CHAPTER ONE: CATCHING MY CHEATING FIANCÉ

“Arghh, baby, pound me good, better than Leah would ever get,” her voice moaned loudly, and I stood frozen at the doorstep watching them, my eyes refusing to blink for even a second, my blood feeling all dried up in my system as I took the scene before me.

My fiancé of nineteen years was having sex with my stepsister on his bed.

I have known Xavier for as long as my mind could recall memories.

His mother was my mother’s best friend first, and they decided it would be best to merge two great families through marriage, and then we were betrothed at a young age of four, when I was old enough to understand words—I did not realize how or when, but we became friends, then lovers. And it had always felt right—our relationship, our love, it was the height of perfection, or so I thought until now, as I watched him pound hard into my stepsister Natasha, while she moaned his name loudly in ecstasy.

‘Breathe in, Leah, you can’t afford to break off your engagement now, your family needs you the most,’ I cautioned myself, taking large gulps of air, as tears gathered in my eyes, rolling down my face, and I hastily wiped the tears trailing down my cheeks, but they kept on pouring, along with my heart which has been shredded beyond repair from the sight before me.

I always knew that Xavier had been cheating on me, or that our relationship had long since passed the point and edge of perfection, but I passed all his weird and rude remarks as stress from work, or it was more of a delusion on my part.

It all started three years back, when my family—the Harnes Group—tragically ran into debt, or more like one wrong move made by my father and his new wife that destroyed everything. Ever since then, our family had relied on Xavier to bring us back into the limelight, and the only way to secure the Harnes family’s flashy comeback into the business world was by fulfilling the contract signed three years ago and marrying one of the wealthiest business families in the nation—Xavier Kingsley.

I would have not bothered with bringing the Harnes family back into the spotlight, or worse, marry Xavier even after suspecting his infidelity years ago, but my mother had been diagnosed with brain cancer exactly three years back, and ever since then, I had relied on the Harnes family for her treatment expenses, in exchange for marrying Xavier.

“Arghh, Xavier, baby, slow down, I’m cummingggg…” Natasha shouted loudly, jolting back my attention, as I watched, my heart breaking with every thrust he made inside her—she threw her head backwards, her body straining and rising from above the bed, with her eyes clenched tightly, as she moaned words upon words from her mouth that sounded barely readable, while Xavier continuously pounded into her, his skin glistening with sweat.

“I love you, Natasha baby, your body is perfect,” Xavier said through another moan, as I felt another part of her heart give away, tearing from its fine confinement. More tears fell from my eyes with how gentle he sounded with her. I could not remember the last time he talked to me so softly or treated me well—maybe it was three years ago, before everything went down the drain, or maybe even further.

“Do you love me more than you love my sister?” Natasha’s voice came through this time, and I patiently waited to hear his reply, what was left of my heart beating loud through my rib cage, knowing they were talking about me now.

“Don’t you dare utter her name from your mouth,” he said, and I clenched my fingers together, my nails digging into the skin of my palm, enough to draw blood. I bit on my lips, my lips sinking into the soft flesh to keep my sob from breaking through and attracting their attention, or even worse, barging in there right now.

I was too scared to hear what I already knew from his mouth. A small part of me hoped that maybe he respected me a little bit to have some shame, maybe he loved me still and he had a reason for doing this—just maybe there was a bigger reason for this.

My mind refused to accept what it had already known for a long time now—that my fiancé had been cheating on me.

I supported myself on the wall beside the door, emotions twirling inside me, as I felt the bitterness in his words, and the level of hatred it carried.

“How could I ever love a thing like her? She is as ugly as a labubu, and bleeds with the fashion sense of Mother Teresa.

Everything about her annoys and disgusts me, always pretending to be weak and helpless, seeking aid for her sick mother like a beggar.

She is not even compared to the shoes you were on your feet, my darling, so don’t ever compare yourself to a thing like her,” he continued, venom dripping from his words, as everything else blurred out, and my ears rang with a beeping noise in my brain, my hands shaking uncontrollably.

It became harder to control myself, and the only rational thing I could think of was the fact that I needed to get far away from there.

I rushed out of the building, left as undetected as I came in, and I hailed a cab to the Harnes mansion.

“Where have you been? Who did you expect to wash the dirty dishes, huh? And my clothes needed washing also.

And I thought I made it known that you are expected to scrub each and every inch of this house, or do you want me to cut off your mother’s medical expenses for the month, or rather remove it entirely?

The bill is becoming too much already, and it’s not like she is getting any better. Is it not good to just let her die and free us?” My stepmother Vivian shouted, and her last words made my head finally snap up to meet her hateful glare.

She fired all the maids in the house three years ago when I came back to live in this mansion after my mother was diagnosed. It was part of our agreement for them to fund her treatment, that I would willingly perform each and every chore in this mansion, alongside marrying Xavier.

My head was too clouded; the image of Xavier and Natasha having sex still burnt in my mind, and I did not have time to retort back to her.

I ignored her, going into my small room that barely housed any furniture, as I sat on my bed and let all my tears finally fall while choking on my sobs.

I don’t know how many hours I sat there, but the ringing of my phone brought me out of it.

I answered without bothering to check the caller ID, as my best friend’s excited voice came blaring through the phone.

“Girl, a new club just opened. I don’t know why I bother asking you—I know your answer is no as always—but seriously, you are twenty-three and you need to live a little, Leah.

I don’t know why you are so stuck up on Xavier. Having a fiancée does not mean that you cannot party or leave a little, girl. Besides, who knows how your marriage is going to be, and it’s not like your fiancé would have anything against you partying; he does it all the time too—it’s on the news.

If Xavier can do it, then you can do it too…” she said, and her last statement steeled something inside me.

“You are right, Tracy. If Xavier can do it, then I can surely do it too.

Text me the place and location, I’ll meet you there,” I said, my eyes brimming with anger and hatred at the thought of what Xavier and Natasha had been doing behind my back all these years.

What’s the use of keeping my virginity for him if he does not even value me as a person, nor his fiancé neither? By the way, there was no clause in the contract stating that I must be a virgin before marriage, and it’s not like he is one either way.

He does not deserve me, nor my virginity; I’d rather give it to a random stranger than a man soiled with my evil sister, and that’s exactly what I am going to do tonight.