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Chapter 34 - Chapter Thirty Four: Petals turned Thorn

Petals turned Thorn.

Eva's POV

Eva's heart pounded. So this is Seraphina Blake, she thought bitterly.

Seraphina Blake?

The one person she never wanted to see ever again. The name alone had left a bitter taste in her mouth for years.

Eva could not believe her eyes, that was the very same seraphina?

Seraphina Blake was infact her worse enemy.

She didn't often hate people, malice wasn't in her nature. But what Seraphina did to her back then was unforgettable and unforgivable, the memory still fresh, like it was yesterday.

And she could not believe that life in its cruel irony is bringing them all together again, and it's a good thing neither of them recognized her.

Few years ago, back then in Chicago, particularly twelve years ago, Damien had been eighteen, Seraphina fifteen, and Ana was the youngest of them all at only twelve.

Though still a child, Ana had a soft, rounded face and a striking figure. She was unusually tall for her age, with a fuller build and gentle curves that made her appear older than she was. Her features held a natural charm, plump, radiant, and effortlessly captivating. There was an early bloom to her beauty, the kind that drew attention she was too young to fully understand.

Aside from the fact that her beauty bloomed early, she was also quiet intelligent, and that alone had made her a target, especially for the wrong kind of people.

Judging by the number of boys constantly hovering around her, it was clear even then that she stood out, whether she wanted to or not.

Ana had lived in an apartment right next to the Lopez estate, while Seraphina's house stood just across the street. They all attended the same school, though Seraphina and Damien were her seniors and Ana was still in the junior class. Everything had seemed fine between them until the day Ana was promoted.

Thanks to her brilliance, Ana was rapidly promoted through the school levels, until she eventually found herself in Damien's class. That was when her nightmare truly began.

Seraphina was the first to turn on her. She taunted Ana relentlessly, calling her The stupid junior who wanted to be a senior." With a sneer, she warned Ana that she would show her what life among seniors really meant, promising to teach her a lesson so brutal, she would never dream of rising above her place again.

From that day on, Seraphina became her tormentor. She bullied Ana without mercy, beating her up, tearing her books, humiliating her in front of classmates, and constantly pushing her into impossible, painful situations.

There was a time Seraphina had secretly sneaked into Ana's home and overheard a private conversation about her father's job. The very next day, the whole school was buzzing with cruel laughter. Seraphina had spread a rumor that Ana's full name was now "Ana Clarkso, the Clerk's Daughter," mocking that her father was doomed to die a lowly clerk, and that even her name reflected his fate.

But the worst came during a school pool party.

Seraphina had tricked Ana with false kindness, only to humiliate her in the most brutal way, stripping her naked in front of a group of boys. They had all stared and laughed while Ana stood there, trembling and exposed.

It was the day she almost lost her self-esteem.

There were countless other times Seraphina made Ana's life unbearable. She would regularly toss away her lunch in front of everyone, laughing as Ana went hungry. On some days, she even pushed her into the garbage bin, leaving her humiliated and covered in filth.

Seraphina was relentless.

She once spread a ridiculous rumor that Ana had been seen at a tattoo parlor getting inked, something completely out of character for someone like Ana. And worst of all, Seraphina once falsely accused her of stealing. The accusation led to Ana being arrested and dragged to the police station like a common criminal.

It was her father who had rushed over, devastated and ashamed, to bail her out.

She had secretly followed Ana to the supermarket, and when no one was watching, she slipped an expensive item into Ana's backpack. Then, pretending to be a concerned shopper, she went to report to the security, claiming she saw Ana stealing.

The guards stopped Ana, and after much public embarrassment, they searched her bag and found the item. Without hesitation, she was arrested on the spot.

Ana could have been locked up, maybe even sent to juvenile detention, if not for her father. Determined to prove her innocence, he returned to the supermarket and demanded the security footage. When they reviewed it, the truth came out; it was Seraphina who had planted the item.

The scandal rocked the town, but the Blake family denied everything, claiming the girl in the footage wasn't Seraphina, even though the evidence was painfully clear. Before the matter could escalate, they used their influence and money to bury the case and silence the gossip.

Seraphina had made Ana's life so unbearable that, at times, she genuinely wished she could disappear. One horrible day, Seraphina accused her of trying to steal Damian's attention. As punishment, she ordered her friends to teach Ana a lesson, what followed was a brutal beating so savage Ana thought she wouldn't survive.

Bloodied and barely conscious, Ana was rushed to the hospital, ironically by the same girls who had attacked her. They lied to the school, claiming they had found her being beaten up by a group of boys and had heroically stepped in to save her.

Ana swallowed the truth, locked it deep within her heart, and chose silence. But the pain never left. Seraphina had made her life a living hell. She wasn't just a bully, she was a monster in disguise.

For years, Ana prayed for justice. She begged God to fight for her, to avenge her suffering. And maybe.. just maybe, that time had finally come.

Because now, she was no longer that scared little Ana they all knew.

She was now Eva, stronger, smarter, and with a fire in her heart that couldn't be extinguished.

And this time, she would have her revenge.

She swore it with every pain she could remember.

Ana had spent years pleading with God for justice, for someone to help fight Seraphina on her behalf. And for a long time she felt God was very unfair to her by letting Serafina gets away with that injustice.

But not anymore, because maybe.. just maybe, this time, God had finally heard her.

Ana was certain, she was no longer the frightened, powerless junior they once knew.

It was even better now especially seeing that none of them recognized her.

Damien might not have lift a finger or did anything bad to her in the past, but he was also there, he saw how she was being bullied and humiliated and he did nothing about it. He would just look away as if it was none of it his business.

Well, maybe life gave her the opportunity to dish it back to him with the issue of the stolen codes, but why does she still felt hurt every time she remembered what they all did to her? Why does she still feel like hitting Damien strongly on the chest for watching her suffer like that without doing anything to help her.

And seraphina had made her feel so bad back then she thought of suicide,

Well, it hurts even deeply now that she was thinking about it, especially with Damien. She still wondered why it was Damien's part that hurt the most, after all he did nothing to her, except he never helped her,

Perhaps it was because of her little feelings for him back then, actually she use to secretly like Damien, he was the son of the most powerful people around, he was handsome and even brilliant, life was very much soft from his end, he had everything he wants on a platter of gold.

But from her own end, it wasn't entirely so, her father was just a receptionist trying to get by, and her mom was constantly in and out of the hospital, they were a struggling family, and they had the opportunity of living in a rich neighborhood and attending rich kids school only because of the boss her father was working for back then, he had given them one of his houses to stay and had even paid Ana's school fees.

How could an ordinary girl such as her ever be compared to a person of Damian's caliber? So she thought,

So she kept her feelings to herself, until one certain time she had seen seraphina in his house sharing his candy with him, and she swore she wants nothing to do with him as well,

How could he be sharing candy with her worse enemy? Then she wants nothing to do with either of them.

After she promised that to herself, she was surprised that Damien had approached her the next day to ask her for a date, and Ana had felt it was another scheme from Seraphina, since they were both friends, so she turned him down, and she was glad she did, especially when his true colors eventually came out.

He later showed just how wicked he could be, and just thinking about it alone makes her blood boils.

As for that witch Seraphina, she would see, She definitely wouldn't let Seraphina get away with what she did, not anymore. The scars she left behind would no longer be buried in silence.

Eva scoffed at the irony. That monster, Seraphina, was the kind of woman Damien Lopez chose to call his fiancée? How fitting.

Of all the women in the world, he had to chose that one? Maybe they deserved each other, two privileged, cold-hearted souls tangled in vanity and control.

Seraphina had fought long and hard for that title, ever since college. She had really fought tirelessly for that title "future Mrs. Lopez." And now it seemed like she'd finally gotten what she always wanted.

How rewarding.

"We'll see how long that lasts," Eva whispered to herself, fire flashing in her eyes.

Seraphina, on the other hand, remained completely oblivious. She had no idea that the woman standing boldly before her was the same Ana Clarkson she had tormented from way back. But even in her ignorance, she couldn't shake the humiliation she felt, an ordinary employee at her fiancé's company had just looked down on her, dismissed her like she was nothing.

It stung.

Worse, it made her restless, nervous. There had to be something between Damien and that girl. She could feel it in her bones. The way he looked at her. The way he reacted to her.

And then there was what happened earlier.

Damien had allowed her to kiss him. He had even kissed her back, something he hadn't done in years. When she started unbuttoning his shirt and saw no resistance, she had assumed it meant he wanted it too. So she went with the flow, her heart soaring. When he lifted her into his arms and carried her into his private suite, she was convinced, this was it. This was her moment.

He laid her gently on the bed and climbed on top of her, his breath warm against her skin.

But then.. he leaned in and whispered into her ear, his voice colder than ice;

"Continue to be delusional Seraphina, by the time you are done with your illusion I hope you don't end up in an asylum."

"Let this be the first and the last time you use my mom for your stupid game!"

And just like that, Damien stood up, grabbed a pack of cigarettes from his desk, lit one, and took a long drag, completely unfazed.

Seraphina sat frozen on the bed, watching him in disbelief as the smoke curled around him like a dark veil. He didn't look back. Not even once. After smoking for a while, with his expression unreadable, and cold as stone, he just stood up and walked out, leaving her sitting there, half undressed and fully humiliated.

Her mind raced. Why? Why had he kissed her back? Why carry her to his private room and touch her like that, only to throw words at her like daggers?

Could it be because of her? That girl? Maybe they were a thing. Maybe they were just fighting, and he'd used her, Seraphina, as some twisted form of revenge.

Her chest tightened with anger and confusion. Her thoughts spiraled out of control until she couldn't hold it in anymore. She clutched her head with both hands and let out a frustrated, guttural scream, raw, helpless, and filled with rage.

Her carefully built fantasy was cracking fast, and for the first time, she didn't feel like the queen she thought she was. She felt discarded. Used. And worst of all.. powerless.

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