1: I'm getting married

Celeste's POV

“I’m getting married.”

The words left my mother's lips and my body went still.

Marriage?

“Are you kidding me right now?” I asked, staring at her in disbelief.

A scoff escaped her lips. “You must really think my life is a joke,” she spat, locking eyes with me. “Of course I’m dead serious about getting married,” she said with a squeal.

A hollow chuckle slipped from my lips as I ran my fingers through my hair.

“You must really be trying to outdo yourself this time, Mom,” I spat, shaking my head.

I never expected better from her. Ever since my father died, she had drifted from one man to another like a moth chasing flames.

Yet she brushed a hand through her hair with a smug smile tugging at her lips.

“I don’t give two shits about what you think. I’m getting married in three days.” She stepped closer. “So be prepared.”

My stomach plummeted.

“Three days?” I repeated slowly, my brow arching slightly.

“You know what? I don’t want to be dragged into this. If you want to marry, then leave me out of it,” I said, trying to sound calm.

Yet she laughed. “Of course it involves you, since you’re my daughter.”

What the hell did she mean it involved me?

With my eyes fixed on her, I asked, “Do you even care what Father would think about the life you chose?” Irritation dripped from my tone.

She gave an innocent shrug. “It’s time you move on from your father. He is gone. You’ll be having a new father soon,” she declared with a smile.

My heart faltered.

Did she even care how I felt? Had she ever cared about my opinion?

Judging by the look on her face, I knew she was deadly serious.

So I swallowed and folded my arms across my chest. “Who is this person you’re marrying?”

The question instantly made her eyes sparkle as she clapped softly.

“Now you’re talking.” She chuckled. “The Almighty Dovan Revanchi,” she said with a wide smile.

“What?!” My voice shot up sharply.

“You mean the Revanchi that I know?” I asked, trying to confirm my suspicion. “The one you met... was it a week ago or...”

“Two weeks,” she corrected.

There was no way the mighty Revanchi family would settle for a scheming woman like my mother.

She took another sip of champagne, her chin lifted high in arrogance.

The same man who had even brought me a gold necklace that I rejected without ever touching it.

“Oh, wow.” I laughed dryly, clapping my hands.

“That changes everything then. I absolutely love that for you. Happy married life.”

“Celeste...”

She stepped closer to me.

“This might actually beat your record. What was the last one? The casino owner? Or the creepy divorced politician? Or the judge with a stinking breath? Or—”

“Celeste!”

“What?!” I snapped sharply.

Her expression hardened instantly. “There is no reason for you to be disrespectful.”

I laughed again, the kind that never touched my eyes, because hearing that from her sounded almost absurd.

“Disrespectful?” I repeated. “You want to talk about disrespect?” My throat worked.

“You’re marrying a man you barely know after two weeks. You didn’t even think this through, and now you’re telling me three days before your fantasy wedding, and somehow I’m the problem?”

“He loves me,” she chimed in.

“Oh God! Spare me the nonsense, Mom!” My eyes blazed daggers at her.

She snapped, “Why can’t you ever just be happy for me!?”

“Happy?” I stared at her incredulously. “For a marriage that would last, max, one month?”

Her champagne glass clattered against the table with a sharp clink.

“Dad left you everything. And what did you do with it?” My jaw tightened. “You shattered it.”

“You have no right to dictate what I did with my husband’s wealth!” she retorted sharply.

“He is my father!” I snapped back.

“I raised you with that wealth!” she barked. “It paid for your education! You survived on it!”

“I...” I stepped closer. “I put myself through college.” My eyes burned with tears I refused to release.

“You stopped covering my expenses during the second semester of my first year.” My voice broke as I bit hard on my lip.

Her face stiffened dangerously, and that only fuelled my anger.

“You know what was absurd?” I pressed bitterly.

She arched her brow. “What?”

“Being a gold digger.”

Slap!

Her palm struck my cheek, snapping my head to the side.

The sting spread like fire across my skin while my chest heaved unevenly, but I would rather swallow broken glass than weep before her.

Slowly, I tilted my head to face her. “You did not dare speak to me like that,” she hissed coldly.

Her eyes glistened with fury and what looked like tears, but I had seen those crocodile tears countless times.

I would have been a fool to fall for them.

“You thought you would survive without me?” she demanded. “You thought life magically sustained itself?”

“At least I earned my own money,” I shot back.

“And you flaunted yourself half-naked before cameras while doing it,” she scolded.

She inhaled deeply before sinking into the couch.

“Since you believe you already know everything, I should also tell you this house is sold,” she said casually, as if discussing the weather.

“What?”

“The paperwork was signed this morning,” she continued calmly.

“This is my father’s house!”

“No. This was my house,” she corrected smoothly. “Everything your father owned became mine after his death.”

My chest squeezed painfully as I fought to keep my tears at bay.

“This is the only piece of him left,” I whispered.

“Oh, please.” She waved dismissively. “You don’t even know him.”

She wasn’t wrong.

The words pierced straight through me. Oh, how she always knew where to hurt me.

I stared at her, trying to recognize the woman before me. How could anyone be this cruel?

I sucked in a shaky breath through my teeth. “Why are you only telling me now?” I asked faintly.

“Because I didn’t need your consent to sell the house.”

Right. Of course she didn’t.

“Make sure you pack your belongings before then. The new owners are already on their way.” She shifted her gaze to meet mine. “You will move in with me.”

My eyes darkened with anger. “Congratulations! I would rather sleep on the street than move in with you,” I snapped bitterly. “And as for the wedding, I would rather die than attend that wedding.”

“Suit yourself then... and stay prepared. They will come for you.”

I froze.

A dreadful weight settled in my stomach as my brows knitted together.

“Who is coming for me?”

“My husband’s family. If you aren’t attending the wedding, then you should at least be ready for pickup. You can’t remain here. The house is sold.”

“My father gave you everything,” I said weakly, clinging to the last fragile piece of hope I had.

“Yes, he did,” she answered gently. “He gave me everything. Including a burden like you.”

Her words seeped into me like poison. She couldn’t truly mean that.

Maybe she truly meant every word.

Her hand suddenly rested on my shoulder. “Someday,” she said slowly, “you will realize I’m doing all this for you.”

With that, she walked away, leaving me stranded in a house that no longer felt like home.

A place that was meant to be mine before my own mother bartered it away for a ring.

I sat at the foot of the stairs long after she left.

With my fingers trembling slightly, I opened my bank account, and the numbers mocked me cruelly.

To make things worse, payday wasn’t until the end of the month.

My hand clawed through my hair in frustration.

I knew I was doomed this time because...

Where was I supposed to stay?

Just as I stepped forward, a thought slipped into my mind, and my eyes narrowed.

Staring at my phone, I muttered, “That is crazy, Celeste. You shouldn't do this...”

Before I could fully process anything else, my finger moved on its own, sending a text I never should have sent.

"Maschot, is the offer for the semi-nude shoot still available?"