Chapter 3) His entrance.

“What?”. This word slipped out of my lips as I was shocked by her words.

“Can- can you repeat what you just said to me?”. I requested, while hoping that I had misheard her, and that my ears must have deceived me.

But it seemed like my question made her angry at me, because she frowned and wrapped her arms on her abdomen.

Not feeling the slightest bit of guilt or shame, she repeated, “It is exactly as you have heard, Georgina”.

“I got two invitations, and you are going to come with me and assist me”.

“What don't you understand? Or are you so stupid that you do not understand?”.

“I am not going. You should find someone else to do that for you”. I said, as I felt greatly humiliated. How could she do this to me?

I was 7 years older than her. How could she bear to treat me like her slave?

Was this how they all thought of me? A naive fool who they could treat as they liked and trample on?

“If that is all you have to say, please leave, Claire”. I added, not expecting her eyes to darken, before she pushed me to the floor.

“Ack”. I winced in pain, with my eyes partially closed, after hitting my elbow.

“What is this? How dare you, Georgina? You have never refused any of my requests. Why this one? Or are you so jealous of me that I got invited and you were not? You shouldn't be because you are nothing special. You are nothing. I am the pride of our family”.

“Just look at yourself. You are so wretched, just like your mother”.

“Anyway, you can't refuse me, because if you dare to, I am going to tell my Mom and my Dad, and you know how this is going to end for you, Georgina”.

She threatened me, and left with a hiss, while I remained on the floor in silence as I watched her leave.

Pain overwhelmed me and made me grit my teeth.

“How could she treat me like this?”. I whimpered as the pain in my chest burned and tightened.

“How could the little girl I carried in my arms be so rude to me?”. I muttered as tears escaped my eyes and streamed down my cheeks. It was more painful for me because there was nothing I could do.

Was it not 20 years ago?

Yes, it was.

Back then, my father got married a week after my mother's death.

He stated that it was for my own good, since I needed someone to replace my mother's role and take care of me. I could never forget that day.

I was still mourning my mother's death, and that man had the heart to get married to my mother's best friend.

If it were for my own good that he got married to Cara, why did she give birth to Claire in six months, while he claimed that Claire was born prematurely because of a weak heart?

At first, I really didn't want to believe that the woman who was so nice to me when my mother was alive, got involved with my father behind my mother's back.

But when the truth came to light and I overheard it, it was something that broke me completely.

I knelt before my mother's grave all day crying. I felt so sorry for her.

The perfect family she thought she had, was a lie.

And the best friend she never stopped praising for being kind was the same one who stabbed her in the back and never visited her grave.

“I can't keep this up anymore. I must leave this house. I must”. I clenched the bathrobe as I said, as I couldn't endure the torment.

…

{PS: Four days before the wedding}

It was evening in Sally City.

The streetlights shone like a thousand stars, with the sounds of cars filling the atmosphere.

Suddenly, the rented van stopped in front of a red carpet.

“Hurry up and open the door”. Claire hissed at me as she said, and I went ahead and did as she ordered.

I opened the door to the van, and right at that moment, Claire stepped out looking gorgeous as always, wearing a blue gown that was sparkling like the night stars.

Her long blonde hair was styled to the side, and it rested gracefully over her slender shoulder.

Her light blue eyes were filled with life and love as she blew kisses to the fans using her rosy red lips.

“It's our beautiful fairy!”.

“It's our kind fairy!”.

“You are so beautiful!”.

“You are so awesome!”.

Fans threw a lot of praise at her, making me want to puke.

“Hold this for me, big sister”. She said with a smile so bright that I almost flinched.

With everyone watching, there was no way I could refuse her.

So I took the purse and held it for her. Though I could not move, because I felt everyone's eyes on me.

“Big sister? Oh, it must be the jinx who caused her mother's death”.

“Looking closely, it is her. It's the jinx”.

“How dare she appear here?”.

“Can't you guys see? It's our princess who brought the jinx here out of kindness. She even addressed the jinx as her big sister. Such an innocent and a sweet soul”.

‘Make it stop. Make it stop’. I held my plain yellow dress nervously as I listened to what they were saying.

I wished the ground would open up and swallow me.

Why are they so against me? What have I done wrong to them to deserve this?

I- I caused my mother's death?

Those cruel words made me tremble.

I turned to Claire.

‘Say something. Tell them that they are wrong. I never caused my mother's death. I never did that’. I pleaded in my mind, but she never said anything nor looked in my direction.

Rather, she kept on blowing kisses to the people who were hurting me.

“But, isn't it bad luck for her to be close to our princess? I heard that she still lives in the same house”.

“That's so sick. If I were her father, I would have thrown the jinx out”.

“Exactly. I even heard that her father's company is struggling because of her”.

“Ha”. My breathing became shaky, and it felt like my world turned upside-down.

My- my father's company? Not my mother's company?

“Come on, big sister. Don't just stand there and watch. Let's go in”. Claire said to me with the sweetest voice I have ever heard in my life, until today.

She made me go with her, but my mind was far from being alive.

Did she do this on purpose?

Did she know that this was going to happen? Was that why she insisted I come? So that, I was going to get humiliated?

My eyes got red and hot. It felt worse as I tried to swallow my tears, as I did not want them to see me cry.

They were only going to laugh at me.

I halted before I could step into the building, because Claire halted and turned around, upon hearing the commotion.

With red eyes, I turned to the start of the red carpet, where I saw a certain expensive black car stop.

“It's- it's-”. A man pointed his index finger at the car as he tried to get the word out of his lips.

But, he couldn't say the word.

“It's him! It's Marvin Hart!”.

It was a lady who yelled and fixed her camera on the car, even when nobody had come out of the car.

I got a little curious, because every other person did the same thing.

‘What is going on?’. I thought, and immediately wiped off the tears that escaped my eyes.

Just then, a man dressed in a black suit and wearing a gold mask on his face, stepped out of the car.

Everybody screamed.

Cameras flashed.

Ladies fainted. But I remained indifferent, because I did not understand how a single man who hid his face behind a mask was enough to make everyone go crazy.

I thought so, until his eyes met mine and made me freeze where I stood. At that moment, I felt the hairs on my arms stand up, and after he stopped looking in my direction, I panted fast and placed a hand on my chest.

“What- what was that?”. I stuttered, not believing that a single gaze was enough to make me feel so vulnerable and so little.

“He is so dreamy even with the mask on!”.

“His body looks so muscular and hot! I wonder how it would look and feel without his shirt on!”.

“He looks like those princes in a dark romance fairytale!”.

People were screaming, but those words fell to the back of my mind as I continued to look at him with red eyes.