5: Perfect Victim

CIARA

“Knock it off!” I snapped, frowning as I pressed my palm flat against Rowan’s chest, but pushing him was like trying to move a wall. He didn’t so much as flinch.

After a few more pathetic shoves, I gave up, my arms falling limp at my sides. I half-expected him to try something, honestly, but he just stayed where he was, looming, but never crossing the line.

“Well, at least you stopped crying,” he said, finally getting off the bed. For a second, he just stood there, staring down at me like I was some kind of pathetic insect that was slowly dying.

I just bit my lip and put an arm over my eyes, wishing I could disappear, or at least have someone by my side who was normal for once.

“Do you know how pissed your father was? He kept apologizing to my father earlier.” Rowan’s words made me peek up at him, and I jerked upright. “You might be his only daughter, but what you did is definitely going to put your family in the spotlight… Not to mention your father is one of the most famous CEOs in the country.”

“Besides... The video from earlier is already spreading online,” he added, and my stomach twisted. I started biting my nail, hard. I knew this could happen; I just never let myself care until it actually did.

My father adored me, sure, but as the head of one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the country, a scandal like this would be a nightmare for him. And then there was Austin’s family, an even more prestigious one, which only made everything ten times worse.

I was so caught up in my emotions that I hadn’t thought about the consequences of my actions at all.

“I’m going home,” I blurted, hopping off the bed and grabbing the paper bag in one motion. “I’ll tell my father what really happened; I can’t just sit here doing nothing.”

“They’re still at the hotel, cleaning your mess.” Rowan said, making me stop dead in my tracks. I turned to him, but he just sighed as if my whole existence was exhausting to him. “Just stay here for now. You can go home later.”

“No, I’ll go home and wait for him there.” My answer came out sharper than I meant before I hurried into the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face, hands shaking as I tried to get myself together.

“Shit.” I cursed sharply as I struggled with the zipper at the back of my wedding dress. My arms strained and twisted, but it was hopeless—I couldn’t reach it.

Deflated, I opened the door, finding Rowan perched on the bed with phone in his hand.

“Can you help me with the zipper?” I asked, and he didn’t answer right away. Instead, he tilted his head, eyes lingering on me with that familiar mix of challenge and amusement.

“Say please.” His tone was even, almost bored, but there was a hint of mischief underneath it, a need to remind me he still had the upper hand. I let out a long breath, the last of my resistance crumbling.

“Please.”

He chuckled amusedly and got to his feet, while I turned around, showing him my back. Just then, I felt his fingers brush against my skin, cool and careful, as he pulled the zipper down, the sound echoing in the room.

I couldn’t help but swallow, holding the front of the dress tightly to stop it from sliding down, acutely aware of how near he was to me.

“You can leave the gown here, I’m sure you’ll come back anyway,” he said, his voice light but certain, as if he could already see how everything would turn out. I just pressed my lips together, refusing to give him the satisfaction of an answer.

Instead, I went inside the bathroom again and changed. After I finished, I laid the gown on the bed, trying to ignore Rowan’s gaze on me. Without saying a word, I left the room as if the air inside was suffocating me.

The moment I spotted Luis waiting outside, he offered me a ride. I accepted, barely pausing to consider it. Having no break from all the shits that went down since last night was seriously messing with my head. I didn’t know how I was supposed to hold myself together anymore.

When Luis finally pulled up in front of the gate, I managed a quiet, “Thank you,” and he simply nodded, face unreadable. I climbed out, legs shaky, and hurried to the doorbell, pressing it like it was a lifeline.

The gate swung open almost instantly, and there was Sia—the maid, eyes going wide, shock written all over her face.

“Ma’am, why are you here? Isn’t today your wedding?” she blurted out, stepping aside as I walked past.

“Something came up.” The words tumbled out, flat and hollow as I hurried inside.

I didn’t live here anymore, but my room was exactly the way I’d left it. After all, I stayed over sometimes, especially when dad or my little brother missed me, and right now, my room was the only place that felt safe.

I sat there for hours, waiting and staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out how to tell my dad that my stepmother was having an affair with my ex-fiancé.

When I finally heard dad’s car roll up outside, I rushed to the window, peeking through the curtain. There they were: dad, Yuri, and Calix, who was fast asleep, his head resting on our father’s shoulder. My heart twisted. 

Without thinking, I slipped downstairs, feet barely touching the steps, meeting them in the living room.

Yuri froze the moment she saw me, eyes wide and anxious, like she was bracing for something terrible. She opened her mouth, but Dad beat her to it, telling her to take Calix to bed. Yuri hesitated, then took my three-year-old brother from Dad, cradling him gently.

As she walked past me, she leaned closer and whispered. “It’s no use telling him, he won’t believe you.”

I frowned, my head snapping towards her as she went upstairs. Then Dad’s voice snapped me back.

“What were you thinking?” His tone was sharp, tired, angry, and worried, mixed together in the lines of his face. Despite that, I clenched my fist and faced him head-on.

“I’m sorry, I know what I did was wrong, but Dad, I just… I couldn’t marry Austin anymore. Not after what I found out.” My fingers curled around the hem of my shirt so tightly I thought I might rip it. There was this knot in my throat that just wouldn’t go away, no matter how many times I swallowed. “Last night, I couldn’t sleep, so I went to his hotel room. I just needed to see him, but once I was there…”

I paused, the memory rushing back to me. Then I flinched and met my dad’s gaze, noticing his expectation for me to keep going. In that moment, I mustered all the courage I could find, took a deep breath, and forced the words out even as my heart pounded like a fist against my ribs.

“...I saw him and Yuri together,” I said, my voice trembling, “They were having sex.”

For a second, there was only silence, thick and suffocating, until dad broke it.

“What?” he frowned, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He then looked at me like I was speaking a different language. “Are you crazy?”

I just stared at him, wide-eyed. Was he really saying that? I’d expected him to be shocked, but not this—not being accused of losing my mind. I tried to speak, but my lips just trembled, and nothing came out. He was still looking at me the same way, like I was crazy.

“Y-you don’t believe me?” My voice cracked open, raw. Tears then pricked at the corners of my eyes, but I blinked them away, refusing to look away from him.

“Of course I don’t!” he shot back, his voice rising. “Do you even hear what you’re saying, Ciara?”

“But it’s true! I saw them!” My hands shook as I tried to explain. “Do you think I’d run away from my own wedding if it wasn’t for a reason like this? You know how much I love Austin, how much I was looking forward to this day. I wouldn’t do something this crazy unless there was something serious behind it, I—”

“Enough.” He cut me off, rubbing his temples like he was trying to massage the headache I’d given him. “I thought you’d already accepted Yuri, so why are you trying to ruin our relationship? You’d even go so far as to make up a lie like that and cause all this trouble for both families.”

I couldn’t breathe. The words hit me like a slap, stinging and final.

“What?” My voice was a whisper now, shredded by tears I couldn’t hide anymore. “Lies? What lies? You’re making it seem like I plan all of this. I told you the truth! Yuri and Austin are having an affair.”

“What are you saying, Ciara?” Yuri chimed in, causing me to turn and glare at her. She stood at the edge of the stairs, her eyes shocked as she stepped down to stand beside my father, right in front of me. I met her gaze, all my anger and hurt swirling together, and I knew she was going to deny everything.

“How can you accuse me of something outrageous like that? What did I do to you to deserve that kind of slander?” Her words came out ragged, trembling, and for a split second, I saw the way she shrank back, twisting herself into the perfect victim.

It made my blood boil, rage snapping inside me all over again. Before I knew it, I was already lunging for her, but Dad’s hand clamped down on my arm, yanking me back with a force that nearly spun me around. 

I staggered, my heel slipping, and there was a crash—the vase on the console shattering, porcelain shards scattering across the floor.

Instinctively, I caught myself when I fell into my butt, but pain flared through my palm as sharp edges dug into my skin. I sucked in a breath, wincing, but Dad’s voice thundered over everything else.

“You’ve fucking lost your mind, Ciara! How dare you try to hit your stepmother in front of me? Get out of my house!” His fingers dug into my arm and, just like that, he dragged me through the entryway, not even caring about the blood dripping from my hand.

“Dad! Please, you have to believe me! You can even check the hotel’s CCTV, and you’ll see she went into Austin’s room—”

“Enough, Ciara. Just shut your mouth, I’ve had enough of your troubles today!” he cut me off through gritted teeth. “Don’t show your face to me. Not until you stop acting lunatic.”

With that, he shoved me and closed the door, where I saw Yuri smirking at me with satisfaction in her eyes.