"Good morning, Alden." Emberly opened the door and greeted Alden's arrival as she did intentionally every time the man came to pick up Victoria.
"Hi, morning, Emberly."
Whenever Emberly did so, Victoria would feel upset and jealous. But this time, she stared indifferently at the two people walking to the dining table. She was no longer competitive or jealous of Emberly's attention-seeking behavior towards Alden.
After last night's party, everything went back to normal except for Victoria, who couldn't go about her day as usual. She, who has learned the rotten secret of her fiancé, can’t behave normally anymore. While she was experiencing the pain of betrayal, the two perpetrators of this betrayal were chatting warmly in front of her as if they had no guilt.
If it were Emberly, Victoria would have gotten used to her innocent yet cunning face. But Alden, whom she had known for five years, never thought he would betray her. She believed Alden was different from her friends, who would leave her and go to Emberly's side. But in reality, he was no different from her old friends. Or the men who approached her with ulterior motives.
"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Agriche." Alden greeted two both, who had also arrived at the dining table. They returned his greeting with warm smiles, already accustomed to Alden's presence as part of the Agriche family.
"Good morning, baby." Then, after he sat down beside her, Alden gave Victoria a soft peck on the cheek.
"Yes, good morning, Alden." Victoria tried hard to act normal in front of them all.
The kiss Alden gave her, which always felt sweet, felt disgusting this time. The memory of last night that suddenly flashed added to Victoria's disgust at Alden's attitude. How could these two cheaters behave as if they only had a normal sister-in-law relationship?
The sound of cutlery began to be heard as breakfast time progressed. During this time, Emberly engaged Alden in conversation. Again, Victoria ignored them entirely or tried to get into their conversation. She never thought that her life could change completely in just one night. Just a few days ago, she was still feeling the throbbing and flushed cheeks of Alden's attitude, as well as the jealousy of her step-sister.
"Emberly, do you like the gift I gave you?" Petter Agriche, the head of the family also Victoria and Emberly's father, spoke up.
"Of course, I love it very much, Dad. Thank you so much. I'm already quite happy we can celebrate my birthday together again," Emberly replied excitedly.
"My daughter's birthday should of course be celebrated," he said without mentioning that Victoria was also his daughter.
"Yes, especially since Victoria is so good at organizing parties that they run smoothly," Rosalee added, complimenting her, which did not move Victoria at all. She was getting tired of the whole charade. She wondered if her father was too, so he no longer showed the attitude that she was his real daughter. "Thank you, Mom. I learned a lot from you," Victoria answered.
"Next time, on my sister's birthday, I'll prepare the party!" continued Emberly.
Victoria no longer talked. She focused on eating breakfast until it was finished and invited Alden to leave.
"We're leaving first, Mom, Dad," Victoria said goodbye to the two, followed by Alden.
"Bye, Alden, sister!" Emberly kept trying to get close to Alden until the end as if continuing to pull Victoria's jealousy.
"Babe, are you not feeling well today?" Alden asked when they had gotten into the car and started driving.
"No, I'm fine. Just still feeling tired after the party last night," Victoria replied. "And I don't think you should bother coming to pick me up to go to campus every day. Your office and my campus are in opposite directions," she continued.
"It's not a big deal. I can also see you every morning and get to know your family better." Alden took Victoria's hand and kissed the back of it.
Victoria looked at Alden from the side, focused on the road. She felt so special and loved hearing what Alden said in the past. However, she, who was no longer stupid, already knew what this bastard man who was still her fiancé was doing.
Victoria pulled her hand away so that Alden could not hold it. She said nothing and turned her face away from the windshield. Victoria tried to hold back the anger that again rose to its peak because she remembered Alden's betrayal.
After an eternity, they finally arrived at Victoria’s campus parking lot. This time, Alden followed Victoria out as she was about to leave. He walked over and was about to kiss her, but she quickly avoided him.
"What are you doing?" asked Victoria coldly.
"Why have you been like this all day, babe? Are you mad at me?" Alden's face seemed hurt, having received such a rude gesture from her.
Victoria immediately controlled her facial expression. She smiled, showing her guilt, and said more softly. "No, I told you that I was just too tired. And this is a public place, I'm embarrassed, Alden."
Alden finally let out a small chuckle, hearing the confession that was always the reason Victoria did not want to accept his kiss. Instead, Alden rubbed his fiancée's cheek gently. "After I finish the work today, let's date tonight. I still miss you."
There was no happy heartbeat when Alden uttered that rare line of invitation. She was no longer excited and looking forward to it after knowing it was just Alden's ploy to keep her obedient. Even so, Victoria had no choice but to nod and smile, showing enthusiasm.
"See you tonight," he said before returning to the car and driving off.
After watching Alden's car leave the campus area, Victoria picked up her cell phone and called someone. Not long after, a man's voice answered from the other side of the line.
"Can we meet to discuss the deal, Mr. Hurlington?" Victoria immediately asked.
His distinctive baritone voice is heard answering, "I Don’t think it will be too long since I offered you the deal, Miss Agriche."
"Where can we meet?" Ignoring his words, Victoria asked again.
Maverick replied briefly, "Come to my house. I'll send a car."
"Then I just arrived at the campus," answered Victoria informingly.
"Okay, I'll send it to your campus. Send me the address." Maverick hung up the phone.
Since last night, Victoria had been suffering and crying from desperation and anger. She was determined to avenge the pain she had received. She was fed up with her stepsister's attitude of constantly taking what was hers. She would also avenge her bastard fiancée, who brazenly wanted her money.
'Just wait, you both!' Victoria spoke inwardly with hatred after deciding.
"Mr. Hurlington told you to wait for him inside, Miss." A middle-aged woman dressed in full formal attire, who she guessed was the butler of this luxurious mansion, guided and informed Victoria.Victoria smiled and nodded as she expressed her gratitude. "Thank you very much."After the butler left, Victoria opened that sizeable wooden door. She entered and sat on the sofa in the room, which looked like her father's workroom at home. For a long time, Victoria waited in the room where she was bored. Until the wooden door finally opened again. This time, a man dressed in a full suit walked in."Good morning, Mr. Hurlington." Victoria naturally stood up and greeted the room's owner for her politeness. Maverick walked towards his desk after only a brief nod in response to Victoria's greeting. The man stood behind his desk, filling a shelf with matching dark blue folders. He picked up one of the folders and joined Victoria on the sofa. It seemed that the folder Maverick was carrying was th
"Didn't I tell you earlier?" asked Victoria, trying to remain calm. This young woman didn't let herself off the hook at all. After all, whatever she said later, Emberly would still find out she met Maverick. And that meant Alden would find out, too. A smile suddenly formed on her lips. "I'm slightly surprised and curious about what business you two could be sitting around talking about. Even my brother invited you to his mansion. I thought your life was so filled with your fiancé that you didn't make friends with anyone else." Victoria was silent when Karina seemed to have some misconceptions about her. She did not want to befriend the people around her because she had been used too often, coupled with Alden's existence, which she thought was enough, before knowing the truth about the man. However, Victoria felt no need to explain everything. More than that, Victoria did not understand Karina. "Anyway, I'm glad you visited Brother Verick's mansion so that I could meet you."
"Please, forgive me. I thought you changed a lot lately because of another man, honey." Alden touched and rubbed Victoria's hand that was on the table. Victoria was still unmoved, not even glancing at Alden, who begged her to apologize after the reason she said. At first, she was very lazy with this time-consuming date. However, seeing this man pleading in her charade was quite entertaining. "Honey..." Alden coaxed once again gently. "I'm a little offended that you don't trust me, Alden." "I'm really sorry. You were right, and I was wrong. I did that because I was afraid of losing you, honey." How sweet the words coming out of the man's mouth would be if Victoria didn't already know the truth. After knowing how Alden had behaved behind her back all this time, those words were nothing more than vomit coming out of the mouth of an asshole. 'You're just afraid of losing my money, aren't you, jerk?!' Victoria cursed inwardly. This time, Victoria turned her head, turning
"What are you arguing about that your voices can be heard downstairs?!" Rosalee walked in and scolded them both. "Mom, Victoria-" "Emberly, your father just got home. Don't let this fight upset him!" she snapped at Emberly, who was about to complain. "And you, Victoria, you're older. Don't yell back at your sister. Solve your problems with maturity!" Rosalee took turns blaming everything on Victoria. "I just got home too, and want to rest. Please tell your daughter to come out now, and she can continue this drama tomorrow." Victoria replied to Rosalee, blaming Emberly for starting this fight. "You only have to answer to me, Victoria!" retorted Emberly irritably. "Emberly, get out now!" Rosalee, who had no more power to corner Victoria, relented and ordered her daughter out. Since her mother said it, Emberly couldn't argue anymore. However, the glare in those piercing eyes could not lie about her frustration that was still mounting. She exited, followed by Rosalee,
"What nonsense are you talking about, Alden?" asked Emberly, increasingly confused. "No way! It would be more likely if she were also in a relationship with another man. And that would be Maverick Hurlington, I'm sure, because he-" "She only took the earrings that he found. That's why she went there!" Alden cut in. "You believe that ridiculous reason, especially a cold man like Maverick Hurlington?!" snapped Emberly irritably, finding Alden's answer ridiculous. "I believe because it's a piece of jewelry her mother left her, but I wouldn't expect him to take an interest in Victoria." "While he's being set up with you," he muttered. "What?! What do you mean I will be set up with Maverick Hurlington?!" Emberly, who heard it, asked in a high tone. "I heard it from Victoria herself when we were on our date yesterday. She already knew about your and Maverick Hurlington's engagement plan, Emberly. That's why she has changed lately, and she is not jealous of you anymore." Alde
"Welcome home, Brother." Maverick frowned, displeased, when he found his sister in the living room right after getting home. He turned to look at the butler, who was taking his bag and coat. "Why is that little brat here, Shenan?" "Come on, don't blame Shenan too much. I came by myself. Why am I being treated like a stranger anyway?" Karina argued, defending the butler's lady while grumbling in protest at her brother's attitude. "I came here because I was hungry." "You think my house is a food warehouse?" Maverick said irritably as he stepped towards the sofa and sat down to join Karina. Despite his annoyance, he didn't shoo her away again. Maverick knew that Karina had come for a reason, so he settled the matter before going to bed and falling asleep without interruption. "Quickly tell me what you want." "I wanna know, could it be that you are interested in Victoria, Brother?" asked Karina with a severe tone and face. "Why do you ask?" Maverick threw back the question.
Though wondering, Victoria replied, "I don't care how my family's image is. All I want is for those two traitors to get what they deserve." "Don't worry, I won't back down just because of my family," she continued. Victoria pushed that ridiculous thought aside, trying to give herself a suggestion. Their relationship was nothing more than a contract that would end when their goals were achieved. Someone like Maverick Hurlington couldn't have such feelings. "You might think that, but your father would not. Instead, he will protect the Agriche name that he is proud of. Wouldn't he?" She was silent, not denying what Maverick said. It was true, especially since Emberly was his favorite daughter, even though there was no blood relationship between them. "At least the stigma will still be attached to them," Victoria replied quietly. Deep down, there was a long-held disappointment. However, Victoria again chose not to care about it but to focus on her goal. "So, what do yo
"Y-you figured it out already?" Karina asked, surprised. Victoria nodded as she removed her hands from Karina's. Through her words, she should not have doubted Karina anymore, even from the beginning. Her demeanor showed innocence, making it clear that Karina was just a cute and clumsy young woman. "Yes, I've known since Emberly's birthday party. I saw the two of them in the hotel room." Karina gasped at that. Victoria smiled a small smile, showing a calm demeanor. However, although it did not show any signs that her heart was hurt, it brought back painful memories that would never disappear. She just tried not to get too emotional, which made people pity her. "How did you hold it in all this time?" asked Karina with amazement. Victoria refrained from telling Karina about her revenge plan. Although she had reduced the distance between them, it didn't mean she trusted her completely. For now, Victoria is only removing her suspicion from Karina. But without realizing it,