Chapter 2
While the designer was busy admiring Avery in the dress, Avery couldn't help but glance at Thea's reflection in the mirror, or her phone screen. Her heart stopped, and rage bubbles.
Because what's reflected in the mirror in front of her, was a picture shown on Thea's phone of Emily Laughlin. The truth hits Avery in the face, and she is angry. This girl is trying to make a carbon copy of her dead friend, for what? Revenge? Grief? Avery doesn't know, but she knows that Thea is making her a black sheep, as if her current conflict within the Hawthorne Family wasn't enough, as if her feeling like she doesn't belong wasn't enough for her. Avery knows Thea knows it, and she's taking advantage of it,
There must be other reasons too, is she also doing it for Rebecca? Does she feel like this will be some kind of compensation for her? The loss of her sister? Who, from what she has gathered from stories she heard, sounds like Emily was a manipulative girl who shatters the relationship between two brothers and their mental stability, she also ruined her own sister's and best friend's mental stability as well. She dated two brothers behind their backs, knowing damn well that it would shatter them and their relationship with each other, and manipulates and deceived them so much, that they became blind to her doings. She gaslights and guilt trips them into doing what she wants and the boys fall for it because they loved her, she manipulated them to the point where infatuation turns into obsession. And she treats them like they were just pawns.
And when one of them finally breaks free of her control, what did she do? She gaslights and guilt trips him into thinking he was a horrible person, and when she's gone, the boys are traumatized by her. But instead of healing, you came in and took her turn guilt-tripping them, bringing painful memories back to them, and in turn making me the bad guy.
Avery is not a pawn, she's the player. And she won't fall for Thea's shenanigans.
Avery asked Alisa to escort Thea out the reason being "Embarrassed to change in front of many people", so Alisa insisted and escorted Thea out of the room. She motions Alisa to come closer, just in case Thea's listening, and whispered in her ear. "Alisa, can you pull up the listing of the auction you informed me about last week?"
Alisa was visibly confused because a week ago Avery showed no interest in the auction, and now she was suddenly interested. She has to ask, and ask she did. "May I ask what's the cause of your sudden interest? Because just a week ago, you showed no interest in the auction whatsoever."
Avery sighed and took out her phone, she had managed to snap a picture of the reflection of Thea's phone while no one was looking, and she held up the picture to Alisa. "Do you know who that is?"
"The model?" Alisa responded confused.
"That's Emily Laughlin, now look at her, and then look at me." Alisa looked closer at the picture, then looked back at her, then back at the picture, then back at her. Her face morphs from confusion to realization. Avery looks identical to Emily in her green dress, and glancing at the necklace on the table, it's clear that Thea meant for this to happen. "Oh god, I'm sorry Avery, I have no idea."
"It's alright, you didn't know. But in turn, can you help me, perhaps, to teach her a lesson?" Avery looked Alisa in the eye, and watch as she slowly nodded. "Can I see the listing?" Alisa pulled up the listing on her tablet and hands it over to Avery. Avery scrolls through paintings, vases, artifacts, and her eyes finally landed on a beautiful green dress displayed on a mannequin.
the dress is made of silk with an emerald shade of green, it has a v-cut bodice with two thin straps going from the shoulder down the back, which was a low-cut back that goes down to her lower waist. around the waist, tied a loose fabric reminiscent of a belt, that goes down the length of the dress. Avery knows the dress, it was the same dress from the movie 'Atonement' that was worn by Keira Knightley.
Avery handed the tablet back to Alisa, and Alisa admired the dress. "This will get attention, Avery. It will give certain people ideas, ideas of something they think you probably did."
"People will talk anyway, Alisa. I'm pretty sure a way to deal with those people, was to pay them no mind." Avery learned a lot throughout these times, she was a wallpaper before she was an Heiress, always trying to blend into the background. Now she was a public figure, always talked about, always in the spotlight. Well, if people want a story, then she'll give them a story. She heard Alisa sigh.
"Fine, and I'm guessing I should cancel the purchase for this dress?" Alisa said, motioning to the green dress she was currently wearing.
"Oh no no, proceed with the transaction. This will lead Thea into a false sense of security that her plan is working, and she will never think that I would buy another dress." Alisa looked at Avery with a slight shock, she never thought Avery could be this devious. After recovering from her shock, Alisa proceeds to complete the bid on the dress, offering a price that she's sure no one else could top for the dress, and helped Avery with the decoy dress, paying for it with Thea in the line of vision.
Time skip to the day of the gala, Alisa made sure that Thea would not enter Avery's room while she was dressing. Avery hid the decoy dress after displaying it earlier for Thea to see before she left, she hid it inside one of the drawers in her walk-in closet, covered up by other clothes stacked on top of it. Along with the necklace and other accessories that Thea picked out, out of sight.
Alisa brought out the dress from the auction, which she purposefully sent to her residence instead of the Hawthorne Estate so it will be easier to hide. Avery got into the dress and the stylists got to work, doing her makeup, and her hair, Alisa pulled out a whole new arrangement of jewelry for Avery to choose from. Every step went differently from what Thea instructed and went just the way Avery planned, even down to the makeup.
Avery admires herself in the mirror, her hair was up in a loose updo with a diamond flower hairpin adorning it, her makeup looks stunning and suited her dress and her aesthetic nicely, a gold layered necklace adorned her collar, and a diamond bracelet on her wrist along with a few gold rings on both hands. Her feet adorned a pair of beautiful gold open-toed strap high-heeled sandals, leafs coming from a few areas on the straps.
She looks stunning, and even Alisa seems satisfied with the result. Alisa hands Avery a black satin handbag, already with the essentials she needed, and escorted Avery to the limo outside, and leave for the gala.
"Avery, look over here!”
“Any comment about the arrest of Drake Sanders?”
“Can you comment on the future of the Hawthorne Foundation?”
“Is it true that your mother was once arrested for solicitation?”
If it hadn’t been for the seven rounds of practice questions I’d been put through earlier, that last one would have gotten me. I would have answered, and my answer would have contained expletives, plural. Instead, I stood near the car and waited. And then the question I’d been waiting for came. “With everything that’s happened, how do you feel?”
I looked directly at the reporter who’d asked that question. “I’m grateful to be alive,” I said. “And I’m grateful to be here tonight.”
The event was held in an art museum. We entered the upper floor and descended a massive marble staircase into the exhibit hall. By the time I was halfway down, everyone in the room was either staring at me or not-staring in a worse way. At the bottom of the stairs, I saw Grayson. He wore a tuxedo exactly the way he wore a suit. He was holding a glass—clear, with clear liquid inside. The moment he saw me, he froze in place, as suddenly and fully as if someone had stopped time. I thought back to standing with him at the bottom of the hidden staircase, to the way he’d looked at me, and on some level, I thought that was the way he was looking at me now.
Slowly, his eyes soften, and a look of affection took over, along with a soft smile on his lips. Avery gracefully walked down the staircase and took the hand offered by Grayson.
As Avery walked toward the main event, she locked eyes with Thea who is standing far off to the side, shakily holding a wine glass in her hand and an attempt at the hidden rage on her face. Avery simply gave her a closed eye smile and proceeds to walk away, hand in hand with Grayson Hawthorne.
Taking a time off from the gala, Avery goes to the bathroom to touch up her lipstick and is approached by a red-faced Thea. Avery ignored her for a minute, looking at her reflection while re-touching her lipstick, before putting it away into her handbag and turning to Thea. "Lovely evening isn't it, Thea?"
"What did you do?!" Thea said, her tone implying her trying to talk calmly behind the rage.
"What? I didn't do anything. I think the question should be what were you trying to do?" And just like that, Avery knew. She got her.
"Trying to guilt trip two already grieving boys? Trying to drive them into insanity?" Avery glared at Thea, expressing the rage she has been pushing away until now.
"Emily, it’s always Emily with you idiots. What is wrong with you? Why do you feel the need to do what Emily would have wanted, huh? She's dead!" Avery started to move toward her, leaning forward as Avery forced her back and boy, was it satisfying to see the look of shock of hearing Avery raise her voice on her face.
"You wanna know what I think? I think that you, Rebecca, Grayson, and Jameson need therapy. Why? Because you guys are traumatized as fuck!
I think Emily was a manipulative bitch who shatters the relationship between two brothers and their mental stability, she also ruined her own sister's and best friend's mental stability as well. She dated two brothers behind their backs, knowing damn well that it would shatter them and their relationship with each other, and manipulates and deceived them so much, that they became blind to her doings. She gaslights and guilt trips them into doing what she wants and the boys fall for it because they loved her, she manipulated them to the point where infatuation turns into obsession. And she treats them like a sack of shit.
And when one of them finally breaks free of her control, what did she do? She gaslights and guilt trips him into thinking he was a horrible person, and when she's gone, the boys are traumatized by her. But instead of healing, you came in and took her turn guilt tripping them, bringing painful memories back to them, and in turn trying to make me the bad guy."
Thea was shaken to the core, she was about to open her mouth but before she could utter a word, I cut her off. I'm pissed off now, she tried to humiliate me just to get "revenge" on the boys that, in her mind, killed Emily. When in reality, Emily was the mastermind of it all and she brought it upon herself, her heart was the one that killed her. And now, Thea is set with this mindset to get revenge on two traumatized boys instead of moving on and seeing Emily's true nature.
She is blinded, all of them are.
Nice girl Avery is out, delinquent Avery is in. And Thea Calligaris has no idea who she's messing with.
"Now, you." Thea visibly flinched as the attention turns to her.
"You are not out of the picture in all of this, oh no no no. You are just as influenced by her as they were, you were just as obsessed, if not more obsessed with her. And in your mind, Grayson and Jameson are to blame for her death because if it weren't for them, her heart wouldn't have killed her. But in reality, she manipulated you so much that your mind revolves around her, and you decided to take it out on two traumatized boys that were just as broken as you were, if not more. And because of you, instead of healing, they just keep reminiscing about it painfully in their mind.
Whether you like it or not, Emily is the manipulative mastermind that got all of you under her, even her sister who is now blaming herself for her death. Because her entire life, it's always Emily. It's almost like you have Emily's voice in your head, spewing shit into your brain and telling you what to do. Do you know what that sounds like? Sounds like you have a case of schizophrenia, hearing Emily's voice in your head. Would you like a psychiatrist? Would you like a prescription for that?"
Avery sighed, man, she's exhausted. Avery straightened, slowly walks towards Thea, and digs her manicured nail under her chin, forcing Thea to look her in the eye. "I am no pawn of yours, Thea Calligaris. I am the player, and I just played you for a fool."
"Now, You seem to have never experienced what it’s like to lose so I’m courteously teaching you that lesson now.
You have two options, A. Take it down a notch and we’re cool, and go to therapy. I'll happily provide you and Becca with appointments paid for by me, so you can finally accept the fact of what Emily truly was, a manipulator. Or option B. Leave, I can completely kick you out of the house, get a restraining order against you, and call security on you if I ever get news that you’re trespassing on the property. I’m not your cat toy, you twisted psychopath. And leave the boys alone, too. They’ve done nothing to you and most definitely not to Emily. It’s quite plainly put, pathetic what you’re doing. Are you five because if not, as I’m sure you aren’t, have much better things to do like growing a pair? Get over yourself."
I pushed her away and admired how scared she looks at that moment, serves her right.
"Now, you have exactly 5 seconds to get the fuck out of my face before I broke your bones, I am not afraid to get physical, Calligaris. And no one will ever know that it was me, they would never suspect me. You have no idea of what I'm capable of, so I suggest you book it in 5, 4, 3-" I watched as Thea scrambled to her feet and hurries out of the bathroom.
Avery followed suit after a minute or two and walked back toward the event as if nothing happened, she chatted away with Grayson and the other guests while Thea is quietly fidgeting where she sat. The rest of the night goes smoothly, and Avery arrived back in her bedroom and practically collapses onto her bed.
It all goes according to plan.