I Am An Illegitimate Child With A Legitimate Reason For Revenge-Chapter 268: The few things I wanted in life

Raymond’s men started trooping in with two gallons of petrol. He took one gallon from them and emptied it on Serena while she screamed for them to stop but he went deaf till the gallon was empty.

"Serena, you have done so many evil deeds in your life, killed, framed, robbed, and caused heartache. I’m more than grateful that the blood that flows through my vein is not as vile as yours."

"Don’t bullshit me." Serena yelled. "Do you want to lie that you haven’t killed anyone? You’re much of a murderer as I am so you have no right to persecute me."

"Then, do I have that right?" Ariel asked and they all turned to her. "My hands may have been soiled with the blood of one or two by accident or by choice but it’s nothing compared to what you have done."

"Ariel. What do you think you can do? I gave you a better life than Raymond could ever give you. You were the star of the country, very respected and very..."

"Did I ask for any of that?" Ariel interrupted her. "Do you know, there were only a few things that I wanted in this life, there was only one person who could give it to me and that was Raymond. I wanted to be useful and he made me a useful human being, not needing to bow my head for my voice to be heard. I wanted to be needed and he needed me more than anyone else in his life, not just because he wanted to use me for his revenge but because I was the only one who understood his struggles and could communicate with him."

Raymond was surprised. It seems Ariel had regained her memories.

"I wanted to be loved and he..." she suddenly laughed. "He did just that. This man set his heart ablaze for me with love that knew no bounds."

Raymond felt his heart beating for this woman in front of him. His love indeed knew no bounds.

"I wanted my head to be patted and he did that. I wanted recognition and he gave it to me. I wanted to be told these words, ’You did well. I’m proud of you’ and he said those words to me every single time." Her eyes grew teary. "There was nothing he did not give to me. He looked me in the eyes and confessed that he would never be able to live a happy life without me and that was just about right."

She knelt in front of Serena with tears streaming down her eyes. The happiness in her heart was just so profound. She was happy to have found herself again and recalled all these beautiful memories.

"And most of all, the thing I wanted more than all of this, do you know what it was?" She asked but Serena stayed silent. "Of course, you wouldn’t know. If you did, you might’ve gone ahead to prepare such a fake life for me."

She got up from her knees and glared down at her.

"The thing I wanted more than anything in this world was a family. A happy one. And Raymond was going to give that to me but you took his right away, sniffed out both our lights. You’re cruel, vicious, and despicable. And tonight, you will pay for your sins."

Serena’s pupils kept shaking in fear. The look in Ariel’s eyes, that deadly look, and that feeling that everything was about to end. She was about to meet her end.

Everyone stepped away and Raymond gave her the lighter.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked and Ariel nodded.

"W-wait!" Serena yelled. "You... You can’t do this. Let’s talk. Yeah, let’s talk. We can settle this with a simple negotiation and..."

"Serena," Ariel called, looking down at her with dark eyes and said, "You’ve lost."

She threw the lighter down, on the trails they made with the petrol and stepped back.

"No, no, no, no," Serena screamed, squirming as the fire quickly made its way to her and she caught fire, screaming at the top of her lungs as she started burning.

"Let’s go." Raymond suddenly carried her off her feet and ran down with his men.

If what Serena said was true then she would definitely explode as soon as her heart stopped and before then, they needed to get outside.

The top floor where Serena was exploded and the rest of the building crumbled alongside it.

That definitely marked the end of that villain who threatened their life every time. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Raymond held Ariel in his arms as they watched the building go up in flames. The feeling of sadness and happiness flooded their hearts. Sad because so many years of their lives were wasted apart because of her. Five years went up in flames. And they were happy that she was finally gone.

"Are you okay?" Raymond asked and Ariel nodded.

"Yeah." She answered and looked up at him. "But what about you? You get shot a lot, are you okay?"

"Don’t worry, the suit took all the impact. I’m more than okay." He said and smiled. She smiled back.

"Raymond, I have something to say to you." She suddenly said with a serious look on her face, but then she smiled and said, "I love you."

Hearing that, Raymond’s heart lit up and he pulled her in to kiss her. It felt like time had stopped with only their lips moving. They interlocked their fingers and smiled as they broke the kiss.

"I love you too, Ariel." Raymond said. "I have and will always love you."

"That’s very reassuring. That’s very reassuring."

The anxious party back at the mansion had their fists clenched and teeth gritting as they waited for news about the two.

Then, they got to call and Raymond said,

"It’s finally over. We’re coming home."

As soon as he said this, they all erupted in cheer.

Then, Steve did the unthinkable. He grabbed Jane’s hand and said,

"Pardon my audacity." She was yet to understand what he was talking about when he suddenly kissed her. It was a shocker. She didn’t even know how to react and as he broke the kiss, he adjusted his glasses and said, "You can hit me now."

Instead of hitting him, Jane drew closer and locked lips with him, initiating a deeper kiss than he had done. Her positive response got him kissing enthusiastically as well.

He slid his hands up her neck and behind her ear, holding her head in place as he exerted dominance and his desires for the first time in his life. Falling for someone wasn’t easy and it was even harder when the person you fell for had passed through a shattering relationship.

He didn’t know how to talk to her. He didn’t know if it was right either. He knew she suffered because of a guy she liked for so long so he thought he had no right to like her and just watched her silently from the corner.

He was glad he took that bold step.

"Everyone deserves a chance at love." Jane suddenly said to him with a warm smile. "Even someone who has been betrayed by it. I won’t let one heartbreak stop me from getting a happily ever after."

Steve’s heart skipped a beat in joy and he kissed her once more.

Paige looked at them and smiled, happy for them. Then, Max walked in. Seeing the two in that position, he was ready to crush Steve to the ground for ’taking advantage’ of Jane... in his defense. But luckily, Paige pulled him away and gave him a kiss of his own, calming him down and diverting his attention completely.

The men carrying the kids took them upstairs while their inner selves sobbed for their single lives.

A happy ending, I’d say. A happiness that everyone longed to get at the end had finally smiled at them.

And as the saying goes, after rain comes sunshine. No matter how loud the thunder sounds, how scary the lightning bolts appear, how dark the clouds are, and how long the storm lasts, at the end of it all, the sun will surely come out.

It can never be hidden forever and it would someday shine open the wet grounds, bringing warmth, light, and happiness.

While most were present during this peril and victory, there was one person who had not been present when the whole incident happened.

Skylar, who had not been present during Rachael’s party because of some overseas business.

He got to the mansion and noticed they were done with the little one’s party.

Everyone were in their pairs, laughing happily and talking about how long it had been since such peace came upon them.

The children were happily playing together and running around with Paige warning them not to fall and get hurt.

Maxwell kept throwing dagger glares at Steve who simply ignored him and kept smiling at Jane , listening to her as she talked about her obsession with cake.

Ariel and Raymond were also busy exchanging words, whispering into each other’s ears and giggling to their words. Then, Raymond pressed his lips on her cheek and she smiled.

It was peaceful. So peaceful that it felt odd and sudden, and he, who was oblivious of what had happened, opened his mouth and asked,

"What’d I miss?"