Chapter 3: A Lover's Betrayal

When she opened the door, Victoria saw Liam kissing Amelia, her stepsister. Both of them were naked on the bed.

“What the hell!?” Amelia and Liam were both shocked. They were not expecting her to be back so early. Amelia quickly covered her body with a blanket while Liam grabbed his pants, put it on and rose from the bed.

“Victoria, this isn’t what it seems…” Liam was panicking. He did not think she would find out about their relationship so soon.

“Liam, how could you cheat on me with my stepsister!?” She yelled at him. At that moment, tears started flowing on her face and her chest felt tight. Liam ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated and panicking for a moment before he looked at Victoria again.

“Fine, since it’s already out, I’m just going to tell this to you.” His gaze turned from panic to a cold, detached gaze.

“I am sick and tired of you, okay? You always think you’re so smart and all, but you’re just a nobody. You are boring and plain. I can never love a woman like you.” He turned to look at Amelia who was smirking on the bed.

“But Amelia, she’s perfect for me. She’s gorgeous, wild, adventurous and we always have a great time together.” At that moment, Victoria felt like her entire world was collapsing before her. All along, she had no idea Liam thought of her this way.

They had been dating each other for almost two years. A year ago, she decided to move in with him and she thought their relationship would last forever. In the past, Liam used to be a warm and considerate person who pursued her respectfully.

However, she noticed that recently he had grown a little distant. She just thought he needed more space than usual. But this it was never on her bucket list.

Amelia pulled the blanket that covered her body and walked toward Victoria.

“My poor sister, you thought a plain jane like you can get someone like Liam to love you, huh? He’s a successful accountant and you’re just a failing artist. But me? I’m a successful lawyer. You can never win against me.” She spat. At that moment, Victoria let out a bitter smile.

“So this was your plan all along, isn’t it? To humiliate me like this?” Victoria wiped away her tears.

“Fine, you know what. If you two want to be together. I will leave.” She was about to walk away, but she suddenly stopped on her tracks and slapped Liam hard in the face. Amelia was a bit shocked. Liam touched his own cheek and looked at Victoria in disbelief.

“You bastard, I hope you go to hell when you die!” She cursed him before storming away. Liam was about to chase her out of anger, but Amelia quickly grabbed his hand, stopping him.

“Let her be, Liam. She’s going to move out of here anyway.” Amelia placed both of her hands on Liam’s cheek.

“Once she is gone, we will have the place to ourselves. I can start moving in and we will live happily ever after.” A small smile appeared on Liam’s face as he touched Amelia’s hands on his cheek.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have to worry about her at all. You’re my number one priority now.” He told himself.

Victoria went to her own room and started packing her belongings. As she put her clothes inside the suitcase, she stumbled across the box with the cross necklace once again and stared at it. Her mind wandered back to Dante and the time they spent together.

“Had I come with you that day, would things end up differently now?” She asked herself as she grabbed the box and put it inside her suitcase.

“There is no point in regretting what has happened. I need to move on and restart my life now.” She told herself as tears streamed down her face. All of her belongings fit inside a single suitcase. She looked at her own room one more time.

When she thought about it, things have always been funny. Despite moving in together, they had always stayed in separate rooms.

“I guess I should have known. Liam has been withdrawn recently. I guess he has been having an affair with her all this time, he no longer has time or attention to me.” She closed the door and walked over to the living room area.

When she turned her head around, she noticed the door to Liam’s room was slightly open. She watched as Liam sat on the bed beside Amelia, both fully clothed and hugging each other.

“Liam, how could you? Do the two years we have spent with each other mean nothing to you?” She asked herself before wiping away her tears and walking away from there. Amelia watched as she left and smirked.

“Whatever is yours is mine; that will never change.” Amelia thought sinisterly.

***

Pietro was sitting on the chair, pouring himself a nice glass of whiskey. Vincenzo walked into the room with a small frown on his face.

“I was not expecting you to come today,” Vincenzo told him.

“Well, I came on my own. I have some update to tell Dante about Sergio’s latest firearm smuggling. But I see that he’s not here.” He picked up the whiskey glass and pointed it to Vincenzo.

“So I thought I’d make myself at home. Not like this isn’t my second home anyway.” He smirked before gulping down the whiskey.

“You really have no manners, Pietro.” Vincenzo sighed.

“Manners only matter when you’re in business. We are friends aren’t we? It’s not like we haven’t been through life and death together.” He responded teasingly before taking another gulp. Vincenzo shook his head lightly.

As usual, Pietro was being Pietro. It did not matter how many times he advised him to be more polite; he never seemed to listen.

“Anyway, where is Dante going? Weirdly, he didn’t tell me about it before.” He asked. Vincenzo fell silent for a moment.

“I’m not quite sure, he did not tell me either,” Vincenzo replied in his usual calm and collected manner. He thought for a moment before continuing.

“However, I noticed something a little bit different with him today,” Vincenzo added, a bit hesitantly.

“Hm, different? What do you mean, different?” Pietro asked curiously. Vincenzo tried to recall what Dante was like earlier in the afternoon. He was on his way to report on their next business plan. Normally, Dante took his business very seriously.

However, that morning, he was not listening to Vincenzo’s explanation. He was angry, Vincenzo knew it. His hand clutched his tablet tightly, as if he had just seen something terrible. 

The man was full of rage. However, Dante never outwardly showed his anger. His anger was quiet, silent and the only reason why Vincenzo knew was because they grew up together. 

“Vincenzo, I have matters to attend to tonight.” He told him with a cold, dangerous tone.

“Watch over the property. I will oversee the business matter later.” After that, Dante rose from his seat and walked away.

“Do you need me to send some men to go with you?” Vincenzo asked before Dante left,

“There’s no need. This is a personal matter.” He stated, after that, he left.

“Hey man, what’s wrong?” Pietro snapped his finger, bringing Vincenzo back to the present moment. Vincenzo looked at Pietro.

“Dante… he was upset over something.” Pietro chuckled in response.

“Hah, that’s normal, don’t worry about it. We all know how easily upset Dante is.” Pietro brushed it off, but Vincenzo disagreed. He knew something was different that time.

“For once, Pietro. I agree with you. I really hope this is normal.” He replied.

“Come and sit down with me man, all those works are starting to get on your nerve. You need to relax for once.” Pietro poured some whiskey on another glass and handed it over to Vincenzo.

Vincenzo grabbed the glass and started drinking to ease his own mind. But no matter what, he could not shake off that feelings inside of him.

He just did not know what. But he had a feeling that something was about to change.