SHOCKING REVELATION

Chapter 2: Shocking Revelation

Rose stared at the one person she never expected would snitch on her with shock.

She stared at her aunt in shock, unable to believe what she was seeing. She thought she might be dreaming; everything felt like a bad dream, and she prayed so hard to wake up from such a horrible dream.

Because there's no way Sofia, her aunt, is the reason Derek divorced her. There's no way Sofia, her aunt, could betray her this badly and date Derek behind her back.

Everything was just a great shock to her, and she reeled from it. "Surprised?" Derek's sudden question snatched her back to reality, and that was when it began to settle in: she wasn't dreaming; this is reality, and it's truly playing out in front of her. Her aunt, her only family left, really betrayed her.

She could feel tears clouding her eyes as she stared at her aunt making silly faces at her.

"Surprised?" her aunt's voice resounded in her ears. She battled her eyes as she tried to fight back the tears, but it was impossible to do so; she let them flow freely.

"Isn't this just the best birthday present?" she watched Sofia, her aunt, laugh and lean in to kiss Derek right in front of her.

"We really planned this well, didn't we?" Sofia chuckled and kissed Derek further.

As Rose watched them, she could feel her heart shattering into thousands of pieces as they kissed shamelessly in front of her.

She watched as Sofia soon withdrew from the kiss and approached her, and it took everything in her not to strangle her to death. "Ouch!" Sofia giggled. "You look so good when you're in tears," she mocked, an evil grin playing on her lips.

As she mocked Rose, everything started becoming clear. Rose suddenly remembered when she called her earlier that morning, inviting her to her birthday celebration, and how she lied to her, saying she was having terrible period cramps and couldn't make it.

"Oh, I know what's going through your mind. How can someone who had terrible period cramps be here?" Sofia chuckled, as if reading her mind. "Well, I guess you figured it out yourself. I was just trying to avoid a lowlife," she spat.

"You don't know how much I hate you, Rose," she continued, but this time around, there was a hint of pain in her voice. "I hate you so much because you stole everything from me. You always act like you are better than me; you are always lucky and carry yourself with so much pride."

Sofia pushed her and sliced a slap across her cheek, and watched as she stumbled weakly on the floor.

She was still reeling from everything playing out in front of her, that she was drained of strength to fight back.

Sofia lowered to her level and pushed her forehead with her index finger. "You pathetic loser, I hope you suffer for the rest of your miserable life," she sliced another slap through her face.

As this happened, Rose wished Derek would hold Sofia and warn her to stop hitting her. But he did the complete opposite. Instead of saving her from Sofia's venom, he walked up to them and patted Sofia on the back.

"You don't have to touch such a filthy thing with your precious hand," Derek said. "As you can see, she's already a living corpse, so don't allow her to push you too far." Derek gave her the most unexpected kick on her stomach and watched as she rolled on the floor like an earthworm.

"Isn't that fun?" Derek knelt before her and grabbed her hair harshly. And as he pulled her hair, she could feel her soul leaving her.

"Please!" she begged in despair. At this point, Rose was no longer hoping for a second chance at love but for a second chance to live.

"I hate when you are being stubborn," Derek shook her head violently and slapped her right cheek. He turned her over and slapped her left cheek.

"Why are you being so clingy and annoying?" Derek spat on her face, his own face twisted with disgust. He seemed to be hiding this feeling of hatred for a long time, and now it was so visible.

"I hate you," Derek pushed Rose's forehead as he spoke. Rose, who was already weak from all the beating and kicking, could only stare blankly. Her lips were baptized with blood, and her face was pale like that of a corpse.

She was tired of begging for mercy. She stared at Sofia with her half-broken eyes and wondered what she had ever done to her.

Staring at the one person she literally helped with everything, doing this to her, was the most heartbreaking part.

She helped her with accommodation, a job, and everything she ever had, since she is her only family member.

She made sure she never lacked anything. She could go the extra mile to make Sofia feel better, and never did she know she held so much hatred for her.

"How could you, Sofia?" she found herself stuttering weakly. She just needed an explanation as to why Sofia could do this to her; she felt she deserved to know.

"Why are you doing this to me?" She repeated, unable to fight back the tears already pouring from the corner of her eyes.

"Oh, spare me that, Rose," was the response she could get. "If you loved me that much, why didn't you give me your good luck? You made me feed from your remains, and you called that love? You never loved me, so stop pretending," Sofia lashed at her, her eyes filled with fury.

"Now you will go back to the street you belong and never bother my life anymore," she chuckled and drew closer to her.

She knelt before her and grabbed her neck. "You will always end up with nothing because you have always been a loser," Sofia spat.

Rose watched her as she spoke, and in each passing moment, her heart shattered further. "You were like a sister to me, Sofia; I trusted you," her pain deepened as she said these words. "You should never have done this to me, Sofia. We were sisters and family," Rose coughed, her eyes already spinning from excessive tears.

She had never been this pained all her life; she had never been this betrayed and ridiculed.

As she cried, she still hoped one of them would tap her and tell her that this was just a joke. She wished they would laugh out loud and apologize for pulling her leg so badly.

She wished they would hug her and tell her they loved her, but the looks on their faces were far from what she expected. For the only thing she could see on their faces was hatred – hatred for her.

Especially in Sofia's face. At that moment, she was certain that if Sofia was given a knife, she wouldn't think twice before tearing her apart.

Her previous words were evidence of how much she hated her, and for what? For jealousy?

As Rose sat on the ship, her vision blurred from excessive tears, she could still see them mutter some unheard words. She wasn't certain of what they were saying, but her instinct was certain it was nothing good.

The looks on their faces were sufficiently testament. But she was too tired to say anything or make a move.

Sofia, who was once whispering something into Derek's ears, withdrew and began taking bold steps towards her, with a sinister laughter on her face.

In each step she took towards her, Rose could feel her heartbeats increasing. Standing only an inch apart from her, Sofia bent to her level.

She leaned closer and brushed Rose hair backwards. As her hands came into contact with Rose's face, as her hands swept Rose's hair backward, she badly wanted to retaliate, but she was so weak and down to do anything.

"Come, baby, let's send this piece of shit to hell already; she annoys me," Sofia's smiley face was suddenly replaced with rage, and Rose's heart skipped a beat as she made sense of her words.

"What do you mean by sending me to hell?" Rose stammered with her last strength, fear creeping into her veins like ice as she watched Derek's menacing figure loom closer.

She was now 100% sure that they were not up to something good, but she was still too paralyzed with fear to figure out what they were up to.

"Shall we?" Derek's voice was laced with malice as he turned to Sofia, his eyes glinting with sinister intent. Sofia's polite nod sent a chill down Rose's spine. "Of course," she purred, her voice dripping with malevolence.

Before Rose could even process what was happening, they pounced on her, their hands closing around her wrists and ankles like vice grips. She struggled and kicked, but they were too strong.

They dragged her to the cliff of the ship, the wind whipping her hair into a frenzy as she screamed and begged for mercy. It was then that she saw the ocean below, its dark waters churning and foaming like a living thing.

She knew then that they intended to throw her into its depths, to silence her forever. Her heart racing with terror, she screamed again, but her cries were drowned out by the sound of the wind and the waves.

"No! You can't..." she tried to plead, but her voice was cut off as they lifted her up, her body suspended in mid-air.

For a moment, she hung there, her eyes locked on Derek's twisted face. Then, with a sudden jerk, they let her go, and she plummeted into the darkness below.