Filed to story: Shattered Vows (Venessa Windsor) Book PDF Free
Madison was trembling with fear, her hands covering her ears.
Venessa abruptly lifted her head, casting a cold, dark gaze toward them.
“What, you can’t even handle hearing about it? Then how do you think I, the one who actually lived through it, managed?”
“Why didn’t you tell us you went to District Nine Prison? We had no idea!”
“Why didn’t I speak up, you ask?” Venessa let out a sarcastic laugh. “Do you really think I could reach out to the outside world? The one and only time I asked the prison guard to borrow a phone, can you guess what happened? They hung me up and beat me senseless all night!”
Gabe’s face turned ashen as if he’d been severely startled.
Venessa continued, “Maybe fate didn’t deem it my time to die, allowing me to return alive from District Nine Prison to Jexburgh. Even so, I wasn’t spared from the prison bully. Every day I returned, I spent in the throes of her torment. After hearing all this, Mr. Pierce, aren’t you relieved? Aren’t you glad it was me who ended up in prison instead of your dear sister, Madison?”
Gabe clenched his fists tightly, his eyes as dim as the darkness of the end of the world.
Worry etched wrinkles on his handsome face, even rejuvenating his consciousness.
His mouth opened slightly. He wanted to voice his concerns, but whatever he said now would seem like he was complaining without cause, so he hesitated to speak further.
“Vena, you’ve suffered so much…” Harriet’s voice was choked with emotion as she struggled to speak.
Every word Venessa uttered pierced Harriet like a blade, causing her immense pain and throwing her into utter chaos.
“Mrs. Pierce, I deserve this hardship. After all, didn’t I enjoy eighteen years of blessings in the Pierce family?” Venessa said calmly.
The more she maintained this nonchalant attitude, like an outsider, the more it tugged at everyone’s heartstrings.
Harriet sobbed uncontrollably. “I’m so sorry. I will make it up to you in the future.”
“If you want to make it up to someone, Mrs. Pierce, it should be to Madison. After all, she is your biological daughter whom you lost for eighteen years.”
Unable to hold back, Gabe scolded, “Venessa, can’t you see how remorseful Mom is toward you? Must you speak with such a sarcastic tone?”
He genuinely felt for what Venessa had gone through these past years, but his anger at that moment was just as real.
His expression was stern as he continued, “Regardless, all of that is in the past. You’re out of prison now. Can’t you let bygones be bygones and live a good life with us? Do you really have to make a scene and make everyone unhappy before you’re satisfied? You’re treating us like we’re beneath your notice.”
Let bygones be bygones?
Just four simple words, and he thought they could erase my four years of hellish existence?
He’s never experienced my hardships, yet he’s judging me.
They’re clearly the offenders, but they still have the audacity to take the moral high ground.
Venessa felt like cursing them, but when the words reached her lips, she didn’t want to utter a single one.
Cole’s emotions took a long time to settle.
Listening to Venessa describe her grim life in prison, even if he wasn’t her ex-fiancé, even if he was just a stranger, he would still feel distressed for her.
He couldn’t help but speak up for her. “Gabe, I didn’t see Venessa making a scene at all. She was just telling it like it is! As her brother, you didn’t comfort her and even scolded her. Isn’t that just unacceptable?”
Fury surged from the depths of Gabe’s heart. “Cole, I noticed something off about you today. In front of Madison, you were constantly defending Venessa. If anyone’s not up to the mark, it’s you, her supposed fiancé!”
He then turned to look at Venessa with a disdainful gaze.
“You’re quite crafty, aren’t you? On your very first day out of prison, you managed to catch Cole’s attention. I noticed you seem to have trouble walking. Were you playing up your hardships to gain his sympathy? You even got him to book a room for you? With just the two of you in a room, did anything unspeakable happen?”
Annoyed, Venessa lashed out at him, “Mr. Pierce, your mind is tainted, so don’t project your filth onto everything else! Didn’t you all ask me to tidy up myself before coming to see Grandma, and if I may ask, did anyone pay me for it? If it weren’t for Cole lending me the money, how could I have afforded a room? Yes, I do have trouble walking. Wasn’t my leg disability mentioned in the medical report? I had just been released from prison today, and yet, you violently dragged me out of the car, causing me injuries. Have you forgotten the harm you’ve caused me, Mr. Pierce? True, you’ve already found your biological sister, so why would you care about an outsider like me?”
Venessa vented her pent-up resentment.
She had already been released from prison. There was no reason for her to be subjected to torment again.
“Venessa, I’ll apologize on Gabe’s behalf.” Madison choked up as she bowed deeply. “Could you please not be mad at him? It wasn’t his intention. Blame me if you must. I shouldn’t have come back to this home.”
Her gentle, obedient demeanor almost melted Gabe’s heart.
He immediately patted her back, gently comforting her.
“Madison, it’s not about you. She’s just trying to stir up trouble. Don’t take her words to heart. I forgot to warn you, Venessa is quite the actress. She has a knack for exaggerating her words and adding fuel to the fire. As for her past experiences, take them with a grain of salt. I lived with her for eighteen years; I know her better than anyone else!”
Harriet stopped crying and came over to comfort Madison. “Listen to your brother. This matter doesn’t concern you, so there’s no need to blame yourself.”
The implication was clear. She took Gabe’s words as the truth and dismissed Venessa’s as a mix of truth and falsehood.
Venessa observed the heartwarming scene of their family and suddenly found herself laughing in disbelief.
I’m quite the actress and have a knack for exaggerating my words?
They are the so-called family members who have completely disregarded my struggles for four long years in the jaws of death.
They won’t let me defend myself and always assume the worst of me with the utmost malice.
Every additional second she lingered, Venessa felt as if she was betraying the hard-won freedom she had regained.
“Sorry, I’m heading back to the hotel to rest. Once Grandma wakes up, I’ll come to see her again,” Venessa said calmly as she bowed and exited the ward.
Determined to get out of bed, she slowly left the ward, her disabled legs slightly uneven.
Her body swayed with each step, making every movement seem extraordinarily difficult.
Harriet couldn’t help but cover her mouth, breaking into sobs.
When she was about to chase after Venessa, Gabe stopped her. “Mom, let me go.”
Venessa had just returned to the hotel and lay down when there was a knock at the door.
A familiar voice echoed through the door. “Ms. Pierce, it’s me, Cole.”
After a moment of hesitation, Venessa opened the door.
Cole was holding two large bags, intending to enter the room.
Venessa stopped him, her tone indifferent as she said, “Mr. Lockwood, this might not be very convenient.”
If the Pierce family found out, they would undoubtedly harbor suspicions. They would wonder if the two of them, alone and unchaperoned, were up to no good in the room.
