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Chapter 3

Autor: Summer L
"Vera?"

Cosima spotted me and waved excitedly.

"Did you come to help celebrate my puppy's birthday too?"

The man with the champagne froze when he saw me and couldn't meet my eyes.

"They went way too far last time," Cosima said. "I can't believe they thought that joke was okay.

"I already gave them a piece of my mind. Vera, please don't be mad, okay?"

Cosima shook her fist at the group in mock anger.

She grabbed my arm as an excuse to lean in and lower her voice.

"That's nine times. How do you still not get it? All I have to do is ask, and my brother will always choose me first."

I looked past her at the little white dog curled up on an expensive velvet cushion, then at the uneasy faces around her.

"So this time, you postponed the wedding for a dog's birthday party."

I didn't raise my voice, but the whole restaurant went quiet.

"Why make everyone put on a show? Why not just cancel the wedding?"

Raphael hurried over, looking panicked.

"Vera, let me explain..."

I scoffed, shook off his hand, and looked him straight in the eye.

"Explain what? That you didn't push back our wedding for Cosima again and again? That your lies didn't cost me the use of my hand?

"Or that you didn't lie to me again today, all for a dog?"

My voice was quiet, but every word landed like a blow in the silent restaurant. Cosima's eyes welled up instantly. As if I'd done her some terrible wrong, she rushed forward and grabbed my hand.

"I'm sorry, Vera. I had no idea I'd hurt you this much. I'm so, so sorry...

"But my brother and I grew up together. Just because he looks out for me, you think there's something dirty going on between us. I honestly don't know how I'm supposed to face you after this."

Her voice was thick with tears. Everyone looked at me with open disgust, as if I were the one to blame.

"That's enough, Vera!"

They all snapped at me at once.

"Cosima didn't know anything. This was all our idea!"

The old me would have swallowed it. Like always, I'd have told myself it was just the plot and forced down the hurt.

But not anymore.

"Are you done?

"Cosima didn't know anything? She didn't know we should've been married three months ago? She didn't know your little scam cost me the use of my right hand? Or did she somehow miss the nine times you all played me for a fool just to please her?!"

My gaze swept over every face in the room and landed on Raphael last.

"Raphael, you said Cosima thinks I should see a therapist? You're wrong. You're the one who needs a therapist!"

Raphael's face darkened. He'd never heard me speak to him like that. While Cosima cried like the injured party, he dragged me upstairs to a private room. She followed us in.

"Vera, why are you so hostile toward Cosima?"

Raphael let go of me and tugged at his tie. He sounded tired and irritated. Sofia jumped in to back him up.

"Your wedding was postponed, that's all. Raphael is still going to marry you. Why do you have to humiliate Cosima?"

Cosima leaned against Raphael with tears in her eyes, but the little smile on her lips was meant for me alone.

"Vera, my brother is marrying you and making you the Donna of the Bellandi family. You've already won. Why do you have to fight me over who matters most to him?"

I looked at Sofia like she was a stranger.

"Sofia, when you got your heart broken, who stayed up drinking with you until you threw up? You hugged me and said you'd always be on my side, no matter what."

Sofia went pale, as if the memory had just come back to her.

"And now you're standing here blaming me for Cosima's sake?"

I turned to Raphael.

"And you. When your mother was sick, who sat by her bed all night? When your best friend got hurt, who grabbed a medical kit and ran halfway across the city? You can forget all that if you want, but you had no right to forget what you said to me after I got shot!

"You said all those beautiful things, then lied to me and made a fool of me nine times for Cosima!"

I slowly slid the ring off my finger and put it in Cosima's palm.

Her fingers closed around it without thinking. Then she leaned in and whispered so only I could hear.

"You think marrying my brother means you can take him from me?"

I pulled away and turned to Raphael. "Don't bother cooking up the next excuse. The wedding is officially off.

"We're done."
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  • I Was the Villainess, But I Tore Up the Script   Chapter 9

    Night fell.The black Rolls-Royce pulled up by the water. I stepped out and took my father's arm. As we boarded the yacht, sea air swept across the deck. When he looked at me, I could see how proud he was."Come on, Vera. The heads of the Five Families will all be at dinner tonight."He patted my hand, sounding pleased."You're stronger than your mother was. You've turned out even better than I hoped."I smiled and pulled my shawl tighter, hiding the small curve of my belly."Because I know tears and giving in will never earn anyone's respect."Only absolute power can put the people who try to hurt me so far beneath me that they don't even deserve to look up at me."My father nodded in approval. I walked beside him, followed by a dozen or so members of the Sterling family's inner circle, all in black suits.As we climbed the steps, the chatter on the yacht faded.Every eye turned to us. I saw awe, wariness, and the grudging submission of people who knew they had to bow.The bodyguards

  • I Was the Villainess, But I Tore Up the Script   Chapter 8

    Three months later.I leaned back on a leather sofa in the Sterling family's finest private hospital, gently stroking the slight curve of my belly as I waited for my results.That's right. I lied. I never lost the baby.Raphael and I were over, but that had nothing to do with this baby. This child would be mine alone and, one day, the only heir to the Sterling family.Bernard knocked softly and handed me a glass of warm milk."Miss Vera, our people sent word. Raphael has been drinking himself senseless at a bar in the slums every day. Last night, he couldn't cover his tab, just a few dollars, so the bar called in some thugs, and they broke his leg."There was a note of satisfaction in his voice."He keeps shouting that he killed the baby, that he's a sinner who failed you. Would you like us to..."I sipped my milk and shook my head."No. And don't tell me anything more about him."I knew Raphael. Losing everything and believing he'd killed his own child would be enough to keep him in a

  • I Was the Villainess, But I Tore Up the Script   Chapter 7

    The next time I saw Raphael was a week later.My father had publicly named me his heir, and I went with him to a company banquet. As the party was breaking up, Raphael stepped out of a corner and blocked my way.He hadn't shaved. His once-sharp suit was wrinkled, his tie was stained, and his eyes were frighteningly bloodshot. The man who'd stood so proudly at the head of the Bellandi family now looked like a vagrant."Vera... can we talk..."His voice was hoarse, and he sounded desperate.I stopped and looked down at him. The Bellandi family was bankrupt, and rival families had stripped it of every inch of territory.Once so powerful, Raphael couldn't even get a job washing dishes.I waved off the bodyguards who'd stepped forward to throw him out and signaled for them to give us a moment.Raphael clung to that sliver of hope. He dropped to his knees and grabbed the hem of my dress."Vera, I know I was wrong... I swear I know I was wrong!"I deserve to die! I'm a bastard! Please forgive

  • I Was the Villainess, But I Tore Up the Script   Chapter 6

    Raphael felt as if he were losing his mind.The Sterling family hadn't taken anything the Bellandi family already owned. It had only taken back what Vera had brought them.The Sterling hospital stopped treating Bellandi men for free. All three East Port shipping lanes were closed to them at once. Without the Sterling financial guarantee, the banks called in the loans early, and the smaller families that had leaned on them began pulling out their men.Only now did Raphael understand that Vera had been behind every expansion he'd taken pride in over the past four years.The Bellandi family hadn't suddenly lost everything. It had simply been knocked back to what it was before Vera came along.Right when he was at his wits' end, his phone chimed.It was a detailed file on Cosima, laying out how she'd arranged all nine wedding delays and used her role as his "sister" to make everyone see Vera as jealous and spiteful.Then someone sent him a video.The footage showed the restaurant's back do

  • I Was the Villainess, But I Tore Up the Script   Chapter 5

    "My name is Vera Sterling."The black sedans bearing the Sterling family crest stood silently at the foot of the church steps, their headlights making the whole street as bright as day.I looked at Raphael, who was too stunned to speak, and kept my voice perfectly calm."I'm also the only heir to the Sterling family."At the head of the convoy, the door of a black stretch limousine swung open. Bernard, the old butler I hadn't seen in years, walked over and bowed to me respectfully."No... that's impossible..."Raphael went pale and lunged for my hand."I thought you were an orphan! How can you be the Sterling heir?!"I ignored his meltdown and got straight into the car.The door slammed shut, muffling Raphael's desperate shouts as he pounded on the window. Bernard smiled and handed me a file."Miss Vera, the Don says your first welcome-home present is ready."It was a file on Cosima.I opened it. Inside was the truth behind all nine delays.Cosima had used her position as Raphael's ado

  • I Was the Villainess, But I Tore Up the Script   Chapter 4

    Cosima clutched the ring I'd put in her palm.Raphael had designed that ring for me. He'd said it stood for a love that was mine alone.Raphael froze and opened his mouth, but I didn't want to hear another word.I turned and walked out of the private room without looking back.Back home, I packed as fast as I could. As I zipped my suitcase, I spotted the pregnancy test results on the desk.I'd planned to surprise Raphael after the wedding today by telling him he was going to be a dad.But there was no point now.Expressionless, I crumpled the results, tossed them in the wastebasket, and picked up my suitcase."I'm not letting you break up with me!"Raphael chased after me and held down my suitcase with both hands. His chest heaved, and for once, he sounded scared."Okay, I was wrong to lie to you. But Vera, I really do love you."It was so absurd I almost laughed. Instead, I raised my hand and slapped him.Raphael's cheek reddened, but he didn't get angry. As he always did after our fi

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