Chapter 3. Step one to get revenge

"Good morning, Alden." Emberly opened the door and greeted Alden's arrival as she did intentionally every time the man came to pick up Victoria.

"Hi, morning, Emberly."

Whenever Emberly did so, Victoria would feel upset and jealous. But this time, she stared indifferently at the two people walking to the dining table. She was no longer competitive or jealous of Emberly's attention-seeking behavior towards Alden.

After last night's party, everything went back to normal except for Victoria, who couldn't go about her day as usual. She, who has learned the rotten secret of her fiancé, can’t behave normally anymore. While she was experiencing the pain of betrayal, the two perpetrators of this betrayal were chatting warmly in front of her as if they had no guilt.

If it were Emberly, Victoria would have gotten used to her innocent yet cunning face. But Alden, whom she had known for five years, never thought he would betray her. She believed Alden was different from her friends, who would leave her and go to Emberly's side. But in reality, he was no different from her old friends. Or the men who approached her with ulterior motives.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Agriche." Alden greeted two both, who had also arrived at the dining table. They returned his greeting with warm smiles, already accustomed to Alden's presence as part of the Agriche family.

"Good morning, baby." Then, after he sat down beside her, Alden gave Victoria a soft peck on the cheek.

"Yes, good morning, Alden." Victoria tried hard to act normal in front of them all.

The kiss Alden gave her, which always felt sweet, felt disgusting this time. The memory of last night that suddenly flashed added to Victoria's disgust at Alden's attitude. How could these two cheaters behave as if they only had a normal sister-in-law relationship?

The sound of cutlery began to be heard as breakfast time progressed. During this time, Emberly engaged Alden in conversation. Again, Victoria ignored them entirely or tried to get into their conversation. She never thought that her life could change completely in just one night. Just a few days ago, she was still feeling the throbbing and flushed cheeks of Alden's attitude, as well as the jealousy of her step-sister.

"Emberly, do you like the gift I gave you?" Petter Agriche, the head of the family also Victoria and Emberly's father, spoke up.

"Of course, I love it very much, Dad. Thank you so much. I'm already quite happy we can celebrate my birthday together again," Emberly replied excitedly.

"My daughter's birthday should of course be celebrated," he said without mentioning that Victoria was also his daughter.

"Yes, especially since Victoria is so good at organizing parties that they run smoothly," Rosalee added, complimenting her, which did not move Victoria at all. She was getting tired of the whole charade. She wondered if her father was too, so he no longer showed the attitude that she was his real daughter. "Thank you, Mom. I learned a lot from you," Victoria answered.

"Next time, on my sister's birthday, I'll prepare the party!" continued Emberly.

Victoria no longer talked. She focused on eating breakfast until it was finished and invited Alden to leave.

"We're leaving first, Mom, Dad," Victoria said goodbye to the two, followed by Alden.

"Bye, Alden, sister!" Emberly kept trying to get close to Alden until the end as if continuing to pull Victoria's jealousy.

"Babe, are you not feeling well today?" Alden asked when they had gotten into the car and started driving.

"No, I'm fine. Just still feeling tired after the party last night," Victoria replied. "And I don't think you should bother coming to pick me up to go to campus every day. Your office and my campus are in opposite directions," she continued.

"It's not a big deal. I can also see you every morning and get to know your family better." Alden took Victoria's hand and kissed the back of it.

Victoria looked at Alden from the side, focused on the road. She felt so special and loved hearing what Alden said in the past. However, she, who was no longer stupid, already knew what this bastard man who was still her fiancé was doing.

Victoria pulled her hand away so that Alden could not hold it. She said nothing and turned her face away from the windshield. Victoria tried to hold back the anger that again rose to its peak because she remembered Alden's betrayal.

After an eternity, they finally arrived at Victoria’s campus parking lot. This time, Alden followed Victoria out as she was about to leave. He walked over and was about to kiss her, but she quickly avoided him.

"What are you doing?" asked Victoria coldly.

"Why have you been like this all day, babe? Are you mad at me?" Alden's face seemed hurt, having received such a rude gesture from her.

Victoria immediately controlled her facial expression. She smiled, showing her guilt, and said more softly. "No, I told you that I was just too tired. And this is a public place, I'm embarrassed, Alden."

Alden finally let out a small chuckle, hearing the confession that was always the reason Victoria did not want to accept his kiss. Instead, Alden rubbed his fiancée's cheek gently. "After I finish the work today, let's date tonight. I still miss you."

There was no happy heartbeat when Alden uttered that rare line of invitation. She was no longer excited and looking forward to it after knowing it was just Alden's ploy to keep her obedient. Even so, Victoria had no choice but to nod and smile, showing enthusiasm.

"See you tonight," he said before returning to the car and driving off.

After watching Alden's car leave the campus area, Victoria picked up her cell phone and called someone. Not long after, a man's voice answered from the other side of the line.

"Can we meet to discuss the deal, Mr. Hurlington?" Victoria immediately asked.

His distinctive baritone voice is heard answering, "I Don’t think it will be too long since I offered you the deal, Miss Agriche."

"Where can we meet?" Ignoring his words, Victoria asked again. 

Maverick replied briefly, "Come to my house. I'll send a car."

"Then I just arrived at the campus," answered Victoria informingly.

"Okay, I'll send it to your campus. Send me the address." Maverick hung up the phone. 

Since last night, Victoria had been suffering and crying from desperation and anger. She was determined to avenge the pain she had received. She was fed up with her stepsister's attitude of constantly taking what was hers. She would also avenge her bastard fiancée, who brazenly wanted her money. 

'Just wait, you both!' Victoria spoke inwardly with hatred after deciding.