Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

By the time I snapped out of it, Ethan had already bailed out of the car.

As Ethan yanked Richard out, he clocked him right in the face.

I was losing it inside the car, but Richard's bike was blocking my door.

They were trading punches, getting into a full-on brawl.

I had to crawl over to the driver's side to get out.

They were about the same height, but Ethan looked a bit beefier. Richard, though, was strong and wild, landing solid hits. Ethan was kinda getting his ass kicked.

I tried to break them up for ages, but it was pointless. So, I squatted down and started chucking snowballs at Richard.

Richard didn't see that coming. As he tried to block the snowballs, Ethan got in a few good punches, making Richard stumble back.

Thinking about all the crap Richard had done, and poor Sophie and Abby, I lost it. I went nuts, hurling snowballs at him, letting all my anger out.

I yelled, "You got the guts to act like a jerk but can't own up to it? Richard, you're not a man!"

My freak-out actually made them stop fighting.

Ethan looked shocked; he'd never seen me like this.

Richard, covered in snow, started laughing.

When he grinned, his blood-stained teeth made him look creepy. He wiped the blood from his mouth with his thumb and gave me a nasty smile. "Thanks for the lesson, Emily. So, you ready to own up to your affair?"

I stared at him, stunned. "What the hell are you talking about?"

My reaction made him laugh even harder.

"I'm not joking. Faris told me you seduced him that night, and he even bragged about how good you were in bed. Didn't you two break the bed?" Richard kept spewing his lies.

I looked at Ethan, panicked. His face changed when he heard Richard's crap.

I was both freaked out and furious, grabbing snow and throwing it at Richard.

Amidst the swirling snowflakes, Richard laughed smugly.

"What's wrong, Emily? Ashamed? For a second-married woman, you're pretty good at seducing men. First, my brother, then Faris. Faris almost got crippled saving you-guess he just couldn't bear the thought of missing another night with you."

Every word felt like a punch to my gut.

I nearly lost it, rushing at him, grabbing his clothes, and trying to slap him, but he dodged. I was like a madwoman, hitting him.

"Are you even human? Do you know how important a woman's reputation is?"

My punches didn't faze Richard. He swayed under my pulling but laughed wildly, continuing to stab at my heart.

"A second-married woman talking about reputation? What a joke."

Ethan came over to pull me away, but I couldn't even look at him. I just kept my head down, gasping for air.

Even though Richard's words were lies, I felt too ashamed to face Ethan after being smeared like this.

Richard kept mentioning what Faris supposedly said. At this moment, I just wanted to find Faris and ask him why he would say such things that could destroy me.

I pushed Richard away and shook off Ethan's hand.

I rushed to the car and got into the driver's seat.

"Emily!"

I heard Ethan shouting my name, his voice full of tension.

But I had lost it. I started the car and drove away, my driving all over the place.

In the rearview mirror, I saw Ethan running after the car. But he quickly got smaller and smaller.

I gripped the steering wheel, my chest bursting with rage, feeling no fear as I drove. The phone rang repeatedly, but I ignored it.

Soon, I heard an engine behind me. In the rearview mirror, I saw Ethan chasing me on Richard's motorcycle. Not wanting him to catch up, I floored it. "Emily, stop!"

I vaguely heard his shout mixed with the engine noise.

But I was too far gone. Richard's words made me feel so humiliated. I couldn't face Ethan until my name was cleared.

Ethan probably realized that the more he chased, the faster I drove, so he slowed down.

At an intersection, a kid ran across the road. Panicking, I swerved and crashed into the greenery with a loud bang. My head hit the steering wheel, and I blacked out.

When I woke up, I smelled disinfectant and saw Jason in a lab coat by the bed.

Seeing me awake, Jason's expression relaxed, and he said gently, "You're awake?"

Next, Bella's face appeared in front of me.

"Emily, you're finally awake. You scared the crap outta me. You don't even have your driver's license yet, and you were speeding. You're really something."

I looked around and didn't see anyone else.

Bella caught on and said, "Don't bother looking for him. Ethan had to rush to the office. He said something urgent came up. He called me to come over 'cause he had to leave. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known." Jason swapped out my IV bag and grinned. "They say ignorance is bliss. Guess that goes for new drivers too."

Bella jumped in, "Emily, you're usually so timid. What got into you this time?"

Seeing I wasn't talking, she waved her hand in front of my face and teased, "Emily, cat got your tongue? Did that crash knock you silly?"

Jason chuckled and, being the pro he is, gave his verdict. "Emily, you got lucky this time. Just some minor injuries."

Jason had to get back to work, so he didn't stay long.

Thinking about what Richard had said, my heart felt like it was being ripped apart.

I stared blankly at the ceiling and muttered, "I suddenly get how Oliver felt when he couldn't defend himself."

Mentioning Oliver made Bella's face go stiff. She looked at me, puzzled.

I laid it all out-from Abby's disappearance to Richard's lies.

After hearing it all, Bella shook her fist. If Richard were here, she'd probably deck him.

"If I knew he was such a jerk, we shouldn't have bothered saving him."

I knew Ethan saving him had nothing to do with whether he was a jerk.

Ethan must know Richard's character inside out. Saving him was just something he had to do as a brother.

Bella wanted to stay with me at the hospital, but I insisted she go home.

She left in the evening.

Ethan didn't show up, not even a call, until it was dark.

He must be stewing over Richard's words. Any guy would react to hearing that kind of stuff. Especially since he's always been touchy about my interactions with Faris. Thinking about this made my head spin.

Words can be brutal! Sometimes slander and rumors cut deeper than a knife. Knife wounds heal, but rumors and slander can mess up your heart and the trust between people. Lost in my chaotic thoughts, I didn't notice when I fell asleep.

Waking up in the pitch-black room, I saw light seeping through the curtains and someone sitting by the bed.

Without thinking, I slapped him hard. The slap hurt us both; I bit my lip and groaned in pain.

Faris quickly realized something was wrong and turned on the bedside lamp. He immediately saw that the back of my hand, the one with the IV, which I had used to slap him, was swollen. He pressed the call button, and a nurse came in shortly.

The nurse said the IV had come out and moved the needle to my other hand.

"Knowing you have an IV in your hand, you shouldn't move it. Can't you be more careful?"

The nurse said this with a hint of blame, glancing at Faris. Faris didn't say anything.

After the nurse left, Faris said calmly, "I heard you were speeding on the road? If I remember right, you don't even have your driver's license yet. Got a death wish?"

The built-up frustration turned into tears streaming down my face.

I cried and said, "I do have a death wish. Why is there always someone who doesn't want me to live a good life? Just when things start to settle down, someone comes to ruin it. Why?" Faris, sitting in his wheelchair, looked at me helplessly.

"Who doesn't want you to live a good life? I have a beef with the Windsor family, not you. I didn't do anything wrong."

I couldn't listen to his excuses and kept crying like I was falling apart. Tears rolled down my cheeks and into my ears.

"A real man owns up to his actions. What crap did you tell Richard? You had your fun, but do you know the fallout from your words? Those lies have made it impossible for me to clear my name. Who would believe we're innocent now? You don't get how much a woman who's been through a failed marriage wants to hold on to what she has now."

Faris looked confused at first, then seemed to get it slowly. He smiled slightly.

"What? Is your relationship with Ethan so fragile? Can't it handle a simple rumor? If that's the case, does it even matter if he believes you? It would show you Ethan's true colors."

The door was suddenly pushed open.

Ethan stood at the door with a cigarette in his mouth.