Chapter 1

Maria

“You drive me crazy you know that?” My fiancé whispered into my sister's ear, accompanied by a masculine groan.

This was followed by a series of moans and grunts that could rival that of a porn star.

“Everything about you makes my heart go haywire.” He said that to me too once and  hearing him say it to someone else made me realise how cringey his words were.

“Lucas.” She moaned, dragging out his name like a prayer. 

It's crazy really, the fact that I was frozen to the spot as I watched my fiancé, Lucas Romano and my so called sister, Alice, go at it like teenagers  starved for sex. Every cell in my body screamed at me to rage or scream or even commit murder but I didn't because I was frozen in shock.

I stared at them, a familiar kind of pain shooting through my chest. My heart was breaking, I knew how it felt because all my life I had only ever known heart break.

From my mother, my flimsy excuse of a sister and now the man I'd been in love with since I knew how to pronounce the word love.

He kept pounding into her, both of them oblivious to my presence. The noises coming out of her mouth made me want to charge in there and rip out her vocal chords. All I could think of was how long this had been going on for.

With shaking hands, I reached for my phone in my bag and pressed record on my camera.

“I really love the sounds you're making. You should amp up the volume a bit though so it's clear in the video.” I told them. I didn't know where this confidence stemmed from considering my heart was breaking at an alarming rate.

Both of their heads shot up at the sound of my voice. Genuine shock portrayed boldy on their faces but it didn't wash out the look of pleasure that came with sex. Their bodies remained tangled together and I felt bile rise to my throat.

“Maria.” Lucas finally said as realisation dawned on him. He tried to push Alice off him, she let go reluctantly. The little witch. 

I didn't give him time to reach me however, I quickly paused the video and ran out of the room.

I ignored every single call from him, I wasn't ready for the lies about to be spilled from his mouth.

All the way back home I kept searching my brain frantically for any signs I could have missed. Signs that my fiancé was a liar and a cheating bastard who didn't deserve any amount of love from me. And then there was Alice, my 'sister’. Honestly, I never expected much from her. We never had a good relationship to begin with. She had always been manipulative and selfish but this? Sleeping with my fiance? I thought she was better than that.

Tears gathered in my eyes but they didn't fall. Holding in my feelings wasn't a difficult feat for me seeing as  I didn't grow up with the best family. 

Lucas and I grew up together. Our parents did a lot of business together and I spent most of my life planning our wedding. Fastforward years later and my years of constant pining paid off, with the most beautiful proposal and an even more beautiful wedding planned by me. Too bad it had to be cancelled.

I drove at a ridiculous speed, barely registering my parents’ sprawling mansion. I hopped out of my car and aimed straight for my father's office. I honestly didn't care care if he was having a meeting or whatever, I didn't  even care whether or not what I was about to do was highly immature. I'd been quiet about a lot of injustices happening in my life, I'd let them walk all over me and take advantage of my silence and obedience. This, however, was something I refused to swallow and keep down.

I barged into my father's office and thankfully, the only other person in the room was my mother. They both looked up at my rude interruption, their faces stern and annoyed. I ignored the glares they gave me as they wordlessly demanded answers for why I barged in. 

I fished  for my phone in my bag and went  to the video. I tossed the phone at them without thinking about how distasteful it'd be to watch your own child's sex tape.

“What is this?” My father demanded, his face darkening as he paused the video immediately he realised what I was showing him.

“That, father, is your beloved daughter having her way with the man I should be marrying tomorrow.”

A beat, then

“So?” My mother asked.

My eyes widened incredulously. In all my 25 years of life, I had never expected much from my parents. Never. But I was still surprised by their reaction to my current situation.

“Alice and Lucas were cheating behind my back! God knows for how long and all you can say is 'so’. I'm your daughter.” 

“Which is why I wonder why you turned out this way.” My mother stood up from her seat and walked up to me. She touched my arm gently, the way a mother would. My mother hadn't done that since I learnt how to walk. “How about you leave us to our business darling, and continue planning your wedding? It must be a grand event you know. Pretend this never happened and continue being helplessly in love with Lucas. It shouldn't be that hard.”

My chest tightened. The pain I felt in there intensified with every word that spilled out of her mouth.

I shook my head. Repeatedly.

“I’m not marrying Lucas.” I said firmly or at least I tried to. 

My father, who had been watching us intently spoke up. “You shouldn't be so selfish Maria. I didn't raise you that way.” His words were sharp, just like his tone.

“Me? Selfish. How or why is nobody seeing what is clearly shown in that video? Alice is or has been sleeping with my fiancé. Alice, is selfish. I am the victim!”

My father massaged the space between his brows. A clear sign of his annoyance and impatience.

“If you could even think for a second, you'd realise that this marriage was never really about you or your flimsy excuse of a heart. Nobody cares if your heart was broken in the most gruesome way possible. Lucas Romano is an asset and quite frankly your greatest achievement. We cannot afford to lose him this far into the race.”

 “I don't understand.” I said, voicing my confusion.

My mother cut in, her voice deceitfully soft. “What your father is saying sweetheart is that this marriage must happen whether you like it or not. Imagine how great an alliance between ours and that of the Romanos will be. Imagine what we could achieve, the things we could conquer. It's high time you started thinking more like a Vitalio and less like a commoner.”

Right then, every moment following my engagement began to feel like a lie. I realised then that the genuine joy on my parents’ faces after my engagement wasn't for me but for the opportunities they could see my marriage bringing. I had thought that they were starting to see me as more than just a trophy but as a person they created and brought into the world together. I was embarrassingly wrong.

Then there was Lucas. What if he never even loved me but saw me as a good investment just like my parents? The tears in my eyes threatened to pour out.

“I am not going to marry Lucas Romano.”

My father shrugged. A completely human emotion I thought him incapable of.

“One way or the other Lucas must remain in the family. It doesn't matter who marries him. He obviously fancies both of my daughters.”

“You're not saying what I think you're saying.”

“Alice will marry Lucas in your place.”

“You can't be serious.” I whispered.

“I'm not joking either.”

I stared at my father, then my mother. I stared and I stared and I stared until my chest felt tight. Until my body felt heavy and light and ready to collapse. I realised then and there that my parents were irredeemable. That they would never and could never become the kind of parents I wished they could be. I felt every single bit of hope leave my body. I felt the little love I had for them disappear. My heart hardened into the hardest kind of stone.

“You're not cancelling the wedding?” I asked. It was my way of giving them one more chance. To prove that they actually cared about me.

Their silence spoke volumes.

I picked up my phone from the table, inhaled deeply and marched out of the room. I didn't hesitate. I simply ran to my car and got in. Then I began to drive. I didn't know where I was going to but I drove and I drove and I drove. My phone rang. Lucas’ name appeared on the screen. I chuckled, then I switched off my phone and welcomed the tears that flowed freely down my cheeks.

I was going to make them all wish they hadn't hurt me, I decided. But first, I had a wedding to attend.