Chapter 3 Unwanted

• || LEAH’S POV ||
• The air felt thinner with every breath, my chest tightening like it was being squeezed.
• I was suffocating—my face flushed, and darkness crept at the edges of my vision.
• Just as I was about to black out, Ivy slipped in beside me.
• She wrapped her arm around Dash’s and whispered sweetly, like honey dripping from her voice, “Darling, I’ve told you before… you’ve never really known Leah. She’s not the ‘good girl’ you think she is.”
• Dash’s glare on me hardened with fury as his grip around my neck tightened, knuckles whitening with each provoking remark from Ivy.
• “She’s always been like this—sneaking out for her little escapades, and returning home in the morning.…” Ivy’s voice sharpened, cutting through the air like venom. “Her purity was already gone—”
• “Shut up!”
• Dash suddenly roared, shaking off Ivy’s hand from his arm and, at the same moment, releasing his grip on my neck.
• Ivy stumbled, nearly falling, but Clara was quick to catch her.
• I sank to the floor, gasping for air like I’d been dragged back from the edge of death.
• I didn’t care how many venomous words Ivy spat out—she could slander me all she wanted.
• Ever since Clara brought her into my family, she’d been trying to take everything that should have been mine.
• Dash’s gaze remained cold and unyielding as he locked eyes with Ivy. His voice was laced with anger and a clear warning:
• “What happens between Leah and me is none of your business. Don’t forget—if I want, I can call off our engagement and end the partnership between our families at any time.”
• Smack—!
• Out of nowhere, a hard slap landed across my cheek, sharp and loud.
• My head jerked to the side, my cheek burning. I stood there stunned, ears ringing, unable to even react.
• When I finally looked up, tears were streaming down my face.
• It was my father standing in front of me.
• His face was flushed, chest rising and falling with heavy breaths, eyes filled with a fierce mix of anger and disappointment I’d never seen before.
• “You unfilial daughter! How dare you disgrace this family’s name like this?”
• He raised his hand again.
• But Dash grabbed his wrist, stopping him mid-air.
• “Richard! Don’t you dare touch her!” he snapped and father instantly took a step back in fear.
• Just then, Clara stepped forward and pulled my father back.“Sweetheart, did you forget? Yesterday was Leah’s 21st birthday. She’s an adult now—so what if she let loose a little? You can’t sentence her to death over a couple of love bites, can you?”
• Father’s expression changed, and he clearly froze for a moment, but his lips stayed pressed in a tight line—the anger still burning in his eyes.
• Clara reached down and helped me to my feet. But I stumbled, my body still weak and aching.
• Dash stood frozen, his face as cold as ice, his eyes locked on me with a storm of emotions swirling beneath the surface.
• He stepped closer, his voice low but sharp as a blade:
• "Leah Sinclair, I’m warning you—don’t ever pull a stunt like this again."
• "Or else… or I swear you won’t like the consequences."
• With that, he shot a chilling glance at everyone around us, then left angrily.
• I stood frozen, stunned—my ears ringing.
• Who was he to tell me what to do or not to do?
• Suddenly, a harsh grip clamped around my wrist, making me spin around—straight into my father's furious eyes.
• "Listen, you filthy girl. From now on, you’re not stepping outside."
• Before I could even process his words, he yanked me toward the stairs. I stumbled, gasping at the pain shooting up my arm, but he didn’t slow down—completely unmoved by my discomfort.
• I shouted with all my strength, crying in pain,
• " NOOO! You can't do this to me. You can't...I am an adult. Father!! "
• He shoved me into the room and slammed the door shut before me. My cries were muffled by the thick wooden door.
• I sank to the floor, sobbing.“Why did You give me this mental sickness, God? How long do I have to bear this? When will it end? Why me, God? Why me? I cried out, desperate for an answer. But God, too, seemed heartless—silent, unmoved, deaf to my pleading.
• *
• || CLARA ’S POV ||
• “Did you hear what that little brat just said? She’s becoming rebellious,” I whispered, staring at my husband—my stupid, spineless husband. God, he really was an idiot… but I loved him for it. After all, he listened to everything I told him, like a well-trained dog.
• “You’re right, darling,” Richard muttered through clenched teeth, his face twisted in disgust—just the way I wanted him to feel about his useless daughter.
• “I’ll teach her a lesson she’ll never forget for daring to defy me.”
• I sighed dramatically, pressing a hand to my chest, pretending to hesitate.
• “But honey, she’s twenty-one now. What if she takes everything from us—and from Ivy?” I whispered, voice trembling just enough to sound sincere. “I don’t want this… but she—she has to die. For Ivy’s happiness.”
• I looked at him with big, watery eyes, playing my part flawlessly.
• “Our daughter deserves peace. We have no choice.”
• My voice was soft, almost broken. I made sure to wear that perfect innocent expression—wide-eyed, lips quivering, like I was heartbroken by the very idea.
• But inside?
• Inside, I was grinning.
• I’d been waiting for this moment for years. That pathetic girl, Leah, had no idea she’d already walked into every trap I’d laid out for her.
• Just like I turned Dash against her.
• Well, almost.
• That boy was dumber than I thought—still trying to protect her, even after she lost her virginity. As if anyone would still want her now.
• Poor Leah. She didn’t know that the pills she took during her “episode” weren’t for her condition. No. I made sure those pills would twist her emotions, make her unstable, reckless. Just enough to sabotage everything—including her engagement with Dash.
• And last night?
• It was me. I drugged her juice. I took her to that hotel suite—the one meant for an old man who was more than happy to… ruin her. A scandal that would stain her for life.
• Still, one thing was clear now. As long as Leah was alive, Ivy would never be safe. Her happiness, her future with Dash—it would always be threatened by that girl's existence.
• Leah had to die. For good this time.
• If I was ever going to get what had always belonged to me, she couldn’t be in the way.
• But the problem was...
• She was the key to everything.
• Richard’s father adored that girl more than his own son. He made sure Leah would inherit everything on her twenty-first birthday—the entire Sinclair empire, down to the last damn coin.
• That’s why Richard had arranged for the old man’s “accident.” But the will had already been signed. Too late to undo it.
• And Leah?
• She still didn’t know. She was clueless. So easy to manipulate.
• If she died before turning twenty-one, everything would go to a charitable trust. Not us. Not Ivy.
• That’s why we’d kept her close. Drugged her just enough to keep her compliant. No school, no friends, no real contact with the world. No future. Just us—me and Richard, the only voices she heard.
• But now?
• Now, she had turned twenty-one.
• Which meant… she could die.
• “You’re right,” Richard murmured, his voice dark and low. “She’s twenty-one now. It’s time for her to die.”
• A wicked smirk tugged at my lips as I watched him pull out his phone.
• Finally.