5:I Say Get Out

Reva's POV 

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

I grabbed the bat from under my bed and pressed my back to the wall.

The door opened.

I swung hard.

“REVA!”

I stopped the bat two inches from Petra’s face.

We stared at each other.

“What is wrong with you?” Petra pressed her hand to her chest. “You almost killed me.”

“I almost killed an intruder,” I said. My hands shook. “And what are you doing here?”

She looked at the bat, then at me, and lifted the bottle. “Barolo. 2018. Your favorite. I thought we could talk.”

I lowered the bat.

She walked past me, set the bottle on the counter, and dropped onto my sofa. “You are not going to offer me a glass?”

“Petra.”

“Sit down, Reva. You are making me nervous standing there like that.”

I put the bat down but stayed on my feet. “I asked you a question.”

She poured two glasses anyway and held one out. I did not take it. She shrugged and set it on the table. “I heard you signed the contract.”

“Who told you?”

“Papa called.” She tucked her feet under her. “I am glad, Reva. The Castellano name is powerful. You will be taken care of. The family debt is gone. Everyone wins.”

“Everyone wins,” I repeated. My voice sounded hollow.

“Yes. Better than it could have been. Papa can finally breathe. And you get to live in a beautiful house in Sicily. Some women would kill for that kind of life.”

My stomach turned. “Some women were not drugged by their own sister and handed over like a piece of meat.”

She looked down for half a second, then smiled again. “I have been getting calls, you know. Alessandro Ferri reached out this morning. Marco Vitale’s people called this afternoon. Doors are opening again, Reva. For both of us.”

I stared at her. My chest felt tight and hot.

“Both of us?” I said slowly.

“Of course.” She stood up and walked toward me. “We are sisters. We always land on our feet because we have each other. I did what I had to do so we could both have a future. You have always been the strong one. You can handle this. I knew you could.”

My hands curled into fists. “You knew I could handle it?”

“Yes. That is why I chose you. You are tougher than me. I would have fallen apart. You will be fine.”

I felt the words like knives twisting in my gut. “You drugged me. You slipped something into my glass at the gala and sent me straight into his bed. You watched me wake up confused and terrified, and now you stand here telling me I am the strong one?”

She waved her hand dismissively. “You are blowing this way out of proportion. It was one night. One small thing. And look — it worked. The scandal is fixed. The family is safe. Stop acting like I ruined your life.”

“You did ruin my life!” My voice cracked. Hot tears burned my eyes. “I lost everything because of you. My freedom, my home, my future. I have three days left before I have to move into a stranger’s house and give him a child. And you are smiling like you did me a favor?”

Petra sighed like I was being childish. “I saved us both. It was clean. At least this way you get the protection and the money. I made sure the photos leaked at the right time so there was no other choice.”

“Clean?” I stepped closer. My whole body shook with rage. “You poisoned me. You planned every second of it. You left me to face Papa alone while he called me disgusting. You ignored every call while I was falling apart. And now you walk in here with wine and tell me it was clean?”

“I did what I had to do for the family,” she said calmly, completely unfazed. “You have always been jealous of the attention I get. Maybe this is good for you. Now you will finally be the one in the spotlight.”

I felt something inside me snap. “Jealous? I trusted you! The one person who was supposed to protect me. Instead you sold me. You threw me away so you could keep your perfect little life. You have no shame at all.”

She tilted her head, still smiling that polished smile. “Shame? I protected us. Stop being so dramatic, Reva. This is how our world works. Alliances. Sacrifices. You will thank me one day.”

“I will never thank you.” Tears streamed down my face. My voice rose. “You are not my sister anymore. You are the reason my life is over.”

“Reva…”

“Do not say my name.” My chest heaved. “You came here to make yourself feel better. You wanted me to say it was okay. That we are still sisters. But we are not. You destroyed that. You destroyed me.”

She reached for my arm. “We got through this together…”

“Together?” I yanked my arm away. “You left me to face Papa alone. He looked at me like I was trash. Mama would not even look at me. You were already taking calls from rich men while I was signing away my body and my future. You felt nothing. You still feel nothing.”

“I feel plenty,” she said, voice smooth and sweet. “I feel relieved. The pressure is off me now. And it is off you too, if you would stop fighting it. You get the big house, the money, the name. Stop acting like a victim. This is the life people dream about.”

My hands trembled with fury. “I do not want the house. I do not want the name. I want my life back. The one I built before you decided to throw me away like I was nothing.”

Petra stepped closer again. “You are overreacting. I did not throw you away. I gave you an opportunity. You will see that soon. We are family. We stick together.”

“Stick together?” I shouted. Tears would not stop. “You stabbed me in the back. You watched me bleed and you smiled. I trusted you more than anyone and you used that trust to destroy me.”

“Reva…”

“Get out.”

“Reva…”

“I SAY GET OUT!!!”