24 Hours GF Challenge (Granevere AU)

Chapter Thirty-Three

"About me?" Guinevere's mind was running a hundred miles an hour, obviously baffled.

"Something has come to my attention...." Alicia trailed off, making Guinevere shudder even more in fear. What did she know? What was it?

Still, Guinevere stood silent and calculating. She knows she is treading through dangerous waters. Her veins felt like they would combust spontaneously due to fear and suspense.

Alicia laid out a series of photos, albeit dark and murky and not well developed. Despite of this, it was clear who the people were in the photo. The mass of auburn curls cannot be mistaken for anyone else.

The other figure was much more unfamiliar to the older woman, yet his features does ring a bell. In the photos, they were inside the car with Guinevere sipping on a Baja Blast near a local Taco Bell, with the boy driving the car and talking with her.

The following photos were much darker and incomprehensible, but one thing is clear. Guinevere and this certain boy have their foreheads pressed together, smiling warmly to each other. The boy seemed to be fixing the sleeve of Guinevere's top.

All the while the photos unfolded, Guinevere was in a state of shock. She gripped the seat tighter, ready to pounce. But she knows it is not a wise move to do so. It took every nerve in her body to calm down and face her step mother, who was still idly sipping tea while smirking down at her.

"This was your colleague, right?" Alicia chuckled, amused by the expression on Guinevere's face at the moment. "Huh, colleague my ass."

"How did you even get hold of these?"

"Security cameras are everywhere, Guinevere. Remember that." Alicia placed down her cup once more and clasped her fingers together. "Did a few calls and eventually got these. Nothing is impossible. When money talks, everybody listens."

Guinevere couldn't take all these cruelty. First, she was kidnapped to marry a prince. Now, her personal life is being scrutinized by Alicia's watchful eyes. She felt like she was in some sort of 2014 Wattpad Story. Indeed, Alicia was unstoppable. With her crooked ways and Leodegrance's money, all can be achieved.

Guinevere bit her parched lips until it bled. The only secret she holds close to her heart is now out in the open for her enemy to ogle at. It made the exhaustion she felt even heavier, but made her injuries felt numb.

Alicia, seeing her step-daughter's bleeding lips, brought a napkin up to her mouth and gently patted it. The once pure white napkin was tainted and splotched by blood and tear stains. Seeing real tears of a child saddened her. After all, she was a mother once. Yet she had to remind herself that these feeling of pity is for the weak minded. Right now, she has to stick to her objectives.

"God, you look like a mess. I'm just asking about this boy." Alicia swiped a tube of chapstick on Guinevere's dried lips. Guinevere turned her head to avoid the silver-haired woman. "Don't be so stubborn, will you? I need you to look presentable."

"Since you don't want to talk. Then I'll do all the talking." Alicia sighed, time was ticking. "I always knew there was something....strange going on with you two."

"I had my suspicions when he brought you home and dined with Odette and Lancy. Never actually thought I'd be proven correct. Actually, scratch that. I was sure about what was going on with you two."

Guinevere was listening intently. It seemed like her entire body has shut down in pain and fatigue. The only thing that was working was her sight and hearing. Even then, her sight has become blurry with fearful and angry tears so now she is heavily relying on her keen ears.