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 ignored her.
• His grip around my neck tightened, knuckles whitening, as if consumed by uncontrollable rage.
• “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?
• " Listen, you filthy girl. From now on, you aren't stepping your foot outside no matter what."
• After Dash left, Dad began to drag me upstairs by force as I gasped in pain, ignorant of the pain that I was feeling in my arms. 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 from the outside.
• Through the door, I heard him mutter under his breath,
• "You're 21 now... it's time for you to disappear for good."
• What Leah didn’t know was that the moment she was locked in the room, the fake smile vanished from Clara’s face.
• She had done everything to turn Dash against Leah—and yet, even Leah lost her virginity, here he was, still defending her.
• Leah had no clue from the day she suddenly “episode”, she had already fallen into the trap carefully set by Clara.
• The pills Leah took that day weren’t for managing her condition—they were designed to mess with her emotions and make her lose control. Clara had it all figured out from the beginning: to sabotage her engagement to Dash and clear the way for Ivy to step in as his fiancée.
• And it was Clara who slipped the drugs into Leah’s juice last night and take her to an old man's suite, ensuring she would be violated and completely ruined—no longer a threat to Ivy’s happiness with Dash. But Clara had no idea the staff had taken Leah to the wrong room.
• But now, she realized that only if Leah completely disappeared would Ivy’s happiness be safe from any threat.
• She had no choice but to put her final plan into action.
• Then Clara lightly touched Richard’s shoulder and leaned in close.
• "I told you she was becoming rebellious," Clara whispered. "Did you hear her? She said she’s an adult and we can't do anything. I’m telling you, do something before she becomes a real problem for us."
• Richard’s jaw tightened as he thought about the very reason Leah was in this house at all.
• Richard's father had adored Leah so much so that he had ensured every last cent would go to her once she turned twenty-one, making her the sole heiress to the family’s vast fortune.
• The moment Richard learned his father was drafting a will, he had arranged for the old man’s accidental death. But his plan had backfired. By the time the will was revealed, it was too late—everything was legally Leah’s. Yet, Leah still didn't know about it.
• And if anything happened to her before she turned twenty-one, every dime, every property, every share of the Sinclair empire would be transferred to a charitable trust.
• Richard had no choice. He had to keep Leah alive. He had to ensure she stayed with him. He and Clara had been giving Leah drugs to ensure she had no education, no friends, and no lover—making her fully dependent on them and obedient to their every command.
• "You’re right," Richard murmured darkly. "She’s twenty-one now. It’s time for her to die."
• Clara smirked wickedly as Richard pulled out his phone to make a call.