Chapter 329: Chapter 329

Ava stayed shackled up with Rocky the whole day and never came out. It was a Sunday, and she had no duty calls whatsoever. She thanked her due diligence in always getting things done ahead of time, which earned her those precious moments.

At the same time, in another part of town, Terry experienced the ’worst’ night of her life. Suspecting that Rocky had a girlfriend and love interest and seeing it with her eyes were two very distinct things for her. Terry replayed the scene repeatedly in her head and almost went crazy each time she saw it in her mind’s eye.

After storming off the scene the night before, Terry couldn’t help but come back and, to add salt to injury, saw Rocky and Ava leaving in a taxi. Various ’what ifs’ circled in her head, but unfortunately for Terry, her worst fears had come true that night for Rocky and his girlfriend.

"Ahhhhh!!!! Why! Why! Why NOT ME! Why is he with that NOBODY? She is just a COOK! How is she better than me, the only daughter of the only Principal of the Medical School? WHY!!!!!" Terry screamed and drank all night long, but her two friends were helpless, and they could not stop her. All their consoling words had fallen on deaf ears, but they dared not be so proactive around Terry.

Terry was heartbroken, but she could not deny it. Terry had made it a point to know Rocky in and out, and she could even understand his gestures. In the past, Rocky had no time for her and did not talk to her much so Terry had learnt to understand what his actions and inactions meant.

When that Ava person was around, the tenderness, doting, helpless look and aura around Rocky had been too much for her to bear that night. It broke her on a deeper level than Terry had thought impossible.

When she finally made it home, she was wasted to the point that she had no self-awareness. She stumbled right onto her bed, with all makeup and shoes still on and had been dead to the world. Morning came a little too soon for the distraught Terry.

The light filtered through the blinds, stabbing into her eyes like needles. Her head throbbed with a dull, relentless ache, each beat of her heart echoing painfully in her skull. Her mouth was dry, the taste of stale alcohol and regret lingering on her tongue. Terry’s only regret was from taking the alcohol, which did not drown her sorrows as it should have done but only ended up making her more miserable! She groaned, rolling over in bed, only to feel the world spin beneath her, making her stomach lurch.

She mumbled in a groan as the sunlight creeping through the blinds pushed its cruel elements onto her, as if the world was mocking her misery. Her head pounded, the hangover throbbing in sync with the sharp pain in her chest.

She rolled slowly out of her bed with no strength in her limps.... and fell with a thump!

"Ah!" She groaned, but Terry made no effort to get up. She slowly opened her eyes as the room spun slightly. Terry could not even remember how she had gotten from the festival grounds and back home.

Her mouth was raspy, dry, and sour with the stale taste of bitterness, and the smell of alcohol lingered on her skin and breath. But none of that compared to the ache deep inside her—the gut-wrenching knowledge that he was gone from her grasp. Not just gone but taken. By someone else! A nobody! In Terry’s view.

As if on cue, memories from the night before came flooding back in waves, one after the other, with no room for rest in between—flashes of blurry faces, loud music, and how she had drowned her heartbreak in drink after drink. Now, in the cold clarity of morning or whatever time of the day, the weight of it all came crashing down. Terry’s heart felt heavier than ever, the emptiness inside more unbearable than the hangover.

"Close the damn curtains!" She snapped, forgetting that she had no younger siblings to order about to do her bidding.

She reached for her pillow to bury her face, but it was up on the bed, and she had no will to go for it. Terry curled up in a fetal position and buried her face in the soft throw rug on the floor instead.

She clenched her teeth to try and contain the nausea that was bubbling up - a bile-like sensation that crept up her throat.

At the same time, a flash of anger burned in her, briefly drowning out the nausea. How could Rocky do this? Her thoughts raced, filling with poisonous bitterness.

In Terry’s mind, she had given Rocky everything—her trust, heart, and vulnerability- but he had not accepted it. What the hell was wrong with him? How could he throw away a gem for stone? Terry wondered.

And now, I might add that she was left with nothing but the jagged pieces of what was once love... all in her head. She felt it so strongly that the reality and wishes were mangled up!

Terry could not stomach the thought of Rocky with someone else, laughing, holding hands, kissing and all other intimate things! Someone older than them! A ’cougar’!

It made Terry’s blood boil.

"It’s unfair!" she mumbled to herself. The more she dwelled on this, the more it fuelled her resentment.

She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. Hatred—a very familiar emotion for her, continued to bubble up inside her, mingling with the bitterness of the loss of something that she never had.

Tears welled up in Terry’s eyes, but they weren’t from sadness this time. They were from a deep-seated fury and hurt, the kind that would stay long after the hangover faded.

"I refuse to cry over such a bitch!"

She screamed just as her door was pushed open from the outside and another from a smaller door on the inside. One of her minions who had stayed overnight came out of the bathroom as her father, the Principal, came into Terry’s room from outside with a cup of coffee.

The two shouted, and her friend jolted into action.

Seeing Terry on the floor, her friend rushed over and helped her back onto the bed. Then, she pulled the curtains so the room was no longer as bright and comfortable for Terry’s eyes.

The Principal also sat on the edge of the bed, distraught, and handed the coffee to Terry.

Terry shouted and pushed the mug away roughly, spilling its hot contents. The Principal moved quickly but still got hot liquid on the back of his hand as the mug hit the floor and broke into pieces, spilling the rest all over the floor.

He sighed and got up to use his daughter’s bathroom. He ran cold water on the spot for some time and then returned to the room.

"You need to keep that anger in check." He pointed out and then sat back down.

"What is the problem? Why did you drink yourself into such a state?"

"What do you care?!" Terry snapped and then mumbled under her breath,

"Love is blind.... It’s really true. Love is blind!" Her words stuck in her throat as she saw Ava in her mind’s eye from the evening before. The most infuriating thing was that Ava looked even younger than she... and could pass as Terry’s sister of the same age, if not younger!

Terry didn’t get some and was infuriated, taking out her anger on her dad. She had gone out with many expectations, including trying to get intimate with Rocky, but had returned woefully disappointed.

The Principal was distressed and turned to the other girl in the room when he got no response from his daughter. The girl narrated the issue as best as possible, and the man finally understood why his daughter was that way.

He sighed in his heart.

"Rockwell Wendover would have made the best of son-in-law, but that can’t be helped, and it can’t be forced. I had wished to be tied to Ian Thornston via marriage, but alas, I-"

"What are you talking about, Dad?"

"Leave it be, Terry, I know that I encouraged you to pursue him, but-"

"IT HAS TO BE HIM OR NO ONE ELSE! DAD!"

"But, didn’t you just say he had a girlfriend?"

"... they are just dating," A small voice whispered, making both the father and daughter turn to the only other person in the room in surprise. The Principal looked to be lost in thought, and Terry finally realized,

"Yes, I am overreacting! Rocky is just dating! Besides, even if he was married, I could still make them divorce!" That statement was like the elixir that boosted Terry’s mood. She sat up on her bed with renewed strength.

"..... Most importantly, their statuses do not match! He is related to the Thornston family and she is just a nobody! A cook! It’s not like they would ever accept such a marriage for him? They are not matched in any way!" Terry’s agitation built up, and so did her confidence.

Then, her father said something that made her mouth drop open.

"...so if you can get him in bed, I will seek justice and get him to marry you! Daddy can promise you that!"

Terry did not even blush. She was not embarrassed to have such a conversation with her father. Her smile widened.

"I knew you were the best, Daddy!"

Her friend also released a breath that she had not realized she was holding, and then she also added,

"I hear that the Thornstons’ are going to hold a big banquet for the old chairman’s birthday ...."

"You are quite informed, little girl!" The Principal nodded,

"Leave that for Daddy. I’ll get you an invitation to that, and you must do your best to succeed!"

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