She Accepted Divorce, He Panicked

021 Innocent Ava

Sebastian's POV

I have never seen Scar so happy with her laughter reaching her eyes....when she left with her friends.

She never laughs with me, she just smiles at me-

she used to smile at me, but not anymore. Not for months. But even before when she did, it was different from the laugh she had with her friends. Her smile at me was always timid and restrained, like a puppy scared of being hurt, but also desperately flatters people for foo She wasn't happy with me. I made sure of that.

I thought I was just "not loving" her. I didn't. I don't! And because of that, I never cared if I was hurting her. She forced my hand, and I used that to justify everything.

The past three days were really rough for me.

I couldn't stop thinking about Scar's accusation, of how horribly we have been treating her. I felt sick of myself every time I think of the phrase "blood vessel". I kept searching in my memory for clues to justify my actions. Maybe she deserved it, maybe she brought that to h way.

I couldn't find any.

She is jealous of Ava, but she has never harmed Ava on purpose. Even the "paper cut accident" was just an accident. She wanted everyone's attention, and we punished her for that, by giving her even less.

I used to be able to justify that, I forgot how.

At first, we understood. She was the healthy one, so of course she was jealous of Ava when Ava was the fragile baby doll that required constant attention. After a while, we got tired of her jealousy, and we started to hate her for that.

But she never got what she deserved to have in the first place. We just decided by ourselves that she should grow out of what she was deprived of.

Now she did.

Now she no longer wants our attention. I could feel it.

She used to notice me changing into an identical shirt, but today when I forced her to look at me, she didn't even see the cut on my lip.

She no longer sees me.

I wanted that. I want that! But why does it sting so much, when all she did was to stop paying her attention to me? Is this how she feels this whole time? Existing, but ignored?

"Fuck off!" Gabriel chases off his gang who are having a hard time not laughing at him. They quickly clear the space for us. I look at him rubbing his shoulder with a painful look, wondering if he would be bothered too if he was there three days ago. "Why are you so mean to Scar?" I blurt at Gabriel.

"What?!" Gabriel furrows his eyebrows, having a hard time understanding my question

021 Innocent Ava

Naturally. It was a question I didn't know I would ever ask him myself.

"You are a good brother to Ava," I try to explain, "so why do YOU hate Scar so much?"

I have my reason. Scar blackmailed me. But she never did anything to Gabriel, not that I know of.

"Why do you think?! She hates us!" Gabriel exclaims as if I missed something obvious. She started hatingContent (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

us ever since Ava told her that she was adopted! You know, not linked by blood. Bound to happen. Though she hated Ava way before that..

Why would an adopted orphan hate the family that put a roof over her head... if she wasn't mistreated?

I dare not follow that string of thoughts.

"Scar wanted to leave the city..." I tell Gabriel, feeling heavy. I don't know how to tell Gabriel that it was Scar who brought up divorce... Not me.

It WAS Ava who told Jack. She thought Scar was leaving for a vacation that Jack paid for, so she asked Jack. Even though Ava wasn't trying to stop Scar, Jack did. From the way he

coldly glares at Scar, I find it hard to not understand Scar's feelings about Jack seeing her as a... "blood vessel'.

"When?!" Gabriel's shout snaps me out of my thoughts

"When did she tell you that?!" Gabriel asks anxiously, "Did you tell Ava?"

A cold chill runs down my spine.

"Why would I tell Ava?" I probe him.

"Because...?!" Gabriel pulls out his phone and starts dialing. Ava's number, I recognize it, "1 just need to okay?! It's important!"

Important, to let Ava know?

I suddenly remember when Scar glares at me with hatred in her eyes, accusing me Ava asked Jack about it, really out of an innocent curiosity>