Chapter 20

wasn’t friendly.

“I think you know the reason why I’ve come here,” he said in a solemn tone.

2 PLANS ARIEL’S POV by are you staring at me like that, huh?” Mason questioned, his tone still snarky along with “Can you please let go of me?” I uttered as he was squeezing my arm, and it hurt like hell.

“Your wish is my command,” he mockingly replied, and he shoved me backwards. I almost fell, but I managed to keep my balance.

Mason moved closer. “I came to tell you a few things. There have been some changes in my plans.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked in a hushed tone.

Still wearing his mordant smirk, he began to walk around me in circles. “As you can see, we’re no longer going with the first plan. I’ve thought about it and realized that I need to go to extremes to succeed in this mission. Well, we need to go extreme.”

“I still don’t understand,” I said, giving him a puzzled look.

He stopped walking in circles. “Here’s the thing. You’re not going to do all that business stuff with Luke anymore. You are going to marry him.”

His words shocked me. “Wait a minute, you want me to marry Luke?”

“Yes, it won’t be too difficult, will it?”

“Look, there’s no way I’m doing that. I’d rather stick to the first plan.”

“Too bad.” He snapped his fingers and calmly said, “It’s already been canceled.” He wrapped his arm around my neck. “We’ll be following the new plan, and you’ll have to marry Luke first POPLAND before we can proceed.”

I removed his hands from me. “Luke is my ex–husband.”

“You think i don’t know that?”

“There’s no way I’m marrying him. Find someone else to help you carry out this silly plan of yours.”

Mason simply chuckled. “You know what I can do, right?”

I glared at him. “Look, why don’t we just stick to the first plan? I’ll bring Luke’s company down before you know it.”

“And we’re still going to bring it down,” Mason admitted. “But if we want to do that, someone will have to be by his side, really close to him.” Mason then looked at me. “And that person is you.”

“Sorry to say this, mister, but I can’t.” I stood firm in my disagreement. “I’d rather die than become Luke’s wife again.”

“Or would you rather let your little babies die?” Mason leaned closer, wearing a malevolent smirk. “Just imagine the headlines: two little children brutally stabbed to death.”

“Don’t you even dare think about it.” My anger intensified.

“Oh, I’m already thinking about it.” He slowly pulled his face back. “And if you refuse to do as I say, I’ll have no other option but to follow through with it.”

“I thought you loved those children.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, sweetheart, I do.” Mason placed his hands on his chest. “But the truth is, I love revenge more than anything else. And you’re going to help me execute my revenge. Refuse to do so, and you’ll find yourself attending your children’s funeral. So, it’s your choice, miss, are you in?”

I didn’t reply; I just continued to glare at him. He knew how much I loved my children, so he had put me in this difficult situation. Why did he have to tell me to marry Luke? Oh gosh, I don’t even know what to do.

“No response yet?” Mason chuckled. “I don’t even understand why you find this situation so challenging. You hate Luke and want to get revenge for the hurtful things he did to you. So do 1.”

“Yes, that’s why we agreed that we would work together to ensure he goes bankrupt.”

“Exactly!” Mason exclaimed. “And that’s precisely what we’re doing here. You’ll get married to him, and then we can proceed with our plan.”

“How?”

“Don’t ask questions,” he replied curtly. “Just do as I say, alright?”

“Why are you so heartless?” I whispered.

“Sorry, but that’s just life,” Mason replied with a shrug. “Being good only brings pain, just like when you were married to that scumbag.” He yawned, stretching his arms. “I need to get. some sleep. We’ll continue this discussion tomorrow.”

He started walking, and when he reached the stairs, he stopped, turned around, and asked, “Is there any room available for me?”

“Yes,” I answered, feeling downcast.

“Care to lead the way?” He smirked, gesturing towards the stairs.

I let out a long sigh and slowly walked in his direction.

This was just life, right? When you plan on doing something really mean and terrible, you’ll just get struck hard. I was the only one who placed myself in this goddamn situation. Revenge, revenge, revenge–just take a look at what that word has brought to me.

Because I became so influential, I thought I had it all. I wanted revenge, so I had to team up with Mason, not knowing about his other intentions. This came as a big blow to me, and it had me shattered in some way.

LUKE’S POV “Good morning, Luke.”

I opened my eyes only to find myself lying on the floor. I had fallen asleep after consuming too much alcohol last night. Riley was sitting nearby. With my eyes half–opened, I sat up as well.

Damn, I couldn’t believe I was really heartbroken last night that I had to take too much alcohol. And I couldn’t believe Harriet would do such a thing. She claimed to love me, didn’t she? She told me countless times that I was the only one in her heart and no one else. So why did she have to do something so disgusting?

Love was a word, and action was another. But when these two unified, it would actually bring tons of electrifying moments, along with a bond that could never be broken. But it was so sad that most people used the word ‘love‘ and failed to interfuse it with action.

“You’re finally awake.” Riley smiled at me.

I looked around, holding my head. I felt quite dizzy. I focused my gaze on Riley. “How long have you been sitting here?”

“It’s been about an hour,” she answered. “No, I think it’s been two hours.”

“So you’ve just been here, watching me sleep?”

“Well, something like that. I was also talking to my friend on the phone.”

“Ohh,” I mumbled quietly. “Did I snore?”

Riley couldn’t help but giggle at my question. “Why are you asking me that?”

“You’re right.” lightly tapped my head. “Why am I even asking you that?”

“Seems like that alcohol is still messing with your brain,” she teased, wiggling her fingers above her head.

I chuckled softly. “You just love making fun of me, don’t you?”

“And when have I ever made fun of you?” She crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow.

“Let’s see,” I pondered, trying hard to recall if she had indeed done that.

“Can’t remember?” She chuckled. “The alcohol is still messing with your brain.” Riley teased me again.

“Someone’s calling,” Riley said, getting up. My phone was ringing, and it was on the bed, so she picked it up and tossed it to me.

Jack was the one calling, and it took a few seconds before I answered the call.

“Good morning, Jack. How can I help you?” I asked, rubbing my eyes and shaking off drowsiness.

Jack replied, “Sir, we have a problem.”

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