Chapter 2: Veronica's POV

I quickened my steps toward Mason’s mansion, clutching my grocery bag tightly against my chest. My heart thudded faster than my feet hit the pavement. I was two hours late and Mason hated lateness. I’d been supposed to see him hours ago, but helping a lost little girl almost run down by a car find her guardian at the grocery market had taken more time than I expected.

He would be angry, I thought. Mason always said time was respect. I’d never missed an appointment with him before.

When I reached the gate, I expected it to be locked as always. But to my surprise, the door was slightly open. A strange unease prickled at the back of my neck. Mason was very meticulous about security, he never left doors open.

Still, I stepped inside, trying to calm the uneasiness crawling up my spine.

The mansion was quiet.

“Mason?” I called softly, my voice echoing through the wide, empty living room.

There was no response.

I heard a faint moan after. 

A woman’s moan, though low but unmistakable.

I froze.

My eyes darted toward the television, but it was off. The sound wasn’t coming from there.

Maybe I was imagining things, I told myself. Maybe it was a sound from the neighbors.

But then, I heard it again. Louder this time. A whimper. Then another breathless moan.

The sound came from upstairs. 

My stomach turned. My palms went clammy as I took one hesitant step after another up the stairs, following the sound I desperately wished I wasn’t hearing. Every instinct screamed at me to stop, to turn around and leave but something stronger,painful and desperate, kept pushing me forward.

When I reached the door, I stood frozen for a long moment, my hand hovering over the doorknob. My heart pounded so hard I could barely hear anything else.

Then I pushed it open, and my world stopped.

“Mason,” I whispered. 

My voice was barely a breath, trembling with disbelief.

He turned, startled but not guilty, not even ashamed. Just startled that I was there.

“Veronica,” he said flatly, almost casual as he reached to still the woman straddling him.

A naked woman.

My eyes widened, horror crashing over me like a wave as I realized what I was seeing. The woman on top of him, her hair cascading down her back, her skin flushed, her moans dying on her lips was my step-sister.

“Hattie?”

The name escaped me like a gasp. I stared, unable to process it. 

Hattie, the same woman who had humiliated me, ruined my career and laughed as I was fired. 

Mason sat up slightly, pulling on a pair of pants to hide his dick wet with Hattie's squirt, his shame or what should’ve been his shame. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked, his tone calm, even irritated. “I told you I’d be busy.”

Busy.

That was all he said. 

No guilt or explanation. 

Just… busy.

“Mason… how could you—”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair as if I were the one inconveniencing him. “Look, Veronica, I didn’t want you to find out like this. I honestly didn’t.”

“Find out?” My voice cracked as I stared between them.

Hattie laughed softly, that same mocking tone she’d always used when she thought she’d won. She leaned lazily back on the bed, not even bothering to cover her nipples or her mound was glistening with Mason’s cum. 

“Oh, come on, babe,” She purred to Mason, her fingers trailing over his chest. “There’s no point keeping her in the dark now. Just tell her the truth already.”

My throat tightened, my legs felt weak. “What truth?” I rasped, my voice barely holding together.

Mason didn’t answer. He just looked at me expressionlessly.

“What truth is she talking about, Mason?” I demanded this time, my words trembling with fury and heartbreak. I turned to him fully, desperate for some kind of denial, for him to say it wasn’t what I thought.

“Come on, Veronica. You didn’t really think I was dating someone like you for real, did you?” he said suddenly, his voice cold and casual, as if he were talking about the weather, not shattering three years of my life.

I arched my eyebrows in confusion, my lips trembling. “I... I don’t understand,” I managed to say, struggling to hold back the tears that burned behind my eyes.

Mason gave a short, humorless laugh. “I mean, you tried. I’ll give you that. But you were never my type, Vero. Be honest with yourself, your status? A struggling actress?” His tone dripped with mockery. “I even told you to secure a contract in that upcoming production and you still failed. Couldn’t even land a role, could you?”

He didn’t need to tell me where he heard that from. The smirk playing on Hattie’s lips as she lounged on his bed told me everything I needed to know.

“I come from a wealthy family, Veronica. Look around, this mansion, the cars, the company I’ll inherit. I have everything. And you…” His eyes raked over me from head to toe in disgust, his mouth twisting into a cruel grin. “You have nothing. No class, no status. You’re not even that hot. And the sex?” 

He scoffed, shaking his head. “Subpar. You can’t even give a proper head, for God’s sake. You fail at everything your sister excels at. Tell me, were you born that way or just cursed?”

“Mason…” I whispered, my heart cracking with each word. “We’ve been together for three years.”

Three years. 

Three years of my life, my love, my loyalty, my sacrifices. I’d given everything to him. His comfort, his success, his happiness and all that mattered to me was him. I’d stood by him even when I shouldn’t have. 

Even when he forgot the things that mattered to me. Even when I caught him cheating three times. He’d called them mistakes, swore he loved me, promised it wouldn’t happen again.

He told me he loved me this morning. 

And now… this?

He shrugged as if it meant nothing. “Yeah, we’ve been together. But I never loved you, Veronica. I only stayed because I needed to get close to your sister.”

The words struck me like a slap. I stared at him, unable to breathe, as he walked back toward the bed and trailed his fingers down Hattie’s bare skin, stopping to lazily caress her left nipple while I watched in frozen disbelief.

“You could’ve been useful if you were good in bed,” he continued cruelly. “Maybe I’d have kept you around as one of my hoes. But no, Veronica, you’re pathetic at everything.”

Before I could even process it, Hattie pulled him into a kiss. His hand slid to the back of her neck, deepening it. He kissed her hungrily, so easily and passionately.

Mason had always told me he hated kissing, he said it felt too intimate. He’d avoided kissing me for years because of that.

But here he was with his mouth devouring hers, his hand gripping her hair like she was something precious.

Something in me broke.

I couldn’t stand there for another second. Before the first tear could fall, I turned away, my heart pounding so violently it hurt. The sound of Hattie’s moans filled the room as I walked out, each one cutting deeper than the last.

Three years. Three years of love, of trust and foolish hope and this was what it was all worth to him?

Who knew how long this had been going on?

Why her? Why me?

Questions churned in my head as tears streamed down my cheeks, blurring everything in sight. But I kept walking because if I stopped, I knew I’d fall apart completely.