Chapter 87

Chapter Eighty Seven

Third Person POV.

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“What is it you want from me, Elena?” Richard asked as he settled back into his seat.

Against his better judgment, he had decided to stay back and listen to what Elena had to say to him, not just because he knew she was crazy enough to throw a plate directly on his head but because he

genuinely wanted to understand why she was so obsessed with him and his life.

It had always been that way since they were children. She would throw insults at him, call him weak,

stupid, slow, and say all sorts of mean things to him, but when he fell ill, she was always there for

him. He couldn’t deny that she had her good side–a side that cared for him and was always there for him. But despite her good side, he still couldn’t be around her. He hated having her anywhere around

him.

She was too honest, too brutal, and too intense for him to deal with. He just hated to be around her

so much that he’d avoid her like a plague, and in situations where they’d have to meet, he wouldn’t

even make eye contact with her, much less speak to her. That was how much Elena scared and annoye

him.

He mentally blamed himself for not walking out as soon as she walked in and for deluding himself into thinking he could finally challenge her insane behavior.

“I want you to snap out of it, Richard. That is what I want,” she answered.

Richard frowned. “Snap out of what?” he asked, but before Elena could respond, Bianca chimed in.

“Is it safe to leave you two to talk like two civilized adults?” she asked.

“I don’t want to leave, Bianca. I want to understand what is going on here and why this… cra…this

woman here had to throw a plate at my husband. Until I understand, I can’t leave.” Amber said, trying

her best to keep her anger at bay.

She was fuming on the inside, wondering who Elena thought she was to try to hurt Richard, but the

only reason she didn’t flare up like she wanted was because Richard seemed rather calm, and she

didn’t want to react just yet until she understood what was going on.

Elena chuckled at Amber’s wo Ad skipped

as she stared at her. “Take her

seat, young lady. I also don’t want you to leave, because you also need to hear this,” she said to

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Chapter Eighty Seven

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Amber. “As for you, Blanca, as long as you don’t say another word to interrupt us, you can stay. It

not, leave.”

Bianca could only nod in understanding, choosing to stay behind and listen to what Elena had in mind

“Now back to you, Richard. You want to know what I want to snap you out of and why I showed up he today despite knowing that you’d hate to see me. Well, the answer is quite simple, little brother,”” Elena started. “What I want is for you to stop living your life in that man’s shadow and ruining yourself in the process. That is what I want.”

Richard’s frown deepened, and he let out a dry laugh, wondering why Elena would think he was living in Kayden’s shadow. “What makes you think I’m living in his shadow, Elena? What is it you’re talking

about?” he asked.

“Oh, don’t act clueless, Richard. You’ve been in Kayden’s Black’s shadow for over twenty years now,

so don’t try to pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about,” Elena replied.

“Let’s start from the beginning, shall we? So first things first, Kayden bullied you, he hurt you

both physically, mentally, and emotionally. And because of this, you’ve spent years hating him and

wanting to get back at him for everything. But did that ever happen? No, it never did,” she

continued.

“You could never get back at him the same way he hurt you, so what did you resort to? You decided to

change your career path based on his career choice, just so you could get back at him by being better

and keeping him behind you. Isn’t that right?” she asked.

Richard couldn’t help the confused look he had on his face, as he couldn’t understand what Elena was

talking about. “You think I chose my career because of Kayden? Where did you get that from?”

“I know you, Richard, and acknowledge it or not, I spent the first few years of my life babysitting you until you left for the States. You wanted to be an artist, and you wanted nothing to do with Dad’s business at all. Am I right, or wrong?” Elena responded.

Bianca folded her arms across her chest when she realized where Elena was going with the things she was saying. And even though she wasn’t a fan of her ethics, Bianca supported Elena to an extent.

“Where are you getting at, Elena? What does it matter what I wanted to do years ago? That doesn’t explain why you think I’m living under that idiot’s shadow. In fact, it makes no sense that you’d think I’m living under his shadow”

“You couldn’t think of a way to get back at Kayden at first, so you decided to take over from Dad

urua nould hwat him nenfassionally but that was never enough for you. It wasn’t annual

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Chapter Eighty Seven

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just so you could beat him professionally, but that was never enough for you. It wasn’t enough because you wanted to destroy him and make him lose everything. So what did you do? You stooped his level and started to play d*rty. I won’t say how d*rty, but you know what you did, Richard,” Elena said. “You enjoy taking things from him, don’t you? You delude yourself into thinking that you make the things you take from him much better, and that also includes people. Which is also where this little lady comes in,” she added, pointing toward Amber.

Amber didn’t react to being pointed at; instead, she was curious to hear the end of what Elena had to say. After all, it involved Richard’s rightful obsession with getting rid of Kayden, but she had a

feeling that Elena had a lot to unpack.

“Leave Amber out of it, Elena. Even if you’re right about the circumstances of our meeting, Amber and I are no longer in that place. She’s important to me, so don’t say anything that’ll offend her, or it would be me throwing something at you this time,” he warned.

Elena rolled her eyes. “Listen, lady, I have nothing against you personally; I really don’t. I can

understand why you’d want to get back at a scumbag like Kayden for what he did to you, but I don’t

think you two should be together,” she said, facing Amber directly.

“And why do you suppose we can’t be together, ma’am? He just said I’m important to him, and so is he to m me, so what’s so wrong with living our lives and getting back at the bastard who hurt us both?”

Amber chimed in.

“Ever heard of a trauma bond, my dear? Do you think you two could have ever gotten to know and ca

for each other if Kayden Black wasn’t a common enemy?” Elena questioned, and although Amber was

little taken aback by her question, she didn’t let it show.

“Does it matter? That doesn’t change the fact that he saved me, ma’am. And it also doesn’t change the

fact that I care about him. So that trauma bond you talk about, whatever it is, I don’t care to

understand it. Richard is now my husband. He’s mine, and that’s all that matters to me,” she

responded.

Elena laughed. “Foolish girl. This is why I don’t think you’re right for my brother. The first step

to healing is to accept that you have a problem, Amber, dear. So if you really want this phase of caring for each other to last, accept that you two are bonding over your shared hatred for Kayden. Once you can accept that, you both will snap out of it and stop letting Kayden’s actions be your driving force.

“If your feelings can remain the same when hating Kayden and getting rid of him isn’t all you two have at the back of your minds, only then can your feelings be real. But for now, you’re both just fooling each other into thinking you can be happy and full of hate at the same time,” Elena said.

Amber sighed. She was speechless.

“Are you telling me to stop hating on the man who not only messed me up but also pushed Giorgia to unalive herself?” Richard questioned.

“There’s a difference between just hating someone and hating them to the point where you make. everything about you revolve around them. You’ve given too much power to Kayden, Richard. And unfortunately for you, you don’t have any power over him. In fact, he sees you as a joke, because he knows that deep down, behind the hate and the facade, you’re still very much afraid of him,” she replied.

“You don’t just hate Kayden, Richard. You’re afraid of him, and a psychopath like Kayden can smell your fear, no matter how hard you try to hide it,” Elena added, and all Ricard could do was shut his eyes.

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