Chapter 10 Apologize
“Audrey!”
Violet hurried over and helped Audrey up. “Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?”
Audrey gently moved her left wrist, wincing as a sharp pain shot through it.
When she fell, she tried to catch herself with her hands, but it all happened so fast that she couldn’t, ending up twisting her wrist.
“I’m okay,” she assured Violet with a quick look before turning her gaze to Theodore, who stood a few feet away with his back to them.
At that moment, Theodore turned around, having checked that Ava was fine. His eyes met Audrey’s as Violet helped her up. A memory flashed in his mind–Audrey that morning, dropping hot soup and crouching to pick up the broken pieces. His expression darkened.
They hadn’t spoken since their argument that morning, a full week ago.
To be exact, he had blocked her messages and only saw them today after getting back from his trip. Each one was a relentless question about when he’d return, all focused on the word “divorce,” like she was dead set on it.
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He thought, “If I didn’t know how hard Audrey worked to become Mrs. Ainsworth, I might have actually believed she was serious about the divorce. A divorce? She’s just trying to scare me. There’s no way she’d ever give up the luxury that comes with being Mrs. Ainsworth!”
Just then, Grace stormed over, her face twisted in anger, hand raised, ready to slap Violet.
“Violet! You little brat! How dare you touch me!”
But the slap never came.
Audrey stepped in front of Violet, grabbing Grace’s wrist with a firm grip.
“Audrey! How dare you stop me! Let go!” Grace fumed, her eyes. blazing with anger as if she wanted to tear Audrey apart.
Audrey stood her ground and didn’t let go..
Audrey knew just how much strength to use to keep Grace at bay, and the more Grace struggled, the more she realized she was only hurting herself.
Frustrated, Grace yelled, “Are you deaf? I said let go! Or I’ll hit you too!”
“Grace!”
Theodore’s voice sliced through the tension, sharp and
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commanding. He turned to Ava, noticing the red mark on her cheek, and his expression darkened. “I’ll have Maxwell take you to get that checked out.”
Ava shook her head, insisting,
it doesn’t hurt.”
But the tears in her eyes and the forced smile on her face made. her words seem hollow.
“How can it not hurt? That slap was loud enough to wake the dead! Ava, you’re too nice; that’s why these two think they can push you around!” Grace interjected, glaring at Audrey.
“Grace, where’s your manners?” Theodore shot back, his gaze flicking to Audrey before settling on Grace.
Grace didn’t see her behavior as wrong; instead, she retorted, “Theodore! Are you really defending her?! You saw Ava get hit! Are you going to let her take that slap and walk away without saying anything?”
At that, Ava instinctively looked up to scrutinize Theodore.
Theodore’s gaze was icy, his normally calm eyes revealing nothing, making him even more unreadable.
Ava took a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking up, “Grace, don’t say that. They didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”
Her voice was soft and gentle, contrasting sharply with the angry red mark on her cheek, making her seem both. understanding and pitiable.
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She glanced at Theodore, hesitating before adding, “It seems like Audrey might have some misunderstanding about me…”
Theodore remained silent, his expression unreadable.
Grace, however, couldn’t hold back her outrage. “What do you mean they didn’t mean it? Ava, you’re still defending them?”
con
“They did this on purpose! Theodore, Audrey is nothing but a bully; she’s just as bad as her dad who’s in prison! Ugh…”
Audrey’s grip tightened suddenly. “Apologize to my dad!”
Grace winced in pain and fury, her chest heaving with indignation. “I wouldn’t even apologize to you, let alone to your pathetic father! You think you can just… Ah! Let go of me!”
“Audrey!” Theodore’s face was stormy as he called out to her.
Audrey shot him a glance, but it lasted only a second before her gaze returned to Grace’s pale face. “Grace, if you want to keep that hand of yours, you better apologize.”
“I won’t… Ah!”
Before she could finish her sentence, Grace felt as if her wrist might snap. “Audrey, you little… ah! Theodore, help me!”
“Let go!” Theodore’s icy glare intensified as he strode forward, gripping Audrey’s wrist to stop her from applying more
pressure.
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Chapter 10 Apologize Audrey turned to him, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears, her voice catching in her throat, trembling a bit. “Theodore, she disrespected my dad! I want her to say sorry!”
His face stayed blank as he replic
lly, “Audrey, you went too
far.”
Disappointment flashed in her eyes. She was not the one at fault
here!
Ignoring Theodore, Audrey turned back to Grace, her voice steady. “You’ve got two choices–apologize, or I’ll break your arm. You’ve got three seconds to decide.”
“Three… two…”
