Início / Mafia / CRUEL ROMANCE: MR. LANGSTON'S OBSESSION / Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

Todos os capítulos de CRUEL ROMANCE: MR. LANGSTON'S OBSESSION: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

53 Capítulos

CH.1

TESSAThe bass pounds through the Castellano mansion but all I can hear is the sound of my soul being ripped apart piece by bloody piece.I stand frozen in the archway of the main ballroom, champagne flute trembling so violently in my hand that the crystal sings a funeral dirge as I watch the two people I would die for murder me without even blinking.Maya and Derek. My sister in everything but blood and the boy I've loved with every broken piece of my heart for two endless years. They're pressed against the marble pillar in the center of the room like Greek gods claiming their temple. His hands fisted in her hair while her legs wrapped around his waist as they kiss with consuming hunger.Everyone is watching and smiling.The sight burns through my retinas, searing itself into my brain where it will live forever… the moment I learned that love is just another word for self-destruction."Oh my God, Tessa!" Maya's voice cuts through the music as she spots me over Derek's shoulder.She p

CH.2

TESSAThe crowd can smell blood in the water now, and their whispers turn cruel as knives."Look at her face!""She actually thought he could love her!""This is better than a soap opera!""Someone please tell me this is being livestreamed!""Tessa, I never meant for you to get the wrong idea about us. I thought I was clear that we were friends. I thought you understood that what we had was beautiful and pure and perfect exactly as it was." Derek's words come measured and careful."You were so generous to help us build our love," Maya adds. "Even when it meant taking money from your parents. Even when it meant risking everything. That's not just friendship – that's sacrificial love."The words are kind, supportive even, but they land like hammer blows to my already shattered heart. Because everyone can hear them. Everyone can understand what they mean.I've been exposed as the pathetic girl who stole from her parents to fund her crush's relationship with someone else, and it's being p

CH.3

TESSAMaya isn't done. "You were never my friend. You were my personal ATM with abandonment issues. The sad, fat girl who'd do anything for scraps of attention. Did you really think I'd choose you over Derek? Look at us, then look at yourself."Derek steps forward with a cruel smile. "And there's one more thing you should know, Tessa. This whole thing? It was a bet. I bet my friends that I could get you to steal at least thirty grand for me before graduation. Guess what? You hit sixty last week. I just won five hundred bucks off your desperation."A bet. I wasn't even a person to them. I was a game. A source of entertainment and easy money.The laughter reaches a crescendo, and someone starts a slow clap that spreads through the crowd. I'm surrounded by the sound of my own destruction, drowning in the cruelty of people I thought were my friends.I can't breathe.The air in the ballroom has turned thick and poisonous, each attempt to fill my lungs met with the suffocating weight of a h

CH.4

TESSAThe first breath feels as though I'm swallowing shards of glass mixed with gasoline and setting my lungs on fire.I wake up screaming.Not the soft gasp of someone emerging from peaceful sleep, but the raw, animalistic shriek of prey that's just realized the predator's teeth are still buried in its throat.My body convulses against the hospital bed, monitors exploding into a symphony of medical panic as my heart rate rockets past dangerous into lethal."TESSA! TESSA, NO!"My mother's voice cuts through the chaos, but I can't see her through the blood-red haze of memory.All I can see is Maya's triumphant smile, Derek's cruel laughter, the flash of phones recording my destruction.All I can feel are boots connecting with my ribs, hands in my hair, the taste of copper and betrayal flooding my mouth."GET AWAY FROM ME!" I'm clawing at the IV lines, ripping at the bandages, trying to escape a hospital bed as if it's the marble floor where I died."DON'T TOUCH ME! PLEASE DON'T—""Sed

CH.5

TESSAI open Instagram first, and my world implodes all over again.The video is everywhere. Reposted, shared, turned into memes, reaction videos and compilation clips.#TessaFail is trending.#FatGirlDown has over a million views.Someone has auto-tuned my sobs and turned them into a remix.But it's the comments that really destroy me:"LMAOOOOO this is the funniest thing I've ever seen""Imagine being this delusional about your weight""The audacity of thinking Derek would actually want THAT""Natural selection at work""Someone should put her out of her misery""Fat bitch got what she deserved""This is why obesity should be illegal""I'm crying laughing at this whale""She really thought she was the main character""This is what happens when you don't know your place"The comments keep coming in an endless scroll of cruelty that makes my broken ribs feel gentle in comparison.People I've never met, will never meet, taking time out of their lives to kick me while I'm down. Taking p

CH.6

TESSAThe crowd goes silent."Because of cyberbullying. Because people were cruel to her online after that party. Because someone filmed her most vulnerable moment and turned it into entertainment."The irony is so thick I could choke on it. Maya, the architect of my destruction, is now positioning herself as my defender, my champion, my grieving best friend who just wants to offer comfort in my darkest hour."The Whyte family has always looked down on people like me," Maya continues. "My family doesn't have their money, their connections, their power. But that doesn't mean I love Tessa any less. That doesn't mean I don't deserve to be by her side when she's fighting for her life."The comments explode with rage:"Rich people think they're better than everyone!""Maya is such a good friend!""The Whyte’s should be ashamed!""Let Maya see her friend!""This is classist bullshit!""Maya deserves better friends than the Whyte’s!""Tessa's family are the real bullies!""I'm literally cryi

CH.7

TESSAFive years of transformation and rebirth in the most exclusive regions abroad. More than that, five years of education, of rebuilding myself from the inside out under the watchful eye of tutors and professors my father arranged.A bachelor's degree in International Business, a master's in Strategic Communications from the Sorbonne. Languages mastered: French, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin. All while I discovered who I could become when I wasn't limited by other people's expectations.I am no longer just beautiful. I am educated. Cultured.But as the plane descends toward Cascade City's International Airport, my hands shake on the leather armrest. Five years of careful reconstruction, and I still feel like that terrified girl sometimes, especially when it comes to facing my dad.His summons had been abrupt, cutting through my planned life. No explanation, no discussion. Just a terse phone call three days ago: "It's time to come home, Tessa. Your flight is booked. Don't disappoint me

CH.8

TESSAI follow Dad into the house like a lost puppy, drinking in every familiar detail.The grand foyer looks exactly the same, but I feel different in it now. Five years of fancy education will do that to you. You start seeing price tags on everything, including yourself.The air smells the same too. Maybe it's the scent of old money, or maybe it's just the weight of expectations that's been hanging in this house for generations."Your room's ready," Dad says as we head upstairs. "But first, we need to talk. There are things you need to know about why I brought you home."My stomach makes a awful flip. "Did I screw something up? My grades were perfect, all my professors said...""You didn't do anything wrong," he cuts me off, and God, the relief nearly knocks me over. "Actually, you did everything right. Better than we projected."Better than they projected. Not better than they thought I could do. Just better than their financial projections allowed them to hope for.The distinction

CH.9

TESSAMom joins us halfway without a word.I follow them down the hallway, past all the family portraits showing generations of Whyte’s and I stop at the most recent one, taken right before they shipped me off. In it, I'm basically invisible behind my parents, the shadow of shame the photographer tried to hide. The girl in the photo looks haunted, broken, like she's trying to disappear into the wallpaper.Looking at that photo now, it's hard to believe it's the same person. The girl in the portrait is maybe two hundred pounds heavier, her face puffy and her eyes are hollow, defeated, like she's already given up on life.The expensive dress they'd put her in hangs awkwardly, clearly chosen to hide rather than flatter.Now I'm wearing a perfectly tailored Chanel suit. My hair is styled in a sleek bob that frames my face perfectly. My makeup is subtle yet flawless, applied with the skill of someone who's had professional training.I look like I belong in the pages of Vogue, like I was bo

CH.10

TESSADinner gets served in the formal dining room. We only used this space for special occasions when I was little. Christmas dinner, important business entertaining, the rare family celebration that required our best behavior. Most nights, we ate in the smaller breakfast room or, when I was really young, sometimes even in the kitchen with whatever staff was on duty.The formal dining room is intimidating by design. The table seats twenty, though tonight it's set for just the three of us at one end.Mom's outdone herself with the food, though I notice she's barely touching her own plate.Her hands shake a little when she reaches for her wine, and she keeps glancing at Dad like she's waiting for some kind of signal.The tension in the room is thick enough to cut with a knife.The lobster thermidor is perfect, rich, creamy and exactly how I remember it. However, it tastes like ash in my mouth as I force myself to eat small, ladylike bites, chewing thoroughly and swallowing with effort.

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