CHAPTER 161: THE CHOICE OF RUIN

The cafe had old hut vibes, with music from outside lingering inside. The campfire’s golden light fell short of warming the sharpness on Aveline’s face.

The delicious smell of roasted beans failed to grab anyone’s attention. Instead, they could smell the hostility in the air.

Water droplets rolled down Seraphina’s face, soaking her warm layer of clothing. But she was frozen, unmoving. When she opened her eyes, the water droplets rolled down her cheek, and her eyes looked maliciously at Aveline.

She said through her teeth, "You are no saint."

Aveline snickered upon hearing it. ’Saint?’ She was, but people weren’t letting her be kind and well-behaved. "You have no idea what I have been through to be standing here alive."

People thought of her as privileged. Yes, she was, but she wasn’t immune to life’s problems. Her standing there, being alive, was already her stand against her fate.

Now, life was teaching her that she had to keep fighting against her destiny if she wanted to stay alive. Peace was becoming her dream.

"You weren’t my target, Aveline Laurent," Seraphina hissed.

However, with each of Aveline’s actions, she was turning everything personal and becoming an enemy.

Aveline laughed, but there was no humor. It was biting cold. When she stopped, the silence was piercing. When she spoke, it was sharper than a sword, "You are my target."

She stepped closer, watching Seraphina’s eyes gleam with resentment. Her voice dropped, "You took my kindness as weakness." Her tone razor-sharp, "...my silence as powerlessness."

She threw a tissue at Seraphina’s face as she stepped away. "Now, I’ll make sure the Astors beg me."

She took another step back. "Dial your father. Ask him to hold his chair tighter because his daughter didn’t choose to play a white lotus but an evil witch."

She took another step away, watching Seraphina scrunch the tissue and glare at her. "And your dream of becoming the youngest President is at my mercy."

Aveline turned to leave, but Seraphina started laughing, a sound that was venomous.

"Aveline Laurent..." She mused, watching Aveline pause and turn around.

"You are too confident for your age." Seraphina snickered as she stalked closer to Aveline.

Instead of Aveline, the onlookers held their breath, as if war might break out any second.

"You think your father could protect you?" She sneered.

She had been through Aveline’s history. Dependent on her father, spoilt by her father throughout her life, she enjoyed life without a goal.

"Tsk tsk.... You have never learned, have you?" She didn’t ask for a response. "You shouldn’t mess with active politicians, especially the ones who hold power." She mused, reaching for Aveline’s chin.

Aveline slapped Seraphina’s hand away.

"Sweetheart, did you really think I didn’t expect all of these?" Seraphina circled Aveline as she uttered each word clearly.

Aveline didn’t react to Sera’s words, but her thoughts were wild. She was aware Seraphina was purposefully provoking her and Alaric. However, Aveline’s reaction to it was a wild card.

If Seraphina’s aim was just to trigger Aveline, she was successful. Then what?

Why was Seraphina risking everything?

Her father’s career, her future, and the Astors’ future, everything was at stake. Why?

Seraphina’s lips curled, the flickering campfire reflecting in her eyes like molten gold over ice.

"You think I fear losing my dream?" Her voice was coated with disdain as she tilted her head, water droplets rolling down her hair strands.

"My dream isn’t the presidency anymore. That was a mere stepping stone. Now, my real desire..." She leaned in, her breath low and venomous, "...is the Lancaster wealth."

She stood back and smirked. "Every last drop of it. To strip it down, make it mine, and throw Alaric out like he never belonged to the name he carries."

Aveline didn’t move, though her pulse spiked. ’So that’s her aim.’

Not the title of Youngest President, not the throne of the country, but the empire that Edward Lancaster had built and protected all these years, and the right of Alaric.

Seraphina’s fingers brushed across the damp tissue she still held, shredding it slowly as if it were Lancaster’s legacy. "And don’t think I’ll stop at this public drama and media attention. I won’t. Not until Alaric is ruined. Not until he loses his companies... his name... and even YOU."

Her words stung sharper than needles, yet Aveline’s face stayed unreadable, every emotion locked behind her practiced calm.

She was a fool to think Seraphina cared about the media and her family when her aim was just the power that came with wealth. Because power had always shielded all recklessness.

"You, Aveline Laurent," Seraphina sneered, circling her slowly, "you’ve been playing savior far too long. You think you’re his shield? His anchor?" She chuckled darkly, her voice taunting.

"I’ll give you one chance. Leave him. Quietly. Step away before the storm hits. If you vanish from his life, maybe... just maybe... I’ll let him keep his family name. I might even let him breathe as a Lancaster, instead of drowning him in the ruins with his mother."

Aveline’s eyes only sharpened upon hearing Seraphina. She had barely learned that Alaric didn’t have a good relationship with his family, and Seraphina was taking advantage of it.

Seraphina’s smirk deepened, crueler than before. "Stay, and his life will be a living hell. The same hell Isabella carved for him, the same one he has endured in silence. I’ll make sure he never crawls out of it."

Aveline’s fists tightened at her sides, nails digging into her palms, forming red crescents.

Seraphina stepped closer, her perfume mixing with the bitter scent of roasted beans. "You think you’re strong enough to fight me, Aveline Laurent, but power is meaningless against roots deeper than your own."

After all, the departments worked in favor of the politicians. The Laurents were merely a business family.

"Are you prepared to watch the Laurents fall? To see your family’s empire collapse while you cling to a man who walked into your life only days ago?"

’No, no, no...’ Aveline’s jaws clenched.

The images of the Laurents losing everything because of Damien flashed before her eyes like they had happened yesterday. She wasn’t going to let Seraphina become another Damien in this timeline.

Seraphina’s words struck the air, sharp and unyielding. "Tell me, Aveline... are you willing to lose everything you were born with... just to protect him?"

Aveline didn’t have to think. She had the answer to it. "No," she said through her teeth.