Chapter 88: Ruined Her

Mrs. Domino vehemently despised North, immediately upon her arrival calling the young woman a "slut."

Raven pursed his lips, then calmly addressed the black-clad bodyguard. The bodyguard respectfully stated, "Madam, Sir Raven, I'll wait outside." He then left.

Raven tucked his left hand into his trouser pocket; displeasure was etched on his handsome face. "Mom, you know I don't like this."

Mrs. Domino, elegantly dressed, showed traces of her former beauty, though resentment furrowed her brow. Seeing her son defending North, she tugged on the wheelchair's armrest.

"Raven, what did I say wrong? North's mother, Gloria, was your father's first love. They had an affair during their marriage."

"Robertson Paulo and I caught them kissing at a hotel. Later, Robertson drove Gloria home; they were in a fatal car accident. The shock of that day caused my accident—I lost my legs. I've been wheelchair-bound for fifteen years."

"Your father was deeply infatuated with that slut, Gloria. After her death, he brought that little slut, North, home. If not for a DNA test, I could have claimed North wasn't his child."

"Raven, don't you see your father's game? North, even more beautiful than her mother, has caught his eye."

"Enough," Raven interrupted, his face grim. "Mom, if there's nothing else, I'll call your guard to take you home."

"Raven, what's wrong with you? Your father's affair with Gloria ruined both their families. North is your enemy's daughter! Don't you feel uncomfortable around her?"

"Or perhaps North has cast some sort of spell on you? Both father and son lusting after the same woman—pathetic!" Mrs. Domino spat.

"Mom, I've told you, I don't love her. I love someone else," Raven countered.

Mrs. Domino had strict requirements for a daughter-in-law: an innocent family background, a high level of education, and absolutely no relation to North. North was a festering wound in her heart.

"If you don't like her, why have you spoiled her for years? Everyone knows you deflowered her."

Raven looked at his mother, then whispered, "Isn't that the best way to ruin someone? Step by step, I made her fall for me. On her eighteenth birthday, she gave herself to me. But my heart belonged to another. Are you still not satisfied?"

Mrs. Domino was, in fact, satisfied that North had moved out two years prior. However, the knowledge of their relationship filled her with disgust. Her husband's rage at Gloria had culminated in a divorce filing before Gloria's death; her son's affair with Gloria's daughter compounded her misery.

"Your father and Gloria tormented me. Raven, don't fail me. To fail me is to kill me."

Raven knelt before his mother, patting her hands gently. "Mom, I understand. I don't love her, okay?"

Mrs. Domino, her love for her son evident, patted his head. "Raven, I'm going now. I trust you to handle this."

The bodyguard entered and wheeled Mrs. Domino away.

Raven stood in the living room, then looked upstairs. The door was closed. He went up, opened the door, but the room was empty. North was gone.

He rushed to the balcony. The window was open; footprints marred the lawn below. She had jumped.

Frost covered Raven's face. He called her; she'd already left the villa. Her phone went straight to voicemail.

In the past two years, she'd changed drastically—from a timid, pain-averse girl to one who'd leap from a high balcony.

Icy raindrops began to fall. The rain intensified, driving pedestrians home. North stumbled, her legs bleeding, the blood mingling with the rain. Shivering and exhausted, she huddled under a bus shelter, drawing her knees to her chest.