Echoes of Vengeance: The Sweet Wife's Perfect Revenge-Chapter 54: Almost

At Lifeline Hospital,

Aveline opened her eyes to a ceiling straight out of her worst nightmare. The very ceiling she had stared at for months before dying.

Did she travel ahead in time?

Panic struck like a thunderbolt. She had fainted in Ashford Holdings.

Had Damien brought her to Elias Hawthorne?

Her body shook, fear clouding her logic, forgetting she wasn’t the same old Aveline. She jerked up, heart pounding, breath hitched. No one was in the room. She grabbed her phone from the side table and dialed the only number that made sense.

It rang three times before it was answered.

She didn’t wait. "Get me out of here." Desperation was evident in her voice.

[Sunshine!!]

"Get me out of here, now." Aveline yammered.

Alaric’s voice hardened, [Quiet.]

Aveline immediately held her breath.

Then his tone softened, [Breathe... Slow. You have got this.]

She obeyed, each breath slower and steadier. Her tense body slowly relaxed. With the ongoing poison case, Damien wouldn’t try anything on her. He wouldn’t dare.

She wasn’t powerless anymore.

[Now tell me, where are you?]

"Lifeline Hospital." Calmness returned to her voice.

The door of the hospital room opened. Damien entered. Nonetheless, Aveline was in complete control.

[Could you manage for half an hour?]

"I’m fine now." The confidence returned. "I will head home."

She didn’t need Alaric to save her. Not anymore.

There was a long silence on the line, and she waited. [A black Bugatti will be there in fifteen.] And the call ended.

Damien waited for her to finish the call. "Call from your parents?" He asked.

"Charles." She lied. "I’m sorry, you had a ton of work..."

"It’s alright." Damien cut in, "Apparently, it’s one of the side effects." He gently massaged her bruised arm.

Aveline flinched at the pain. Her arm took the impact of her fall. Looking at the green bruise, her thoughts spiraled.

Damien had been right there, yet he failed to hold her. But Alaric had caught her.

’No wonder, I called him out.’ She thought.

She looked at Damien, whom she once trusted, ’No, Aveline, you can’t be a fool again.’

She responded to him, "Yeah... Mom warned me before I drove to Ashford Holdings." She looked around, "This isn’t Springfield Hospital. I’m not supposed to take medical treatment without consulting Dr. Amelia Grey." An excuse to get out of there.

Damien wasn’t going to take a chance on it anyway. "Don’t worry. They just checked your vitals."

She waited, but Damien concealed the blood drawn from her arm where she could feel the sting.

Anyway, she changed the topic, "Right, we were talking about your twin towers." She reminded, "Why didn’t you tell me about it sooner?" She asked like a concerned wife, "You could use the land. I will convince Dad once he cools down a bit." She assured him.

Though the land was in her name, the business on it was handled by a team under Henry’s leadership. So she used her father’s name to her advantage to stall the time.

Damien: "..."

’That easy?’ He couldn’t believe it. ’Is she really this naive?’ On top of that, she was going to convince her father.

’Doesn’t she know the value of that land?’ The 10k square meters wasn’t just in a prime location, it was invaluable.

Nevertheless, "Nothing is more important than your health." He chose not to comment on it and watch her actions.

She smiled faintly, almost rolling her eyes.

After a few beats, she gasped dramatically, "Go, go... finish your work. Charles will pick me up. My parents might, you know, go berserk. I’ll stay in touch."

Damien didn’t insist either. He kissed her forehead and left.

Only then did Aveline allow herself to breathe.

...

At the elevator, the door opened, and she froze as soon as her eyes landed on the man.

Elias Hawthorne.

Her legs stiffened, but she forced herself inside. The doors slowly shut without any other person entering.

"Mrs. Ashford!?" He asked.

Her skin prickled hearing his voice. The images of his cruel expression knocked her mind. "Yes?" She didn’t meet his eyes, focusing instead on his temples, forcing herself to stay composed..

He extended his hand, "Doctor Elias Hawthorne. I was your attending physician."

Aveline stared at his hand that injected poison into her veins. She didn’t shake it. "Alright." She said coldly and looked away.

She would deal with him quietly.

Elias withdrew his hand, fist clenched. Wasn’t she said to be kind and gentle?

He chose to stay silent through their elevator ride.

...

Aveline exited the hospital quickly. She was about to book a cab when a black Bugatti stopped in front of her.

Aveline: "..."

From the driver’s seat, a tall man stepped out with a mask on his face. Yet, she easily recognised him.

Alaric Lancaster.

Wrapped in a cream cable-knit half-zip pullover, he walked with quiet confidence. Unbothered by the chaos around, his eyes never left hers. He opened the car door without a word.

She wanted to refuse, but she had called him up in panic. So she chose not to be rude.

"Thank you," she said, sliding in. He shut the door, returned to his seat, and took off his mask.

They drove in silence until she couldn’t hold it, "I’ll be careful next time." So that she doesn’t end up calling him.

And after what felt like an eternity, he finally looked at her at a red light. "You did the right thing." His gentle voice was soothing her nerves.

Though he almost went crazy when she called up frantically asking him to ’get her out,’ he was proud that she gathered herself fast. Then he was pleased that she chose to call him at the time of need.

"Are you alright?" He genuinely asked.

Looking into his eyes, she fought with her thoughts. A part of her had begun to see the differences between Damien’s feigned care and Alaric’s protectiveness. But another part of her wasn’t able to trust whether Alaric’s actions were fake or genuine.

She wanted to say no, while her thoughts were spiralling and her arm aching. But she nodded anyway.

The light turned green, but they stared at each other without noticing. She wanted to read through his indifference, and he forgot to look away. They moved when the honk from behind snapped them back.

...

At an intersection, Aveline turned to tell him she would get a cab home, but he said, "Dinner!?"

She blinked. Dinner?

They weren’t that close. Were they?

She opened her mouth to lie and say she had eaten. But he had already spun the wheel into a fine dining restaurant.

Aveline: "..."

-----

In a private room of the restaurant,

Alaric didn’t miss Aveline’s struggling to take a bite, but masked it with nonchalance.

She broke the silence, "You didn’t answer my question." He had dodged it the last time.

Alaric’s hand paused. Her question echoed in his mind.

’Why are you going out of your way?’

He resumed cutting his steak, "Sunshine... some things shouldn’t be questioned." His voice was soft, layered in something deeper. "You’ll know it."

She snapped, "To know later that I’m worth nothing but another piece of land?"

She wasn’t the type to lose her temper. Not so easily. But Alaric was living rent-free in her head. If she didn’t solve his mystery, she feared she would fall again into another pit.

Alaric froze. Her words hit harder than she knew. He wanted to ask, but held back.

He set the knife down, reached out, and took the leg of her chair. Smoothly, he pulled it closer.

She blinked, "What are..."

He brought his fork to her lips.

Aveline’s breath caught in her throat.

His voice dropped to a low whisper, "Sunshine..." He looked into her eyes, "If you don’t open your mouth..." He leaned in slightly, his smirk curled at the edges.

"I might kiss you."

Her heart skipped a beat. Her lips parted without thinking. She took the bite.

The silence.

His lips curled temptingly when heat bloomed in her cheeks.

Aveline: "..."