003

Aubrey POV

"Dario?"

I looked up immediately from the floor where I sat crying.

It wasn't the slaps that pained me, but the sufferings I went through, only for me to be dumbed like rubbish.

I cleaned my tears. That voice sounded horribly familiar.

What is she doing here?

I was shocked at who I saw standing at the door.

"I want her out, I am here to stay!" She exclaimed.

I smirked. "Who does she think she is?"

I'm still legally married to Dario as long as I haven't signed the divorce papers. She was Dario's classmate in college. I hated the fact that he liked her and not me.

Well, I still hate her cause even after all my sacrifices to prove myself better than her, he still chose her in the end.

Dario is mine! If I can't have him, no other woman will!

Emma moved over to hold Sofia's hands. "Sofia, darling! Welcome! She exclaimed happily. How was your journey down here? I hope you aren't stressed out." She said softly.

Never had I witnessed Emma speak with such sweetness and softness.

"Oh, mother, I am so stressed out." She exclaimed, her expression a mask of feigned distress. But I could see through her facade. She was merely pretending to spite me.

"You! Get up from the floor and make yourself useful! Emma threw Sofia's bags at me. Carry these bags and follow her to Dario's room."

"What! I exclaimed. She gets to stay in the same room with Dario?" I asked, not believing my ears.

"Yes! They will soon get married so there's no difference." Alissa said, arms akimbo.

"But I have been married to him for three years now, and I never got to sleep in the same room with him!" I exclaimed angrily.

"How do you expect him to share a room with a pauper like you, hun? So you can rub your bad luck on him?" Sofia hissed, eyeing me as if I were garbage.

"Carry those bags and follow her! What gave you the audacity to talk?" Alissa asked. Dario wrapped his arm around her waist and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Welcome, sweetheart. I missed you badly." Dario said. He gave her the warmest smile I have ever seen.

"I missed you too, my darling. I am here for you now." She blushed, kissing him back. I hate this woman!

I picked up the bags and followed after them quietly.

When they got inside the room, the next scene that unfolded shocked me. Clothes and shoes flew across the room as they lay stacked naked on top of each other.

Are they going to make out in my presence?

Am I that insignificant?

"Drop the bags and use the door!" Dario shouted.

As I closed the door, moans and screams filled the air.

"So disgusting." I hissed out angrily.

I went about doing my own chores.

At dinner, as the household savored their meal, Sofia broached the question I had been avoiding. "Bella, when will you sign the divorce papers and leave?" Her soft voice dripped with disdain.

I remained silent. I myself don't know the answer to that.

"I can't bear to leave Dario alone." I confessed inwardly. I have nurtured him in my heart for ten years now. I can't just simply walk away.

"Why the silence? Give her an answer! Emma's voice thundered across the table. I...I don't know yet. I can't bring myself to sign those papers." I said, choking back my tears." Their response was cruel laughter.

"Do you think you have a choice darling? Alissa sneered. You were never wanted in this family. Just sign those papers and vanish!" She said, still laughing.

"You don't want me to make you sign them by force, right?" Dario asked, his gaze bore into me, a silent threat lurking behind his eyes.

"Dario, darling, don't concern yourself with this unnecessary entity. Sofia declared, her posture proud. I will handle her myself."

As I gazed upon their faces, I beheld nothing but hatred and disgust directed at me. Is this the treatment I truly deserve? I pondered silently.

Reflecting on all the sacrifices I made, the things I had to let go just to be with the man I love, only to be met with scorn and disdain?

My life is detestable!

To emerge from a poor background is the utmost agony!

I rose from the dining table swiftly and fled to the store room where I sleep. I don't want them to witness my tears, lest they see me as weak.

I collapsed upon the floor and cried my eyes out till my strength ebbed away. I couldn't shake off the feeling of betrayal that gnawed at my soul.

The weight of my decisions pressed down on me like a suffocating blanket. With each passing day, the weight of Sofia's disdain grew heavier upon my shoulders.

Her cruel words and calculated actions chipped away at my spirit, leaving me feeling smaller and more insignificant with each blow.

One morning, after breakfast, She dragged me to her room. "Moron! If you don't leave quietly now, you will regret ever crossing paths with the Fowler's!" Sofia spatted.

We were the only ones in the house with other workers. Others went to a gala. She pretended not to be feeling well so she could stay back and mistreat me.

She takes pleasure in seeing me miserable.

"I can't just leave; grandfather will not be happy with me." I said.

"You think he can save you! Not even in your wildest imagination. He might not even make it out alive." She said scornfully.

"No, don't say that. Grandfather is going to come back to us, then I will sign the divorce papers and vanish from your lives." I said, almost in tears.

The patriarch of the Fowlers is the only man in this household who treated me with love. He made sure I was okay and had the best life when he was still around.

"What if he doesn't come back! Dario is mine! You need to leave so I can have my man back!" She thundered angrily, stamping her feet on the floor.

"He promised me," I said, choking back my tears. "He told me he is going back soon." I broke down in tears.

"Soon! After three years? No one is going to save you! Leave!" She pushed me to the floor, and in the process, I sprained my ankle.

"Ah!" I screamed out in pain.

"Serves you right, you slut!" She ran to her room in fear that she might have caused great harm to me.

"Coward," I cursed inwardly.

No one came to my aid, so I dragged myself to the store room.

Evening came, and they all arrived.

Sofia ran to meet Alissa and started telling her lies that I mistreated her, knowing that she wasn't feeling well.

"Mother!" She hugged Alissa and broke down in tears. Even a blind man would know that those tears were faked.

"My darling, are you feeling any better now?" She asked with so much concern, as she caressed Sofia's face.

"No, mother. Bella made my life hell today. She refused to give me my meals and drugs, and she called me a slut. She said I took Dario away from her." She started amidst her fake tears.

Hell is about to break loose! I braced myself for what was about to hit.

"How dare you! Have you lost your senses? How dare you treat the hostess of the Fowlers in such a manner!" Alissa thundered loudly. She bore a menacing gaze that could make a man shiver.

Wouldn't they even hear my side of the story? I shook my head in disbelief. "I want her out this minute!" Sofia declared.

"That's what we will do." Emma affirmed. Firstly, sign the divorce papers." She brought out the divorce papers.

I was made to sign them by force. Each drop of my tears stained the paper. "Now leave!" She ordered, pushing me towards the door.

"Don't make me call the cops on you. Leave quietly now!" Sofia added.

I looked up at Dario, he stood there, unaffected by whatever was happening in the room. He dipped his hands in his pockets and gave me an expression of indifference.

His expression broke my heart, and I broke down in tears.

He never loved me!

That night, I was kicked out of the Fowlers' mansion with nothing but my nightie. I took a last look at the grand mansion that stood tall in the darkness.

I wiped the tears from my eyes, and made a phone call.

Not long after, a limited edition Rolls-Royce phantom sped off into the darkness.