The Second Wife by Melinda Mulera (book club reads .txt) 📗

Chapter 40: Turn of news

"Fine. Where should I even start...." He sighed as he thought for a moment. "Right. I'll start with me then, when I was born, being the last one always sucked because the others were much older than I was, so when Hazel, a kid a few years younger showed up, I was extremely happy about it. His mother though.... She had this weird over protectiveness towards him that she would sometimes even hurt me if I got close to him. One time, I remember, I accidentally cut his arm with a plastic sword our dad bought for us, it was from some TV show called Samurai Jack, anyway, she ended up whipping me with it and tried to pull my hair out. My mother got furious and they fought before my father managed to stop them. Thereafter, I tried hard not to play with him but he would always come and ask to play, so when I had to, turned out whilst we were playing, he snapped his ankle. His mother, again beat me up for it, since I told him to hide in the place he got hurt. Then a few months later my eldest brother told me I was too stupid to notice that Hazel was injuring himself deliberately to get me in trouble. So I went straight up and confronted him about it, he didn't take it lightly and told his mother I was being abusive. He hurt himself yet again and this time it was really bad. He managed to stab his own hand with a fork and put the blame on me. Everyone believed him and I had to suffer from it. So since then, I never went near him and gave him all the space he needed. My mother knew about it but she couldn't do anything, or else my father would bash her for it. Then, a few weeks after that his mother died from a shoot out at a friend's party. We buried her after some days and he was so devastated about it. We tried to make him feel okay but he did what he always did. Now with our father by his side, he would hurt us and get us punished. My father was a harsh man in the past so him loving Hazel so much was sickening. The three of us began to grow hate as he would always frame us for things we didn't do. The others, my brothers, they gave up and left, never said a word since." He sighed out, rubbing his temples as he thought for a moment.

"Right. Then, as we grew up, my father grew quiet and my mother took over most of the ruling. After my father learned that Hazel was setting up the things we were being punished for, he kind of backed off and stopped backing him up. We became the spotlight and my mother immediately ordered for him to get disowned. My father didn't accept the claim even when he warned her that Hazel was a devil. So that continued until six years back when Hazel got married at a young age-"

"Hazel was married!?" I chocked as I stared at him. "He never told me that..."

"Because it's not a good time, anyway, he was married to an orange head, he never really told anyone but they got married secretly and were living in this same place. Then when I met this woman, well we uh... Did things together-"

"Seriously?"

"Ahem, we did things and he kind of found out and when I discovered she was actually married was too late. They got into a fight so late in the evening when I tried to explain that I didn't know. So when he tried to hit me, she tried to stop him and he pushed her so hard that she fell back and hit the back of her head against the countertop, killing her almost instantly." He sighed shakily as he shut his eyes and ran a hand through the hair while I remained frozen.

Hazel....

"Yeah, she died on spot and he panicked. I called an ambulance and they couldn't save her. He couldn't talk when the police arrived and were about to arrest him for suspicion of murder but I explained the situation and they told him to visit an anger management class instead. Since then, he's been blaming me for her death and so that's why we don't see eye-to-eye. But anyway, the same stupid cycle is continuing with you." He said as he crossed his arms on his chest. "You get the story now?"

"Hazel must have been carrying it a these years..." I sighed out as I gripped my hair.

"Why are you backing him for!?" He snapped as he glared at me. "Why do you only see him as the victim!? I also went through hell!"

"He was just a kid!" I hissed at him. "He didn't deserve all that!"

"Like hell he didn't!" He said through greeted teeth. "Is he so important than me!? Don't you love me too!?"

"Avery don't start-"

"No, you can't take his side just because you're in a serious relationship with him. You also have to turn my way."

"Why should I? Fine, I'm sorry, but you can't go around speaking ill about him and expect his girlfriend, no, fiancée to just watch!" I hissed, only to notice him clench his jaw tightly.

"Smart talk Iris." He forced an airy laugh. "But we both know who makes you more turned on." He suddenly grabs my shirt and pulls me to him, forcing his lips on mine as his other hand reached down to my jeans, releasing the button within seconds. Gasping internally, I tried to pull back but his grip on the back of my head was unbreakable and slightly painful.

Of course it's Avery. He makes me feel things I can't compute. He forces feelings into me when I don't want them. In the end, I always fall behind my plans.

"I thought you said you wouldn't touch her." Hazel's voice buzzed into my ears and Avery leaned back, though not instantly. "That's even more than touching. Plus, thirty minutes is over."

"You poisoned Iris." Avery said as he got up, leaving me instantly. "You made her pity you. You sick bastard don't deserve her!"

"Like hell, and you think you do?" He asked as he shot Avery a nasty glare. His brows crossed and knitted together as his jaw clenched tight.

"Fvck you!" Avery hissed. "You had that wife of yours, you even loved her. Now that I sparked interest in Iris, you wanted to take her away, right? You want me to feel what you felt when she cheated on you, right? But I didn't even know!" He yelled and I couldn't help but notice Hazel freeze in place.

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