“Facts?
The candied hawthorn was just an excuse.
You did it for that stand-in who came out of nowhere.”
“Victoria Sutton is my woman.
Not just anyone gets to bully her.” Silas Blackwood directed the accusation at the stand-in.
The word “stand-in” struck a nerve with Winston Wyatt.
“Who are you calling a stand-in?
She is not a stand-in.” Winston was like a beast driven into a corner, baring its fangs ferociously.
Silas Blackwood hadn’t expected Winston Wyatt to be so protective of a stand-in.
And a stand-in for Isla Chambers, no less.
‘Did Winston Wyatt ever value Isla Chambers as much as he values this stand-in?’
“Whether she’s a stand-in or not, you’d better keep a close eye on her.”
“You’re the one who needs to watch his people.
Stop letting Victoria Sutton run around biting people.
If there’s a next time, she won’t be coming back.” Winston Wyatt’s words dripped with a savage, bloodthirsty menace.
Silas Blackwood’s brows furrowed even deeper.
‘Has Winston Wyatt gone so crazy over a stand-in that he’d completely disregard the bond between us?’
‘Who’s the one really biting people?
Right now, Winston Wyatt is the one acting like a vicious beast protecting its cub, ready to tear into anyone who gets close.’
“If anything happens to Victoria Sutton, I’ll take it out on your stand-in.”
“You dare.” ‘Silas Blackwood actually wants to go after Teacher.’ “Silas Blackwood, are you insane?
You will regret this.
Absolutely,” Winston Wyatt said, his voice hard as nails.
‘Silas Blackwood is only saying this because he doesn’t know that person is Teacher.
Once he finds out who he’s been directing his malice toward, he’ll want to slap himself twice.’
But Winston Wyatt had no intention of telling Silas Blackwood anything about Teacher.
‘He didn’t want anyone competing with him for Teacher’s attention.’
A fierce possessiveness surged in Winston Wyatt’s eyes once more.
“And let me say it again: she is not a stand-in.
You’ll regret using that word to insult her.” With that, Winston Wyatt hung up.
He even felt the urge to block and delete Silas Blackwood and everyone else.
Staring at his phone’s dark screen, Silas Blackwood felt a strange sense of unease.
It seemed like there was a hidden meaning in Winston Wyatt’s words.
‘Why was he so certain that I would regret it?’
‘Could it be that the stand-in is some incredibly important person, not just to Winston Wyatt, but to me as well?’
Silas Blackwood found the thought laughable.
Still, Winston Wyatt’s reaction was genuinely concerning, and Silas Blackwood couldn’t help but start looking into it.
He had barely begun his inquiry when a loud crash erupted from Victoria Sutton’s room.
On instinct, Silas Blackwood hurried over.
It was Victoria Sutton, throwing a tantrum. This story is hosted at g.com.
She had kicked out all the servants and the family doctor.
Silas Blackwood didn’t go in.
Seeing him at the doorway, Victoria Sutton slammed the door with all her might, expressing her discontent.
After slamming the door, she locked it from the inside.
‘He wanted to lock her up, did he?
Fine, she’d grant his wish!’
The violent SLAM exploded like a clap of thunder, feeling as if it had struck Silas Blackwood’s brain.
The nerves in his head throbbed, and a sharp pain flared up.
Finn Lynch asked, “Sir, should I open the door?”
“No.
Let her be.”
The moment Silas Blackwood spoke, the sounds of frantic smashing and Victoria Sutton’s piercing screams, one after another, came from within the room.
After a moment, the color drained from Silas Blackwood’s face.
His tall, imposing, seemingly indestructible body swayed.
Finn Lynch’s eyes widened in alarm, and he immediately steadied Silas Blackwood.
“Sir, are you all right?”
A pain like a steel needle piercing his skull shot through Silas Blackwood’s head.
Victoria Sutton’s shrill screams felt like they were slicing his brain apart piece by piece.
Silas raised a hand and pressed it hard against his head, which felt ready to split open.
Seeing Silas Blackwood’s pained, ragged breaths and the sweat beading on his forehead, Finn Lynch immediately realized his chronic headaches were flaring up.
He didn’t call for the family doctor, instead quickly helping Silas Blackwood away from the area.
Neither medication nor physical therapy worked for Silas; in fact, he had developed a strong tolerance to them.
The only thing to do was get him away from the trigger.
As far as Finn Lynch knew, Silas Blackwood had suffered from these headaches since childhood.
Whenever they flared up, the pain was excruciating, leading to sleepless nights.
And Victoria Sutton, knowing full well about Silas Blackwood’s condition, would deliberately trigger his episodes.
She understood Silas Blackwood, which was why she could hurt him so easily.
Finn Lynch shot a venomous glare back at Victoria Sutton’s door, as if wishing his eyes could burn a hole through it and strike her directly.
This wasn’t the first or second time Victoria Sutton had done something like this.
She pulled a stunt like this every time Silas Blackwood forbade her from sneaking out to see Kian Blackwood.
She would do anything, without a moment’s hesitation, if it could provoke, anger, or cause Silas Blackwood pain.
The tattoos, the rainbow-colored hair, the ghoulish smoky-eye makeup, the bizarre alternative fashion, the lip, tongue, eyebrow, and navel piercings—all of it was done to defy Silas Blackwood.
Once they were far away from Victoria Sutton’s room, Finn Lynch helped Silas Blackwood sit down on a sofa, then quickly poured a cup of calming tea and placed it on the table beside him. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping dot com.
Silas Blackwood’s eyes were closed, his brows tightly knitted as he endured the relentless, overlapping waves of pain.
His sharp, resolute features were contorted in agony, and fine beads of sweat dotted the tip of his nose.
In truth, Silas Blackwood’s condition wasn’t entirely incurable.
Twenty years ago, the young woman who was like a mother to him had come into his life for his sake.
She had cured him by holding him in her arms and singing a unique melody.
But soon after, because he was too weak to protect her, he lost her forever.
She died right in front of him…
And because of that, Silas Blackwood’s headaches returned.
Later, Victoria Sutton forced her way into his world, ignoring his annoyance and volunteering to be his “medicine.” She began singing songs to soothe his headaches.
While it was nowhere near as effective as the cure from that young mother figure, it did have a certain “medicinal effect,” making the pain less severe.
But years later, the medicine Victoria Sutton provided had turned from an antidote into a poison.
‘But even if it was poison, he didn’t want to let it go.’
Peeking through the gaps between the fingers pressed to his forehead, Silas Blackwood opened his eyes.
They were scarlet and webbed with blood vessels, his dark, gloomy gaze filled with a bone-deep obsession.
…
Early in the morning, Aurora Rivers was up for her workout.
She wore a matching sports bra and athletic shorts, her hair tied in a high ponytail that showed off her pretty, youthful features and boundless energy.
Her limbs were long and slender, her toned abs perfectly defined.
In the morning light, her skin was so fair it seemed to glow.
The Wyatt family’s manor was surrounded by a private forest that stretched as far as the eye could see.
It was a lush sea of green, and the air was unbelievably fresh and sweet.
Aurora Rivers breathed it in greedily.
The scenery everywhere she looked lifted her spirits, and her face was lit with a vibrant, energetic smile.
Suddenly, disaster struck.
A tall, powerfully built dark figure shot out from the dense, towering thicket beside her, abruptly engulfing Aurora Rivers.
The shadow pounced on her, fierce and fast, like a predator hunting its prey.
Aurora Rivers didn’t even have time to let out a final scream.
More than ten seconds later, Isla Chambers could no longer hold back and came running over.