Chapter 10
Antonio quickly grabbed the tablet and opened the email. There were countless videos inside.
The most recent one was from the hospital, while the earliest one was taken at home.
He clicked on the most recent video and watched the conversation between Lucile and Grace. His eyes widened in shock.
Then, he started watching all the videos one by one.
Three months ago, Lucile had just come back. She accused Grace of putting something in her food, but in fact, it was Lucile herself who did
- it.
Two months ago, Lucile asked Grace for a divorce. She slapped herself and fell to the ground, pretending that Grace had pushed her.
One month ago, Grace was pushed into the pool by Lucile. Then Lucile also jumped in and falsely accused Grace of pushing her.
Half a month ago, Lucile challenged Grace to a bet, saying she wanted to see who Antonio and her parents cared about more.
Then came the staged car accident and Lucile’s lie about her getting blind.
Antonio saw Lucile say to Grace, “My eyes aren’t blind, but I want your cornea. Maybe one day I’ll even want your life, and they’ll force you to give it to me.”
At first, Grace would try to explain herself, but eventually, she stopped talking and became cold and distant.
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Back then, Antonio thought Grace was jealous, so he blamed her. Later, he thought her silence was a way of defying him, like she was challenging him. So he went to take care of Lucile and hardly ever came home.
But now he realized Grace wasn’t defying him at all.
She had just given up on trying to explain herself.
Just then, Lucile walked in and said, “Antonio, I’m here to apologize to you on behalf of Mom and Dad.”
“Apologize?”
Antonio looked up at Lucile with a cold stare, ”
about what you did?”
“Antonio…”
you actually feel bad
“Lucile, when you were pretending to be blind, you seemed pretty confident, didn’t you?”
Lucile’s heart skipped a beat, and the lunch box in her hand dropped to. the floor. “Antonio, what are you talking about? What do you mean by saying that I pretended to be blind?”
“Look for yourself.”
Antonio threw the tablet on the ground, stood up, and looked down at Lucile. “Lucile, you shouldn’t have tricked me like this or pushed Grace so hard. You knew she was kind and wouldn’t fight back.”
Lucile glanced at the video on the tablet, gritted her teeth, and cursed Grace over and over in her mind, “You bitch, even after you’re gone, you still won’t let me be.”
“Antonio, I can explain.”
Lucile grabbed Antonio’s sleeve with a sad and pitiful look. “I wast
Chapter 10
jealous. I should have been standing by your side as your wife, but Grace. took everything away from me–my home, my love, and my life.
“When I was being mistreated, Grace was living comfortably at the Parrish’s place. When I was being persecuted, Grace had you to care for her. But I had nothing. Even when I came back, the man I loved the most had become my brother–in–law.
“So, I wanted to compete with her to make you all see me more. But I didn’t expect things to go so wrong.”
Antonio shook off Lucile’s hand and pointed towards the door. “Lucile, always remember that I’m your brother–in–law. I was before, and I’ll always be. Now, get out.”
“Why? Grace was just my stand–in. Why are you punishing me for her now?”
“Stand–in?”
Antonio was stunned.
Yeah, at first, he did see Grace as a stand–in. He thought she looked like Lucile and got close to her. But later on….
Without saying anything, Antonio turned around and walked into his study.
He turned on his computer, trying to force himself to work, but he couldn’t focus on a single word.
He drowned his sorrows in alcohol, day after day. Later, he went to Grace’s grave, holding a bottle of booze and leaning against the tombstone, drinking and crying all at once.
It was only after Grace was gone that he realized he had fallen in love with her a long time ago, but he never noticed it.
In his daze, his phone suddenly showed a news alert.
“The art gallery of the Simpson family, who are the richest in Auroville, will open at the end of this month.”
Antonio glanced at the paintings in the news. He had never seen them before, but they looked familiar to him. They were very similar to Grace’s style. Especially, one self–portrait was drawn with butterflies, which was Grace’s special thing.
