Chapter 01: The night everything fell apart

/-Miray-/

The engagement party had ended hours ago, yet I couldn’t stop staring at the ring on my finger.

Simple, elegant and perfect.

Just like him.

A stupid grin spread across my face, as I watched the ring glisten under the illumination from the chandelier. 

Two years of friendship, two years of dating and a lifetime of knowing he’s the one.

And now? He’s finally mine, and I am his.

"Smiling so hard, are you that happy?" A gruff voice entered my ears before a strong pair of arms encircled my waist and I found myself melting into the familiar embrace I’d long grown accustomed to.

I tilted my head up, staring at his gentle features, especially at those warm brown eyes that looked at me like I was something precious, something definitely worth protecting.

"Royce,” I whispered his name like a mantra. “We are engaged, actually engaged. How could I not be happy?" 

His smile turned tender, almost doting as he scratched my nose. "I know, love. I know exactly how you feel and I feel the same."

I know. Because he felt it too and his love for me is just as deep as mine is for him.

Just then, a throat cleared behind us.

"I hate to interrupt your little bubble, but some of us would like to finish cleaning up instead of becoming third wheels.”

My step-mother, Clarissa approached us, her elegant brows arched in feigned disapproval. She was just a few years older than I was, young enough to be my sister, but mature enough to be the mother I’ve always wanted.

In contrast to all those novels and fairy tales, after my father took in Clarissa when I turned a teenager, we grew so close that people regard us as sisters.

"We are getting married, you all should get used to this." Royce said smoothly, his hand settling on my lower back.

“Exactly.” I giggled.

"I wouldn't have felt so out of place if your father had agreed to come." Clarissa said, letting out a sigh and my smile gradually receded. 

Right. Father.

He had refused to attend, refusing to bless this union. 

Probably realizing that she had let something slip, Clarissa gave a soothing smile and quickly said, "You don't have to worry too much, your father loves you even more than he does to me. He will definitely come around."

I nodded slowly and said nothing in response. 

The last guest finally left a few minutes later. Royce, who had an early meeting, something about a merger, left early and Clarissa also excused herself with a yawn.

Dipping my hands into my bag, I took out a small velvet box  and clutched it tightly in my hands, heat flaring on my cheeks.

Inside the box was a gift I had been saving for Royce for two years, an heirloom passed from my mother and to be given to the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

And beside it were two documents.

One being the shares I had planned to give Royce and the other…

My hand found my still empty stomach and I smiled.

Two days until the wedding and two days until I became his wife.

Tomorrow was his birthday and my pregnancy was another surprise I had planned for him.

It was a surprise, so I had told him I would be staying at a friend’s place tonight.

My heart raced as I approached his place, envisioning the surprise on his face when he opens the door and the warmth in his eyes when he realizes what I've brought. 

The hallway to his room was quiet, just as I had expected since he had gone to the company and was not in. But as I reached the entrance of his room, music drifted faintly from inside, followed by laughter.

Did he forget something?

My brows drew together before relaxing as a teasing smile graced my lips.

Was Royce celebrating our union on his own?

The door wasn't fully shut, so without hesitation, I pushed the door open.

"Royce, how could you celebrate without informing..."

Then the rest of my words died in my throat, never to be uttered.

Time slowed and my breath seemed to cease.

No...it can't be...

There he was, Royce, my Royce, the man of my dreams, the man who looked at me like I was the center of his universe.

He stood behind a woman, both of them half-naked as he thrust into her from behind. His familiar gentle features twisted into something ugly and primal.

The kind that was very unfamiliar. 

Tangled in sheets and each other, he had his hands on the woman's hip and his lips on her neck as he moved violently. The disgusting sound of flesh squelching, followed by the fishy smell in the room assaulted my ears and nostrils.

The woman slowly turned around, face flushed with pleasure and eyes fluttering open as she glanced in my direction. 

When I saw who it was, I suddenly forgot how to breathe.

Clarissa, my step-mother, confidante and friend. 

"Clarissa..." I croaked, lips quivering and despite the warmth in the room, I felt cold.

Royce and Clarissa finally caught sight of my figure and their countenances changed drastically. 

"Miray..." Royce breathed out in shock. "Wait, i...it's not what you think, I…I can explain.”

Explain?

Explain why he’s fucking my stepmother in our apartment?

I stared at the bite marks on his shoulders and his arms as Clarissa scrambled to cover herself.

"Why? Why?" I croaked, unable to say anything apart from that.

I could have understood if it was someone else, but why did it have to be her? My father's wife? The woman I trusted?

Clarissa stared at me with remorse and guilt, "Miray, listen to me, we..."

"Listen to what? Your lies and bullshit?" I spat angrily, feeling my blood boil as I clenched my finger. "How could you? I really took you as the mother and friend I never had. How could you?"

"Miray..."

I didn't want to listen, I lowered my teary eyes to the ring on my finger, the one I had happily worn.

But now, it felt like a joke.

Without another thought, I removed the ring and threw it straight at Royce, who was still trying to approach me.

"I wish you both a happy life."

Dropping that sentence through gritted teeth, I rushed out of the room, refusing to cry. But a few steps away, my tears came in large droplets.

I had come here carrying news of the life growing within me. So happy to share the future I had envisioned with Royce.

My body trembled as the sob tore through me, my heart a wreckage of what it should have been.

How long had it been going on between them?

I felt foolish, used and completely alone.

I stumbled through the hallway, my vision blurred with tears, when I noticed a door slightly ajar. It was Royce’s study and the light was on. 

Through the opening, I saw his laptop screen flickering with what seemed like surveillance footage of a familiar house that made me pause.

That’s my father’s house. Why does Royce have surveillance cameras in my father’s house?

I stepped inside slowly.

His desk was covered in papers, folders and the laptop. That was when a folder caught my eyes and I stopped.

It’s labeled my father’s name; Brandon Sinclair.

My heart almost seized as I reached for it.

Inside were documents, bank statements, and transfer records that made my hands tremble. And beside them were forged documents where my father’s signature was perfectly copied, transferring ownership of his primary properties to Clarissa.

My hands shook so violently that I nearly dropped the folder. 

And beside it was a detailed plan, one that made me question everything I have known so far.

I stepped out of the room in a daze, my brain blank.

They planned to kill my father.

They planned to kill me.

“Miray…” 

I raised my head to see Royce standing a few steps away from me. When he saw the folder in my hands, his gaze turned murderous.

Clutching the folder, I turned and ran.

“Miray, stop!”

“Stop her!”

I didn’t listen, I had to warn my father, I had to…

Just as I reached the entrance, several figures in black blocked my path.

They emerged from the shadows like they had been waiting.

"Who are you…?”

A searing pain struck my nape and then…

Nothing.