From Ex to Aunt

Sean's foot came down on my hand repeatedly, rendering my hand a bloody pulp.

Despite the pain, I would not let go. After making sure Mandy was okay, he crouched down, his gaze filled with contempt. "Let's see how much more you can take, Ella."

"Sean, please, no more..."

He ignored my words, gripping my swollen cheek with a rough hand, his gaze shifting to the unbruised side of my face, his eyes chilling and hard.

With a sharp slap, my ears rang, the world going silent.

In a desperate move, I bit down on his hand, refusing to let go.

Pain contorted his face as he yanked his hand free.

"If you don't finish me off today, you're going to regret it, Sean," I spat out.

"You're not even worth the effort," he sneered, cradling his injured hand and scanning the area.

Once he was gone, I looked at my palm. The necklace lay there, bloodied but whole.

Out of nowhere, Sean appeared with a dagger, advancing toward me.

Panic surged, and I screamed, "Sean, stop! You can't do this to me..."

However, I was powerless. He ripped the necklace from my grasp.

"Ella, apologize for what you did to the child, and maybe I'll give this back," he taunted, the blade dancing over the necklace's pendant.

"Ella, you've got one minute to say you're sorry, or forget about any old times," he added with a cruel smile.

Mandy and his cronies goaded him on, "She's a danger to your kid, Sean! You need to stand up to her..."

"Sean, my stomach... it hurts so bad... is our baby dying?"

As I stood defiant, Mandy's cries of pain pushed Sean over the edge. The knife moved, and the pendant's glass shattered.

A tiny photo fell out—the picture of my parents.

Tears streamed down as I clutched my wedding dress, my voice like a whisper, "Mr. Foster, I'm sorry for the trouble with your child. Please, just give me the photo back."

However, my plea did nothing to cool his fury. He brandished the photo of my parents and threatened, "Ella, you owe Mandy an apology!"

In that instant, what little dignity I had left was shattered.

Struggling, I approached Mandy and bowed deeply. "Ms. Lewis, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have touched you or your child. Please, I'm begging for your forgiveness..."

With that, I turned to Sean, hope flickering in my eyes. "Will you give it back now?"

Sean, clutching the photo, sauntered over and stopped just a breath away, his gaze piercing me. "You want this?"

"Yes, please, please give it back..." I nodded frantically, my hand outstretched for the cherished photo.

Sean then smirked.

He dropped the photo into a wine glass, tipped it out, and started grinding it under his shoe.

I let out a gut-wrenching scream and collapsed at his feet, yanking at his leg in a fury. "Sean, you jerk! I did what you wanted, so why are you still doing this to me? What did they ever do to deserve this?"

Sean's eyes lingered on my tear-streaked face for a moment before his mocking smile returned. "Now let's talk about you stealing the tiara from my uncle, Ella.

"Do you even know who my uncle is? You thought you could get close to him, did you?

"He's the king of Riverton, and you're nothing but a toad, not fit to even touch his shoes!"

I looked at the face I once knew so well and fell silent.

I was nothing but a gold digger in his eyes.

Yet when I first knew him, he was just a guy eating cheap food on the street corner.

"Sean, you claim I stole the tiara, but do you even recognize this?"