Dark Revenge Of An Unwanted Wife: The Twins Are Not Yours!

Ewan heard a scream, a loud guttering shout filled with immense sorrow, anger, and frustration from somewhere nearby.

He didn't realize until he felt the rough flesh beneath his hands, until he heard the pleading words floating around him—loud yet stifled at the same time—that the shout had come from him; that after Fiona's last declaration, he had lost control.

When he felt hands grabbing his shoulders, pulling him away from the flesh he was strangling with all his might, he realized that the rough flesh was Fiona's neck—and that he had been choking her, almost to the point of death.

"Ewan…please…I'm…sorry…" Her mangled voice finally reached his ears, and he let go.

Not because he was concerned about how ashen she looked, but because he heard Old Mr. Thorne calling out to him. Even Sandro.

Sandro? Ewan frowned, pushing away from Fiona as if she were a bag of dirt—though she was literally that—and turned aside, his frown deepening when he saw Sandro and Zane standing right behind him.

How? Had he fallen into one of those dreams?

His eyes scanned the room. The resignation and pity on the faces of the people, including Spider's agents, were more than enough to inform him of the reality of the situation. He had snapped. Almost killed Fiona as a result. And his friends were here.

When had they arrived? How long had he lost it?

He reverted his gaze to Fiona. "You will pay for this." He said through gritted teeth, his eyes reddening. "I will make sure you and your miserable family pay for ruining my life, because this right here isn't enough!"

Fiona shook, hands around her throat, coughing, abject fear wrapping her in an embrace.

"Even your mother, who claimed to be apologetic and all, will pay for her wickedness. I'll make sure of that." Ewan swore, hands trembling—this time holding back the faucet, mentally cutting off the supply of tears.

He wasn't going to cry because of the actions of bastards. If he wanted to let go, it would be in private! Where he could punch the wall until his fingers cracked! Where he could scream at the unfairness of it all!

"But my mother…" Fiona's lips quaked, not yet at ease—even with Florence trying to calm Ewan down.

"Would have saved me some stress if she had told me the full truth during the court case. She sought to protect your stupid family, even after knowing your murderous acts—yours and your father's. And she will pay for that…"

Ewan promised vehemently, allowing Florence to lead him back to his seat.

Once seated, his eyes found Athena. She was still in the same position—calm, yet battling with astonishment and disbelief. Of course, this was all too much for her to take in.

"When did you two get here?" Ewan finally asked his two friends.

"A while ago. We've been listening from outside, not wanting to interrupt the moment… well, until you decided to get your hands dirty." Sandro answered with a shrug.

"I have no qualms getting my hands dirty," Ewan retorted, frowning.

"Yeah, but you might regret it later. And there's the fact that you swore not to go down this rabbit hole again…Let Connor do his job." Zane said, taking a seat beside Susan and exhaling deeply.

Athena was Cecilia Thorne and Ewan's savior. It would seem that Ewan had been right to suspect she was the one. He rubbed his face gently, facing Fiona.

Her family really deserved to be punished.

"Fiona…" Old Mr. Thorne's cold voice, clear as crystal, broke through the moment, grabbing Fiona's attention.

She shuddered beneath his gaze, wondering if she should have tweaked the truth a little. But did it matter? She was tired of lying about this. Tired of everything. Maybe she was tired of living. Maybe it was time to join Aunt Miley in heaven.

Will she even be accepted there?

"Continue with your story." The old man commanded, breaking her thoughts.

A pause, as he crossed his legs, brows furrowed. "Didn't Ewan's parents suspect a thing when Ewan started seeing you as a savior? Didn't they see the bracelet? I'm sure Samuel would have recognized the bracelet."

And if Ewan's father had seen little Athena—his mother too—they might have known she was a Thorne. They would have recognized Emily's bracelet. All this would have been resolved long ago.

Old Mr. Thorne sighed heavily, frustration evident. Why couldn't fate have played a reasonable role then? Why now? Why wait until all this confusion?

"They did…" Fiona wetted her lips, knowing her character was about to get worse from here on out. This was the period when her corruption had begun—fostered by her parents.

"But I told them I had saved Ewan from drowning before calling for help. And the bracelet, I never wore it outside…" She admitted softly.

The room fell into silence. Ewan clenched his fists, the thought of torturing Fiona passing through his mind in a hundred different ways.

"Aunt Miley was quite suspicious, though," Fiona continued, her voice trembling.

"Not understanding how I could be dry, if I had jumped into the water to save Ewan. But my mother told a cover story… that she had changed my wet clothes since I came to her first for help, before involving others. It was a far-fetched truth, but with the flurry of activity surrounding treating Ewan's headaches and body frailty, it was all forgotten."

"So when did your family start feeding him the wrong drugs?" Old Mr. Thorne took over the questioning.

"When he started to remember he had a second female friend." Fiona answered, her hand shaking as she uncapped her water bottle. "He couldn't place her face, but he saw her in his dreams. He confided in me about it, and I told my parents. The rest is history."

She refused to lift her eyes to meet the gazee pinned on her, her hands trembling as she took a sip.

"So why didn't he marry you as soon as you all were grown up? I never even heard of you both dating until Athena's marriage with him came up…" Florence's voice was sharp, like a blade.

"That's because he was against it. Always talking about me being his sister…" Fiona kissed her teeth bitterly before she could help it.

"I didn't care, didn't give up, since he didn't marry anyone. And anyone who held his attention long enough, I found ways to take care of…"

"When you say 'take care of,'" Zane interrupted, leaning forward, "what do you mean?"

Fiona swallowed painfully. "I mean take care of. Either paying them off, or… worse, death—if they proved stubborn. That's how I met Morgan. Through a referral, I got help."

Florence shook her head, disgusted. Fiona was a lost cause.

Even if they brought her before the law—knowing Susan was recording this conversation—she would likely get life imprisonment, or even death by hanging.

The black cells, if Athena agreed, would be mercy.

"So, you didn't know Athena was alive again until the talks of marriage came up?" Florence asked.

Fiona shook her head. "It was before then. I attended a council meeting with Ewan… I saw her there. I was so shocked I almost vomited, thinking I was seeing a ghost—that maybe my bad deeds had caught up with me. I touched Ewan to check out the girl on the opposite side, and when he confirmed he saw her too, I almost fainted. Not until I discovered that she didn't remember us. So I connected the dots; it made sense that she would have amnesia, since Ewan did too. Only that pointing her out to Ewan, made him notice her. His eyes rarely left her throughout the meeting."

"What did you do then?" Florence continued.

"I pushed for our wedding to take place." Fiona shrugged. "I felt uneasy about her sudden appearance. But Ewan wasn't willing. Said he was too young, and that he saw me as a sister. Well, until Zack came into the picture with his useless games…"

A pause.

"Somehow, I became thankful to Zack," Fiona added somberly. "because his games made Ewan hate Athena—while making him less defensive to my tactics. I preyed on that weak link, using every device to scatter their marriage, to make them divorce—thinking Ewan would finally see me…"

A bitter chuckle.

"Alas, I was just dreaming. Even after the divorce, he never saw me as a woman, never touched me as one—despite drugging him twice. If I had known he was Wolfsbane, I would have gotten a better drug. He always managed to escape my claws…"

Fiona paused now, feeling the weight of judgment pressing into her, so heavy she couldn't breathe, nor could she even attempt her sarcastic laughter to diffuse the situation. She didn't even know how her full laughter sounded now—A distant memory.

"How could you not know he was Wolfsbane? Weren't you both close? You didn't even get suspicious?" Aiden inquired, genuinely curious.

"We attended different universities." Fiona answered. "He played a fast one on me then… He…"

"Her presence was overbearing, even then…" Ewan interrupted with a scowl, rage and disgust swirling in his eyes. "and I wanted her to be a big girl on her own—not follow me around. So I lied about the university I had input in my applications. She applied to the same university, only to find out I was going elsewhere. Alfonso refused to let her transfer schools. That was that. Not that it stopped her from interfering in my business…"