this is just the beginning!â
There was a whole lot of torture waiting for her!
He wanted Shela to beg for death and not be granted it!
âI⦠I was blinded,â Shela said weakly, âI was temporarily blinded, so I replaced Letitia, I was wrongâ¦
Mr. Ramirez, please show mercy, Iâll leave AquaCity and never bother you again!â
âWishful thinking.â Elgin coldly replied, âSince youâre so desperate for a man, I can grant you that!â
Shela was dumbfounded. This⦠this was utter humiliation!
âYou and your father, enjoy the game,â Elgin curled his lips into a bloodthirsty smile. âTake her away!
Sheâs all yours!â
âYes, Mr. Ramirez.â The bodyguard complied.
âNo, help me.â
Shelaâs screams echoed through the night.
Elgin stood still, a pool of blood at his feet. His silhouette was as proud and lonely as ever, cruel, and
bloodthirsty.
Heâd snapped Markâs tendons and thrown him into the psych ward to let patients take their revenge.
Heâd beaten Shela bloody and handed her over to men for their pleasure.
How ruthless his heart was!
Up on the second-floor balcony, Letitia watched the scene unfold in quiet contemplation.
She knew all too well the taste of Elginâs tricks, which was no walk in the park.
The only reason sheâd made it this far unscathed was because, at first, Elgin wanted to play cat-and
mouse to break her down bit by bit.
Then she manied the guy. Elgin needed a puppet Mrs. Ramirez, which is probably the only reason he
didnât totally wreck her.
And now⦠he said he loved her.
Hah, love from the devil. How deep and true can that really be?
Letitia figured, if Elgin could go all out on Shela today, wouldnât he give her the same cold shoulder
tomorrow?