"Nobody believed you, not even your own mother," she taunted relentlessly as another laughter left her lips, her words were like sharp daggers piercing through my chest.
"That's fine. At least I believe in my own art capabilities and I don't have to resort to doing such things to try and win," I snapped back in response and saw the way her face contorted into an angry expression within the next second.
"You bitch!" She yelled as the smug look that was once plastered across her face was replaced by an angry expression. She narrowed her eyes into thin slits and raised her hand, wanting to slap me across my face.
But I quickly caught her wrist in my hand and my blood was smeared against her skin as I grabbed her with my injured hand without thinking too much. I was too consumed by the anger to even think about the pain that was coursing through my body from the way I pressed onto the wound.
"Nice try," I retorted in a sarcastic tone before releasing my grip on her arm, letting it drop back to her side.
"Ugh!" She exclaimed, scrunching her nose up in pure disgust. "You got your blood all over my hand! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
As if on cue, Natalie and James came running out and their eyes widened in horror when they saw the bright red blood that stained their daughter's arm.
"Eve! What happened? Is everything okay?" Her mother quickly asked, worry and concern evident in her voice.
"Did Aurelia do this to you? Aurelia, you get back here right now!" Her father demanded through gritted teeth but I ignored everyone as I continued to walk ahead until I disappeared out of their sight.
I reached for my phone and called the first person that popped into my mind.
"Hey, what's up?" He greeted, hearing his voice helped to ease my racing heart. "My meeting is about to start in 5 minutes."
"Xavier…" His name left my lips in a soft voice. "I need you."
He had dropped everything right there and then without a second thought. Before I knew it, he appeared beside me and I soon found myself sitting across from the doctor with him next to me.
I glanced down to see my bandaged hand, my eyes carefully examining it as my mind buzzed with thoughts.
"Mrs. Wilder, your hand will take at least 1 month to fully recover and heal," the doctor informed, his voice snapping me back to reality. "In the meantime, you should try to avoid exerting any force on your injured hand," he suggested with a concerned look plastered across his face.
I sat up straighter this time, leaning forward ever so slightly as I looked at the doctor intently with hopeful eyes.
"But I have an art competition in two weeks time, can I still paint?"
There was a short pause, he looked as though he was thinking before he finally spoke up.
"I would advise against it for the meantime," the words left his lips and I could feel my world come crashing down in an instant as the harsh reality hit me right in my face. "You wouldn't want to risk delaying your recovery."
Those same few words echoed at the back of my mind time and time again, replying inside my head like a broken record player, taunting me endlessly even as we left the hospital.
Xavier held my hand gently in his as his concerned gaze flickers down to look at the bandaged palm. "Who did this?"
I looked up to meet his eyes. "Evelyn. She did this."
***
Third Person POV
Evelyn smiled when her eyes fell on Xavier who was already sitting by the table at the restaurant they agreed to meet at. It was one of those private booths, hidden away from everyone else.
"It's nice to see you again, Xavier," she greeted as she placed her hand on his arm sensually but he didn't let her linger for long as he brushed her hand off. "Playing hard to get I see…"
His face remained cold as he barely paid her any attention. "Take a seat."
She pulled the chair out from under the table and sat down, placing her purse on the table.
"Why did you ask to meet me? You missed me, didn't you?" She asked as a soft giggle escaped her lips.
He turned to look at her as they locked eyes. "No, I don't," he replied crudely without a single hesitation. "I'm married to Aurelia, remember?"
His words angered her as rage spread through her body like a wildfire in that instant. She clenched her jaw tightly as she narrowed her eyes at him, leaning forward as she spat the words out of her mouth.
"You know that whore can never measure up to you right? You should be with someone like me!" She sneered as her hands gripped onto the edge of the table, causing it to shake with sheer strength.
"Don't call her a whore," he warned as his face darkened visibly. "She wasn't the one who cheated on me and slept with another man," he retorted in a sharp voice, disdain evident on his face.
"I... I..." she stammered, struggling to get the words out of her throat. "It was an accident, it meant nothing to me. I was drunk!" She explained as if that even mattered.
A low chuckle left his lips. "Yeah, I have heard enough of that bullshit," he spat as tension lingered in the air. "You don't need to explain yourself. I don't care for your explanation anyway," he said coldly with a distant look on his face.
"Come on, Xavier, I was just –"
"I know what you did. You stay away from Aurelia, got it?" He warned, his voice heavy with a threat as he cut her off mid-sentence.
She felt her heart skip a beat the moment the words left his lips, but she quickly masked the flustered look on her face with a nonchalant expression.
"I don't know what you are talking about," she said, feigning innocence.
"You pushed Aurelia on purpose, didn't you?"
"I didn't, it was an accident. She fell on her own."
"Don't lie to me, Evelyn. I can see it on your face."
"Okay fine!" She snapped in anger. "So what if I did? That bitch deserved it," she snarled with a disdainful scorn.
He didn't utter another word at that moment, only throwing the papers onto the table, letting it fall with a thud.
"What the hell is this?" She asked as her eyes glanced down to scan the documents lying on the table, reading the words that were printed across it. "You are suing me for harassment and assault?"