Our Accidental Forever
Chapter 51: Seed Of Discord (1)

Chapter 51: Seed Of Discord (1)

Joanne’s POV:

The moment I stepped into my car, I slammed the door so hard I thought the entire window might shatter. The loud bang seemed to echo through the small space, but I didn’t care. My hands gripped the steering wheel with so much force that my knuckles turned white, and I wished I could crush the damn thing. Anything to get rid of this seething rage bubbling inside me.

"How dare she," I spat, my breath coming fast and shallow, my chest heaving in time with my fury. The audacity of that woman... Ella. I could barely say her name without feeling like I wanted to scream. "Ella," I repeated, venom dripping from my voice. Who the hell did she think she was?

I hit my hand against the steering wheel. Once. Twice. Three times. Each impact reverberated through the car, but the sting in my palm did nothing to cool the volcano of rage threatening to explode inside me.

I was shaking, my thoughts spiraling out of control. I let out a guttural scream, the sound loud and ugly as it bounced off the windows. Even that wasn’t enough. Nothing could contain the humiliation that surged through me like a wildfire, burning every rational thought in its path.

That nobody, that nothing, had the nerve to talk to me like that? To stand there with her smug little smile, as if she’d already won? As if she had a claim on Arec? I had been here long before her, knew Arec inside and out.

We had a bond that stretched back years, far before she ever stumbled into his life. Yet here she was, playing the demure fiancée, standing there all high and mighty, acting like she belonged. Acting like she had the right to dictate anything about my Arec’s life.

My hands trembled with fury. I could barely contain it. My nails dug into the leather of the steering wheel, leaving marks, but I didn’t care. All I could see was her smug face, those wide, innocent eyes pretending she was better than me.

I’d given everything to Arec. Everything. We had shared so much, and yet here I was, shoved aside like I was nothing more than a piece of old furniture. And for what? For her? She didn’t belong in his world. She couldn’t understand him the way I did.

The scandal, the video, all of it, none of it had worked. I’d paid Klaus handsomely, too. That bastard, I thought with that video Arec will have a change of heart.

I thought Arec would see Ella for what she really was. But instead of shattering their relationship, it had only brought them closer.

I gritted my teeth, my jaw aching with how hard I clenched it. All that effort, all those sleepless nights, planning every little detail, gone to waste. And now she had the gall to look down on me? To speak to me like that?

I hit the steering wheel again. "I’ll make her pay," I growled through clenched teeth, my fingers curling so tight that my knuckles turned white. "I’ll make her regret ever thinking she could take him from me."

It wasn’t enough to ruin her reputation anymore. No, this needed to be personal. I needed her to feel the sting of betrayal. To make her question everything around her until she was as desperate and miserable as I felt right now.

And Arec, oh, Arec would be part of it. He would have to be. He was already wrapped around her little finger, but if I could plant the right seed...

My fingers itched for my phone. I grabbed it from the passenger seat and unlocked it, my mind racing with the perfect plan. If Arec thought Ella was uncomfortable around me, if he started questioning why, then maybe, just maybe, I could warm my way into his thoughts again. Cast a little shadow of doubt. He trusted me. He always had.

I opened my messages and typed quickly, my fingers moving over the screen with purpose.

"I’m sorry I had to leave, I never knew my presence was making your fiancée uncomfortable. I’d hate to come between you two. Take care, talk later."

I stared at the words for a moment, feeling a cruel smirk pull at my lips. It was perfect. Not too direct, not accusatory, just enough to make him question what had happened between me and Ella.

I knew Arec. He would wonder what Ella said or did to make me leave. He’d go to her, ask her questions, and maybe, just maybe, he’d start to see what I already knew: Ella wasn’t fit for him. Not in the way I was.

I hit send, the message flying off into the ether, and leaned back in my seat, feeling a small sense of satisfaction curl in my chest. It wasn’t much, but it was the start of something. It had to be.

I started the car, my heart still pounding, but now for a different reason. A sense of calm was settling over me, the storm of my anger beginning to fade into something more controlled.

It was like the flick of a switch, the cold, calculated version of myself that always took over when I needed to get things done. That fire from earlier? That was gone. I didn’t need fury to take Ella down. I needed precision.

As I pulled out of the venue’s parking lot, I went over the plan in my mind. It wouldn’t be enough just to make Arec question her. I needed to break them apart, piece by piece, slowly enough that neither of them realized what was happening until it was too late.

Ella had caught me off guard today, sure. She had more spine than I gave her credit for, but that just made the game all the more interesting.

Because now, I knew exactly what I was dealing with. I knew her strength, and I could exploit her weaknesses. She thought she’d won today by standing up to me, but she had no idea who she was really dealing with.

A small smile crept across my face as I pictured Ella, clueless and unsuspecting, going about her life, thinking she’d somehow put me in my place. Poor thing. She didn’t even know what was coming.

I drove faster, the city blurring past me as my thoughts sharpened into focus. This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. And by the time I was done, Ella wouldn’t just lose Arec, she’d lose everything.