Chapter 2 - TWO FORCEFUL SNIPSBen ran to Ava.
He placed himself protectively beside her and held one arm across her shoulders.
Ava pressed her face against his mustard-yellow polo shirt.
Her shorter right ponytail trembled as she cried.
“Give me the scissors,” Ben demanded.
Clarissa laughed.
“You think you can order me?”
“You hurt her.”
“I cut her hair.”
“She said no.”
“I am the adult.”
Ben looked at the severed blonde lock.
The hair remained beside Clarissa’s beige heel.
Both white ribbons were still tied near Ava’s head, but the right ponytail ended abruptly beneath its ribbon.
“You’re telling Dad.”
Clarissa’s satisfaction disappeared.
“No.”
“I’m calling him.”
Ben reached toward his pocket.
Clarissa raised the scissors.
He froze.
“You will do exactly what I say.”
Ava clung to him.
Clarissa pointed toward the floor.
“Pick up the hair.”
Ben did not move.
“Why?”
“Because you cut it.”
Clarissa stepped closer.
“When Mason comes home, you are going to tell him you were playing with the scissors.”
Ben stared at her.
“No.”
“You tried to cut your sister’s ribbon.”
“No.”
“The blades slipped.”
“You did it.”
Clarissa’s eyes became cold.
“Your father already knows you’ve been having problems.”
“What problems?”
“The ones I documented.”
Ben’s courage wavered.
Clarissa had been collecting reports about him for months.
Broken objects.
Arguments.
School complaints that Ben had never seen.
She often said Mason was considering sending him to a special boarding school.
“If you refuse,” Clarissa continued, “I will tell your father you attacked both of us.”
Ava lifted her head.
“Ben didn’t do anything.”
Clarissa looked at her.
“Then I will cut the other side too.”
Ben stepped directly in front of Ava.
“Don’t touch her.”
At that exact moment, Mason Kingsley entered through the open double doors.
He wore a tailored navy suit, white shirt and dark tie.
His neatly styled dark hair was damp from the evening air.
He stopped inside the grand hallway.
Ava was crying.
Ben stood protectively before her.
Clarissa held silver scissors.
A lock of blonde hair rested beside her shoe.
Confusion crossed Mason’s face.
Then Clarissa saw him.
Her cruel expression disappeared instantly.
Artificial concern replaced it.
She hid the scissors behind her back and pointed at Ben.
“Mason!”
Her voice became frantic.
“The kids were playing—Ben cut her hair!”
Ben stared at her in disbelief.
“She’s lying!”
Mason looked toward the wall mirror.
The silver scissors were clearly reflected behind Clarissa’s burgundy gown.
He looked down.
The severed ponytail remained beside her heel.
Then he saw Ava’s right side.
Shorter.
Uneven.
Freshly cut.
Mason’s confusion became fury.
Clarissa continued speaking.
“I tried to stop him. He became violent.”
“No!” Ava screamed. “Ben saved me!”
Mason crossed the hallway.
Clarissa stepped backward.
“Mason, listen to me.”
He did not.
His open hand struck her cheek.
The impact turned her face sharply.
She stumbled and fell onto the black marble floor.
There was no blood.
The hidden scissors slid from behind her back.
They stopped beside Ava’s severed ponytail.
Everyone became silent.
Mason stood protectively in front of both children.
Then he looked at his own hand.
The fury in his face changed.
May you like
He understood that in protecting his children, he had also lost control.
And Clarissa was already reaching for her phone.
Related Stories
