Lahat ng Kabanata ng Revenge With My Brother’s Best Friend : Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

CINDY’S POVHow could a mother hate her own child this much?I’d been standing there maybe ten minutes, and even a blind man could have seen the venom dripping off Evelyn every time her eyes landed on Damian.It wasn’t indifference. It was disgust.Like he was a stain she was still furious she couldn’t scrub out.I glanced at him.His eyes were glassy, jaw twitching as he watched Elis get smothered with kisses and cuddles by the same woman who had just told him never to call her “Mother” again.My chest ached so bad for him.I knew she walked out when they were kids, but I’d always thought it was some messy divorce thing, not… this. Not favoritism so deeply ingrained that it still bled nine years later. What could a little boy possibly have done to deserve this? “Elis,” Damian finally said, his voice trembling like fragile ice as he fought to keep the tears back. Elis planted one last loud kiss on Evelyn’s cheek and turned, grinning like he’d just won the lottery. “Damian, loo

~DAMIAN’S POV~I suddenly jumped so quickly that the cigarette nearly flew right out of my hand.“You WHAT?!”I started pacing back and forth, trying to rein in my rising anger as I clenched my fists and took deep breaths.“How the fuck could you sign off on that without talkin’ to me first? That’s not just family drama, Elis, that’s the company! My company! The one I built from nothin’ while she was off fuckin’ crypto boys in Mykonos!”“I know, I know—” His voice cracked.“She kept saying how proud she was, how she wanted to be part of our legacy, how she’d finally come home if we let her in. I thought… I thought if I gave her something real, she’d stay.”“How many shares?” I demanded, stopping dead in front of him.He looked down, cheeks flushing with embarrassment.“Seven percent,” he muttered softly, his voice barely above a whisper.Seven. Percent.I ran a hand through my hair and let out a quick, bitter laugh.“Seven percent of D.T. Tech? Jesus, Elis.”“I’m sorry!” His voice tre

~CINDY’S POV~ I woke up to sunlight pouring through the guestroom curtains and Damian’s arm heavy across my waist, his breath warm against the back of my neck. The room still smelled like us and last night’s wine. For three beautiful seconds, everything was perfect. Then the door flew open so hard it bounced off the wall, and a full-on banshee, glass-shattering, horror-movie scream ripped me straight out of Damian’s arms. “What the fuck….” Damian bolted upright beside me, hair wild and eyelids heavy with sleep. Nancy stood there in a silk robe two sizes too small, hair in perfect victory rolls even at ass-o’clock in the morning, and her face twisted like she’d swallowed glass. “Damian!” she shrieked, her voice hitting notes only dogs should hear. “What the hell are you doing in bed with this pathetic little nobody?!” I blinked, still half-asleep, clutching the sheet to my chest. “Good morning to you, too, Nancy.” She ignored me completely, her eyes locked on Damian

~DAMIAN’S POV~The sun had dipped low and Elis’s birthday bash was already in full swing.The backyard had been transformed into a dream: fairy lights twinkling like a million fireflies, the lawn rolled out perfectly underfoot, big enough for five hundred souls to mingle without bumping elbows.Tables draped in crisp white linen dotted the space, and a massive ice sculpture of a goddamn robot stood in one corner (Elis’s idea, no doubt), dripping slowly into a crystal punch bowl.I stood at the wrought-iron gates in my black Tom Ford tux, sleeves rolled once, collar open, playing head bouncer and flashing my best CEO grin at incoming guests.Mark Zach, CEO of RoboCore Dynamics, rolled up in his Tesla Cybertruck, lookin’ like he’d just stepped off a TED Talk stage in a tailored gray suit.Next up was Lena Voss, founder of Voss Integrated Tech. She stepped out of her Ferrari looking tall and sharp as ever in a red dress.Unlike Mark Zach, who just strolled past me without a hi, Lena lit

CINDY’S POVThe second my foot settled on that stage, the past eight years cracked open like an old vault, and everything I had buried came rushing out in one blinding wave.And for the first time in forever, I remembered exactly who the hell I was.I remembered it all.The weight of a thousand camera flashes when I was sixteen, clinging to my father’s arm at the Monaco Yacht Show, the way the photographers screamed, “Ms. Verilli! Over here!”The way the air used to taste: champagne and power.I remembered the hush that fell over rooms when Leonardo Verilli’s daughter walked in, the way grown men straightened their ties and women touched their diamonds just to feel less small.I had spent years convincing myself I didn’t miss it. I had told myself that living a normal life was better and that being invisible was safe.Tonight proved what a lie that was.Because the moment hundreds of eyes locked on me, something powerful and hungry woke up inside my chest. They weren’t just looking a