Chapter 3 · The Rose In The Mud

It was Yara and her group of girlfriends.

Seeing me looking so pathetic, Yara couldn't help but burst out laughing. She turned to her besties and said, "See? Didn't I tell you? Without the Wilson family, she's just a worthless loser."

I ignored her mocking and kept doing my job.

Pissed that she'd looked bad in front of everyone, Yara kicked over the beer, grabbed me by the hair, and dragged me into a blind spot where the cameras couldn't see us.

I fought back with everything I had, shouting for help at the top of my lungs.

Ken heard me screaming and rushed out of the restaurant. When he saw Yara and her crew yanking at my clothes and slapping my face, he ran over and sent them flying with a kick.

In a panic, Yara grabbed a beer bottle from the floor and smashed it hard against Ken's head.

The moment I saw blood streaming down Ken's forehead, something inside me snapped.

I grabbed a shard from the floor and went straight for Yara, slashing at her with all my strength.

Yara shrieked as I cut her hand and face.

When things blew up, some of Yara's friends ran for it, and others whipped out their phones and called the cops.

*****

At the hospital, I hadn't even stepped inside when I heard Peter's furious voice. He snapped, "I'm going to make sure Anna Sue rots in jail. How dare she hurt my daughter?"

Yara was crying her heart out, spinning the story to make herself look like the victim.

She sobbed, "I was just trying to be nice and check on Anna, but all she wanted was to mess up my face. Mom said she's bringing her back. She's a total snake. There's no way we can ever let her come back to the Wilson family."

Amy let out a sigh and said, "This all started when your engagement to Liam fell apart. He never wanted you; he was after Anna from day one. Henry's head over heels, sure, but he's only an illegitimate son; he'll never measure up to you."

Henry was my ex-boyfriend.

And he was the lawyer who put me behind bars.

The cops got there before I did. As soon as they walked in, the Wilsons all clammed up. But when they saw me standing behind the officers, Peter lost it again.

He snapped at me, "Why did you hurt Yara? Wasn't two years in prison enough for you to learn your lesson?"

He was deliberately bringing up my time in jail.

He'd already watched the security footage; he knew Yara was the one who started the whole thing.

Yara was the one who smashed the beer bottle over the owner's head.

If I were headed to jail, Yara wouldn't be walking away clean either.

The cops came in to take Yara's statement.

Yara acted normal at first, but as soon as they started asking questions, she put on an act: freaking out and pretending to lose it, claiming she was too scared to see anyone.

She was afraid she'd slip up, so she left everything to her lawyer.

Peter's lawyer arrived right on cue.

Tagging along was Henry.

When Henry saw Yara's face all wrapped up in bandages, he spun around and snapped at me, "You're such a psycho!"

I stood behind the cops, didn't even spare him a glance.

Peter's lawyer listened to the cops' side of the story and suggested keeping it private. But Peter was so hell-bent on making me pay, he told the lawyer to pin attempted murder on me.

Ken, with his forehead all bandaged up, came over from another room. When he heard Peter, he shot back, "Your daughter could've tried to kill me, too. Don't think you're the only one with a lawyer."

That one line totally killed Peter's resolve to keep pushing for charges.

In the end, with the cops acting as mediators, both sides agreed to settle things.

But that very night, things went south.

After everything that went down, Ken was worried they'd come after me again, so he gave me his apartment for the night and crashed in the empty room above the restaurant.

A fire started at 2 AM, way past midnight.

By the time I got there, the firefighters had already put out the flames.

I hobbled through the crowd, frantically searching for Ken.

Then, the firefighters carried out a charred body from the burnt-out wreck upstairs.

The sight hit me like a punch to the gut, leaving me frozen in place, my mind completely blank.

I fainted right there.

When I finally came to, to my shock, Liam White was sitting by my bedside.

He was as serious as ever, his presence sending a chill down my spine.

When he saw I was awake, he handed me a glass of water. But I was so shaky I could barely hold it, so he carefully fed me a few sips himself.

As my mind started to clear, my eyes burned with hatred.

Liam shot me a look and said, "My people checked it out. That fire at the diner wasn't some freak accident. It was arson. And you know exactly who did it."

It was the Wilson family.

Chapter 3

It was Yara and her group of girlfriends.

Seeing me looking so pathetic, Yara couldn't help but burst out laughing. She turned to her besties and said, "See? Didn't I tell you? Without the Wilson family, she's just a worthless loser."

I ignored her mocking and kept doing my job.

Pissed that she'd looked bad in front of everyone, Yara kicked over the beer, grabbed me by the hair, and dragged me into a blind spot where the cameras couldn't see us.

I fought back with everything I had, shouting for help at the top of my lungs.

Ken heard me screaming and rushed out of the restaurant. When he saw Yara and her crew yanking at my clothes and slapping my face, he ran over and sent them flying with a kick.

In a panic, Yara grabbed a beer bottle from the floor and smashed it hard against Ken's head.

The moment I saw blood streaming down Ken's forehead, something inside me snapped.

I grabbed a shard from the floor and went straight for Yara, slashing at her with all my strength.

Yara shrieked as I cut her hand and face.

When things blew up, some of Yara's friends ran for it, and others whipped out their phones and called the cops.

*****

At the hospital, I hadn't even stepped inside when I heard Peter's furious voice. He snapped, "I'm going to make sure Anna Sue rots in jail. How dare she hurt my daughter?"

Yara was crying her heart out, spinning the story to make herself look like the victim.

Henry was my ex-boyfriend.

And he was the lawyer who put me behind bars.

The cops got there before I did. As soon as they walked in, the Wilsons all clammed up. But when they saw me standing behind the officers, Peter lost it again.

He snapped at me, "Why did you hurt Yara? Wasn't two years in prison enough for you to learn your lesson?"

He was deliberately bringing up my time in jail.

He'd already watched the security footage; he knew Yara was the one who started the whole thing.

Yara was the one who smashed the beer bottle over the owner's head.

If I were headed to jail, Yara wouldn't be walking away clean either.

The cops came in to take Yara's statement.

Yara acted normal at first, but as soon as they started asking questions, she put on an act: freaking out and pretending to lose it, claiming she was too scared to see anyone.

She was afraid she'd slip up, so she left everything to her lawyer.

Peter's lawyer arrived right on cue.

Tagging along was Henry.

When Henry saw Yara's face all wrapped up in bandages, he spun around and snapped at me, "You're such a psycho!"

I stood behind the cops, didn't even spare him a glance.

Peter's lawyer listened to the cops' side of the story and suggested keeping it private. But Peter was so hell-bent on making me pay, he told the lawyer to pin attempted murder on me.

Ken, with his forehead all bandaged up, came over from another room. When he heard Peter, he shot back, "Your daughter could've tried to kill me, too. Don't think you're the only one with a lawyer."

That one line totally killed Peter's resolve to keep pushing for charges.

In the end, with the cops acting as mediators, both sides agreed to settle things.

But that very night, things went south.

After everything that went down, Ken was worried they'd come after me again, so he gave me his apartment for the night and crashed in the empty room above the restaurant.

A fire started at 2 AM, way past midnight.

By the time I got there, the firefighters had already put out the flames.

I hobbled through the crowd, frantically searching for Ken.

Then, the firefighters carried out a charred body from the burnt-out wreck upstairs.

The sight hit me like a punch to the gut, leaving me frozen in place, my mind completely blank.

I fainted right there.

When I finally came to, to my shock, Liam White was sitting by my bedside.

He was as serious as ever, his presence sending a chill down my spine.

When he saw I was awake, he handed me a glass of water. But I was so shaky I could barely hold it, so he carefully fed me a few sips himself.

As my mind started to clear, my eyes burned with hatred.

Liam shot me a look and said, "My people checked it out. That fire at the diner wasn't some freak accident. It was arson. And you know exactly who did it."

It was the Wilson family.