His Book Said I Was Evil

In the seventh year of my marriage to Julian Prescott, I accidentally discovered his secret.

He believed in a book, and that book had written all of our destinies in advance.

Serena Hale was the only heroine in the book, destined to have everything.

And I was the supporting character who targeted her at every turn and ended in misery.

In the book, people like me were called the vicious female side character.

Julian never married me because he loved me.

He only wanted to keep me under his nose and watch me for Serena.

Chapter 1

Ava Bennett POV

Old Mr. Prescotts seventieth birthday banquet was held with great ceremony, and almost everyone familiar in our circle had come.

I stood beneath the hallway with my daughter Annie in my hand, lowering my head to smooth the wrinkles in her dress.

Mommy, what should I say when I see Great-Grandpa later?

Say you wish Great-Grandpa good health. Annie clutched the hem of my shirt and answered in her sweet little voice.

Serena Hale walked over right then.

She wore a plain white dress, her long hair loosely pinned behind her head, looking elegant and gentle.

She crouched in front of Annie and smiled as she said to her, Annie is such a good girl, come on, can I take you to say hello to Great-Grandpa? Great-Grandpa likes obedient little kids the most.

She was holding a cup of freshly poured hot water, and white steam was rising from the porcelain cup.

The water was too hot, and I was afraid it would hurt the child, so I reached out to take it. Serena, the water is too hot, let me hold it.

But the moment my fingers touched the rim of the cup, Serenas wrist suddenly went limp, and the entire cup of boiling water poured straight toward Annie.

Almost out of a mothers instinct, I pulled Annie into my arms and pushed Serena away at the same time.

Screams rang out at once.

Annies hand was burned bright red by the hot water, and blisters rose on her pale, tender skin in the blink of an eye.

She cried in my arms from the pain, and her whole body trembled violently.

Serena had also fallen to the side, bracing one hand on the floor, her eyes red and looking very frightened.

The surrounding guests instantly looked over.

The crowd parted, and Julian Prescott strode over.

I thought he would look at Annie first.

But he did not even spare a glance at his daughter, who was crying so hard her whole body shook, and instead walked straight to Serena and helped her up.

He looked at Serena, his voice filled with undisguised tension. Did you hurt yourself anywhere?

Serena lowered her head, tears falling in streams, and timidly hid behind him as she said in a weak voice, Julian, dont blame Ava, I was the one who didnt hold it steady...

Julian patted the dust off her clothes, and only then did he turn to look at me.

His eyes were dark, carrying a chilling indifference. Ava Bennett, why did you put your hands on Serena?

Holding Annie, who would not stop sobbing in my arms, I felt as if I had fallen into an ice cellar. Julian Prescott, Annie was burned by hot water, didnt you see the blisters on her hand? Take her to the back and find a doctor first!

Ive already had the doctor wait in the lounge. Julian stood up and looked at me, his tone calm. But I also saw that you pushed Serena.

She deliberately poured hot water toward Annie! My tears finally spilled out, and my voice shook terribly. I only pushed her away to protect my daughter! You dont believe me?

Julians brows furrowed slightly.

He looked at me as if I were crazy, and his voice was cold to the extreme. Serena cant even hold anything heavy, so what would she use to deliberately burn someone? Ava Bennett, there should be a limit to your lies.

At that moment, my heart went completely cold.

There are so many guests here today, and its inappropriate for you to push someone in public. Julian looked at me coldly. Apologize to Serena.

I didnt do anything wrong, so why should I apologize? I held the child in my arms tightly, my knuckles turning white from the force.

Julian stopped wasting words with me.

He took a step forward, reached out with both hands, and forcibly took the child from my arms despite Annies crying.

Julian Prescott! What are you doing! Give Annie back to me! I rushed to snatch her back like I had gone mad.

Julian protected Annie with one arm and turned to hand the red-faced, crying child to Serena, who had just steadied herself.

Serena accepted her in a bit of panic, held her in her arms, and said weakly, Julian, this doesnt seem right, Annie is crying...

Serena, hold the child for now. Julian turned back and completely blocked me two steps away.

He looked at me, his voice very soft yet carrying a cruelty that allowed no refusal. Apologize to Serena, and after you apologize, you can take Annie to the lounge in the back to put medicine on her.

Chapter 2

Ava Bennett POV

I stared at the husband in front of me in disbelief.

Annie struggled desperately in Serenas arms, crying so hard she could barely breathe.

Her little hands reached through the empty air toward me with all their strength as she called Mommy again and again.

Julian stood in front of me, his expression cold.

Between my dignity and my daughter, I had never had a second choice.

I dug my nails hard into my palm, and the sharp pain came from my hand, yet it was not even one ten-thousandth of the pain in my heart.

I lowered my head and heard my own emotionless voice. Im sorry, I shouldnt have pushed you.

Serena held my hand with a gentle and forgiving look. Ava, dont say that, today really was because I didnt hold it steady, so dont be angry.

Whispers came from the surrounding guests.

Everyone looked at Serena with eyes full of approval, and when they looked at me, only disgust and contempt remained.

Only then did Julians expression ease a little.

He took Annie back from Serenas arms, stuffed her back into mine, and calmly instructed, Take her to the back and let the doctor handle it, and dont ruin everyones mood.

When the banquet ended, a light rain had begun outside.

Holding Annie, who had been treated with medicine and had fallen asleep from exhaustion after crying, I waited for a long time in the cold, damp underground garage.

The evening wind blew over me, so cold it made people shiver.

In the end, it was the old family butler who came over with an umbrella.

He handed me the umbrella and spoke with some difficulty. Madam, Mr. Prescott drove Miss Hale home, and Mr. Prescott said you should call a cab back yourself.

I took the umbrella and gave a self-mocking laugh in the cold rain.

I gave up completely.

I did not want to stay in this home for even one more second.

I took a deep breath, took out my phone, and called Serenas cousin, Ethan Brooks.

Ethan was the only person in the Hale family who saw Serenas true face, and he had long hated the Hale familys hypocrisy to the bone.

The thing you mentioned last month, about taking Annie abroad to settle down and hold an art exhibition, I agree, so help me arrange it, the sooner the better, and dont let Julian know.

On the other end of the phone, Ethans voice was low and decisive. Okay, handling the paperwork and preparing the house abroad will take about a week, so wait for my message and be ready to leave anytime.

After hanging up, I took Annie home.

Julian had not come back yet.

I carried Annie upstairs and carefully helped her change into her pajamas.

Looking at the thin gauze wrapped around the back of her hand, my heart ached again and again.

I swore that I would definitely take her away from here with me.

I stayed by her side until her breathing evened out, and only then did I get up to go to the study for spare cotton swabs and medicine.

The study door was half-closed, and the desk lamp was still on.

A sheet of paper lay flat on the desk, and Julians handwriting was on it.

His fountain pen writing was very neat, stroke by stroke, as if he were recording some kind of daily routine.

I had not meant to pry, but after just one glance, my feet could no longer move.

On that page was written:

[Old Mr. Prescotts birthday banquet, Ava Bennett will deliberately push Serena down out of jealousy and try to ruin Serenas reputation, which is the beginning of her vicious nature being revealed.]

Below that line, Julian had written two words heavily with a fountain pen, and the ink was very fresh, clearly written tonight: [Fulfilled.]

Looking at those two lines, my hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

No wonder Julian did not even look at Annie at the birthday banquet today and decided at once that I had pushed Serena.

So in his eyes, this accident was not an accident at all, but a vicious scheme I had planned for a long time.

There were many more lines on the paper, and each line had a clear date marked in front of it.

Some had already passed, and behind each one was Julians own handwritten Fulfilled.

And some dates had not yet arrived.

Under that page of paper, there was also a journal pressed beneath it.

The ink on the newest line was not fully dry yet, and it was a prophecy pointing to next Thursday:

[October twenty-first, Annies kindergarten performance, Ava Bennett will be unable to tolerate Serena getting close to the child and will attack Serena again in the backstage lounge, causing Serenas head to be injured and bleed...]

The words after that were blurred by a blot of ink, and nothing could be seen clearly.

Chapter 3

Ava Bennett POV

In the second half of the night, I changed the medicine on the burn on the back of Annies hand once.

The faintly bitter scent of burn ointment slowly spread through the silent room, and I knew this smell well.

When I was sixteen, I had also smelled this scent countless times.

That year, my fathers art studio failed because of poor business, and in the end, it did not survive that winter.

When he left, the IOUs he left behind were more numerous than his belongings.

Serenas father, Mr. Hale, held my hand and said, your dad was half my teacher, so from now on, you will live with the Hale family, and we will raise you.

From then on, I was taken in by the Hale family and became sisters with Serena, though we were not related by blood.

The Hale family had a very beautiful three-story villa downtown.

But after living there for two years, there was still no place that belonged to me in the shoe cabinet in the living room.

My pair of worn sneakers could only ever be awkwardly stuffed beside the shoebox in the farthest corner.

In that house, the first thing I learned was how to be sensible.

Being sensible meant being the last one to start eating at the dining table.

It meant taking the initiative to stand on the very edge during holiday family photos, and it meant never making any requests.

The second thing I learned was to walk through school with my head lowered.

My paint tubes had been maliciously filled with glue, and the lock on my art case had been pried open three times in two months.

The worst time involved the sketchbooks I had saved for three years.

All eleven of them were pulled out of my locker and thrown into the trash incinerator in the backyard.

By the time I arrived, only a furnace of cold paper ashes remained.

Inside were all the rabbits I had drawn for my father.

When my father was alive, he always laughed and said the rabbits I drew always had one ear that could never stand up.

Later, I deliberately drew them that way, with one crooked ear, and it became a secret sign only my father and I understood.

But they were all burned to ashes.

No one at school admitted who had done it.

The homeroom teacher sighed and said to me, if we cant find out, then let it go, Ava, its better to have one less problem.

Serena would stand beside me and wipe away tears for me, saying to everyone with red eyes, Ava, dont be sad, Ill give you half of my sketchbook.

At that moment, everyone in the classroom looked at her with gentle eyes and thought she was like an angel.

What truly made me decide to leave the Hale family was a bracelet.

On the day of Mrs. Hales fiftieth birthday party, one of Serenas bracelets disappeared.

In the end, that bracelet was found in the inner pocket of my backpack.

Even now, I still remember the way everyone looked at me back then.

The room was full of guests dressed in formal clothes, and not a single person spoke.

Mrs. Hales expression darkened inch by inch.

Serena was the first to cry.

She clutched Mrs. Hales sleeve tightly and pleaded through tears, Mom, Ava didnt mean it, she must have just liked it too much, please dont kick her out, okay?

The moment that plea was spoken, my theft was completely confirmed, and I could no longer explain myself.

Under everyones contemptuous gaze, I bowed to Mrs. Hale.

Im sorry. That was the first time I learned to say those three words quickly and flatly.

There was a boy in the crowd who kept looking at me.

That was Serenas cousin, Ethan Brooks.

He looked at me for a long time, but in the end, he said nothing and turned his head away.

The day after my eighteenth birthday, I dragged the old art case my father had left behind and completely moved out of the Hale familys house.

Serena walked me to the door and stuffed a paper bag into my arms. Ava, your things, Ive been keeping them for you.

Inside the bag was half a sketchbook, with charred marks along the edges, looking as if its edges had been charred deliberately with a lighter.

She smiled sweetly at me, revealing two harmless little dimples. Come back and visit often.

Back then, I still thought she was truly being kind.

Chapter 4

Ava Bennett POV

Julian Prescott and I met when I was twenty-two.

At the time, I had just moved out of the Hale familys house and barely made a living by drawing illustrations for eight hundred dollars each.

Julian was my only client.

He did not bargain, and he even noticed the crooked-eared rabbit I secretly drew in the corner of my drafts.

After my dad died, he was the first person in the world to notice that rabbit.

In the delivery notes, he asked me, Why cant the rabbits ear stand up?

At the time, I held my phone in that freezing room and cried all night, thinking I had met the person who understood me best in the whole world.

When we met at the end of the year, Julian printed out every illustration I had drawn over the past two years and neatly bound them into a book as a gift for me.

On the first page, he wrote, These drawings should not be worth only eight hundred dollars each.

Half a year later, he proposed to me and even helped me pay off all the debts my dad had left behind.

On the day we got our marriage license, Julian stood at the entrance of city hall and smoothed my wind-blown hair for me.

He said to me, Ava Bennett, from now on, as long as Im here, no one can make you lower your head again.

At that time, I truly thought meeting him was the best thing that had ever happened to me in my life.

...

Early the next morning, Julian went out, and without even thinking, I knew he had gone to keep Serena company.

I had always wanted to have a proper talk with him about what happened at the birthday banquet, but he did not come back reeking of alcohol until the early hours of the morning.

I tucked the blanket Annie had kicked off back over her, gently closed the bedroom door, and went downstairs.

The study door was not fully closed, leaving a crack.

Julian sat behind the desk, pouring wine into a glass, his suit jacket draped over the back of the chair.

I stood at the doorway and looked at him. Annies hand is covered in blisters, and she was in pain all night and couldnt sleep, but as her father, dont you have even one word to say?

Holding the wineglass, he did not even look at me. The medicine has already been applied, and childrens skin heals fast, so shell be fine tomorrow.

Yesterday, in front of everyone, you snatched the child out of my arms, shoved her to Serena, and forced me to apologize in public.

I walked in step by step, my voice trembling with anger. Julian Prescott, Annie is only three, but she is already starting to remember things.

Serenas wrist ligament was severely torn yesterday, and even now she cant hold a cup steady, didnt you see that? He finally raised his eyes to look at me, his tone filled with impatience. And here you are, still in the mood to worry about what Annie will think.

Just then, Annies cry came from upstairs, but it stopped again very quickly.

I instinctively turned my head to look toward the stairs, but Julian seemed as if he had heard nothing, and his expression was terrifyingly cold.

I am your wife of seven years, and Annie is your biological daughter.

My tears finally fell, and my nails dug hard into my palm. Why is it that every time, we are the ones who get hurt, and we are also the ones who have to apologize and admit fault?

Julian set down the wineglass, stared at me, and fell silent for a full five seconds.

Because Serena cant take it. He said, If anything happens to her at all, a lot of things cant be suppressed.

I froze completely. Suppress what? Julian Prescott, explain yourself, what exactly cant be suppressed?

He did not answer my question and instead stood up, picking up the suit jacket from the back of the chair. This ends here, and from now on, dont interfere in Serenas matters, and dont ask again.

Weve been together for seven years. I stood there and watched as he prepared to walk past me. Julian Prescott, do you still have me and Annie in your heart at all?

He paused at the study doorway but did not look back.

Go check on Annie. He said, She cried all night, so she should be waking up soon.

He pushed the door open and left, leaving me alone in the study, while the wineglass on the desk still gave off a faint smell of alcohol.

The warmer I once thought his words from back then were, the more ironic they felt now.

Lost and dazed, I returned to Annies room.

Annie slept uneasily, her tiny brows tightly furrowed, and suddenly, in her sleep, she cried out a muffled sentence like a dream:

Auntie Serena said Mommy is the bad woman in the story...

When I heard that sentence, all the blood in my body slowly turned cold.

Serena was already teaching my daughter to hate me.

And my husband was still forcing me to bow my head to her.

Chapter 5

Ava Bennett POV

Someone must have filmed what happened at the birthday banquet and posted it online.

My name became a trending topic.

The trending hashtag was #RichWifePushesSomeoneInPublic.

The comments under the hashtag were filled with all kinds of abuse and insults.

Some people even dug up my number and called me directly to curse me out, so I turned off my phone.

My reputation had been completely destroyed, but I did not care about that at all now, I only cared about Annie.

Whenever I thought of the prophecy in Julians notebook, which said I would deliberately injure Serena backstage during next Thursdays performance.

I could not sleep night after night.

To prevent trouble before it happened, I tried sneaking into the study to see if I could steal that notebook.

But when I went there the next day, Julians desk was already empty, and there was a brand-new lock on the drawer, as if he were guarding against me like I was a thief.

When I combed Annies hair in the morning, I pretended to ask casually, Annie, has Auntie Serena ever told you stories before?

She has. Annie shook her little head at the mirror. Auntie told me a princess story.

Then in the story, is Mommy there?

When I heard that sentence, my whole body froze.

Because Annie looked at me in the mirror and suddenly said to me mysteriously, Auntie said this story cant be told to Mommy, and Auntie said Mommy is the bad woman in the story, and later she will steal Annies rabbit and beat Auntie Serena to death.

I never could have imagined that Serena had already been privately feeding my daughter such vicious words.

My hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

I did not know how much they had slandered me in front of Annie, and I did not dare to think too deeply about it.

On Thursday, it was the day of Annies kindergarten performance.

I stayed by Annies side every second and did not stay alone with any strangers.

I also deliberately chose a seat near the aisle, so that if anything happened, I could run backstage the moment I lifted my leg.

But Serena still came.

Holding a bouquet of flowers, she smiled and waved at me from the auditorium entrance, saying Annie had personally invited her, so she had to come.

When the fourth performance was halfway through, my phone vibrated with a SnapChat message, and the profile picture and note showed it was from Annies teacher:

[Annies mom, one ear on the bunny hair clip Annie is wearing fell off, and the teacher cant find it anywhere. The spare clip is in the props storage room on the second floor. Can you go upstairs and get it for her?]

Because it involved Annie going onstage, I had no choice but to get up and head to the second floor.

But when I entered the empty props storage room.

My heart suddenly sank, and I realized I had fallen into a trap, so I turned and ran outside.

When I passed a lounge around the corner on the second floor, Serenas voice faintly came from inside, and she was calling Ava.

I ignored her completely, gritted my teeth, and ran all the way back to the first-floor auditorium in one breath.

From the time I left to the time I returned to my seat, it was four minutes at most.

But before the fifth performance had ended, chaos erupted backstage.

Someone shouted that something was wrong, and Serena had been pushed down in the second-floor lounge and injured.

Serena had fainted on the ground, her temple hit the corner of the table, and a lot of blood had flowed out.

At the infirmary door, Julian had already arrived.

He stood beside the stretcher, looking at me coldly, his eyes full of disgust and caution.

Today, in the hallway by the props room on the second floor during the performance, you were the only person who went there, Ava Bennett, what else do you have to explain?

I clenched my fists tightly and defended myself loudly. The teacher sent me a SnapChat message and told me to go to the second floor to get the spare hair clip! I was deliberately tricked into going up there by them!

The teachers phone has been charging at the front desk all night, and she never sent you any SnapChat message. Julian interrupted me, his tone full of disappointment. Ava Bennett, dont you think making up this kind of lie to shirk responsibility is too childish?

Im not lying! If you dont believe me, go check, youll definitely find something. I was so anxious that I defended myself again and again.

When the stretcher was carried past me, Serena, who was lying on it, suddenly opened her eyes and clutched my wrist tightly.

In a voice only the two of us could hear, she smugly spat a sentence beside my ear:

Ava Bennett, no one will believe you, and without evidence, if they cant find out, then theyll just let it go.

The ambulance siren howled as it sped away.

I left Julian behind and rushed back into the auditorium like I had lost my mind.

In the center of the stage, Annie was wearing that bunny hair clip with the drooping ear, dancing while looking toward the audience with expectation.

And in her fathers seat, it was completely empty, with only a bouquet of flowers no one had taken away.

That night, while I held sleeping Annie, the words Serena had said to me on the stretcher suddenly exploded in my mind.

If they cant find out, then theyll just let it go.

Those words were exactly the same.

Fourteen years ago, when I was living under someone elses roof, it was the day after my art albums were burned to ashes in the Hale familys backyard.

In the office, the homeroom teacher had also said to me in exactly the same tone, If we cant find out, then let it go, Ava.

At that time, there were only two people in the office, me and the homeroom teacher.