Audrey's Pov
“What is this? Explain it to me!” I yelled at the man in front of me, throwing the bunch of pictures that I held at him. Pictures of him and my sister cuddling on the bed, some of it showed them having sex while some showed him putting a ring on her fingers. Others were very explicit. I waited, waited for him to tell me that this was a deep fake, maybe, that he wasn't the one. I would have gladly accepted the explanation, but he merely bent over to pick up the pictures, his eyes narrowing. “Were you spying on me?” He raised an eyebrow, he gazed intently at me. “What?” I questioned, not believing my ears. “I asked if you were spying on me, Audrey.” He repeated, a frown spreading on his lips, “You know how much I hate you invading my privacy, yet you still did it anyway.” My hands trembled as I stared at him in disbelief, “Are… Are you serious? You aren't even going to deny this?” My heart pounded in my chest, my hands trembled in anger. “Also… Invading your privacy? Is that really what you are focusing on right now!” I could barely keep my voice steady as I spoke, “You have been sneaking behind my back doing something like this with my sister and now you're trying to turn this on me?!” “This isn't about me, Audrey,” He said coldly, “It's about you not trusting me. You always do this, always looking around for something. You're always trying to pick a fight.” My heart sank at his words, the bitter taste of betrayal filled my mouth. This was a man I trusted with everything, a man that I thought I knew better than everyone. “How could you stand here and act like I'm in the wrong? Don't you dare twist this further, Zachary.” I spat, taking a step forward, “I never went looking for anything. These pictures found me, they were sent to my mail by someone I don't even know! Or maybe it was because you were careless, or you just didn't care. And yet, you're trying to gaslight me into…” I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “Is this true or not? Have you been having sex with my sister, and not only that, you're getting engaged? Is it true?!” I questioned again, begging him with my eyes to tell me it wasn't true. But deep down I knew, I knew that it was. However, Zachary didn't even have the decency to hide it, he smirked, raising his gaze to meet mine. “What of it? She's a lot better than you anyway. Your sister, Amelia, is everything you could never be. She's smarter, more fun in bed and less clingy. Why will I leave her for an old hag like you?” Zachary sneered, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction. How words hit me like a train, making me stumble and hold the edge of the table for balance. “Zachary… I did everything for you. I gave you so many opportunities that Amelia would have never been able to give you, I literally gave you my entire life and this is how you repay me back?! By sleeping with…” I trailed off, I couldn't even call her my sister. “You're a pathetic woman, Audrey.” Zachary continued, his legs bringing him closer to me, “Always desperate for attention, always so needy. You practically drove me to her.” The tears that I had tried to keep from spilling finally fell down my face in droplets. Every word he said was like a dagger to my heart. “How could you do this to me? You promised me, you said that you would love me forever!” I yelled at him, staring at him through blurred vision. But through my blurry eyes, I saw his real face. The façade of love that he had shown me was nothing more than that; a mask. “You were so naive, Audrey. Did you ever think I cared about you? You were just a convenience, one that I played with while Amelia wasn't around.” He continued, not caring that my heart broke with every word he said. “But you know, I am willing to take you back. After all, you only love me, and you'll continue to love me.” Zachary raised his hands, caressing the side of my face and forcefully raising my head up to look him in the eyes. “You are so beautiful when you cry, Audrey. Just forget any of this ever happened, and we'll continue the way we were. Come on, Audrey, kiss me and we'll return back to how it was.” Zachary enunciated sulkily, leaning his head down to place his lips on mine. At that moment, it was as if something snapped inside of me. Blood rushed to my head and I became extremely angry. It was as if the tears that were flowing dried instantly and were replaced by hot flowing rage. Everything about him fueled my anger, every word he uttered. I had given home everything, my body, my life, my heart, everything and he had thrown it away like it was nothing. Now he stood before me, thinking he could bend me to his will once more? No, not this time. I was done playing the damsel in distress. “Zachary…” I whispered, my voice calm but laced with cold edges. His smirk widened as he leaned in, thinking I was about to give in. But as his lips neared mine, I snapped. In one swift motion, with all the strength that I could muster, I slapped him. The sound echoed in the room, like a glass plate shattering. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stumbled back. Before he could recover, I lunged at him, pushing him back with all my might. If there was one thing I knew, it was that Zachary was like a piece of paper. He had no body muscle, not any strength. Even a woman like me could beat him up. My hands fought their way to his throat, gripping it tightly. “How dare you," I hissed, my voice low and dangerous, "How dare you think you can manipulate me, humiliate me, and then expect me to come crawling back to you. I loved you, Zachary. I gave you everything, and you betrayed me in the worst way possible. And now you want me to forgive you? To go back to the way things were?" I laughed. His hands clawed at mine, trying to pry them away from his throat, but I tightened my grip until his face turned red, his eyes wide with panic and he almost couldn't breath. However, I realized what I was doing very quickly and released my grip, and got up from his body. I remembered when he did this same thing to me. He strangled me one night until I was rushed to the hospital. He begged and I went back together with him. Thinking about it, I was a woman who had thrown away my dignity to someone who had never loved me. But that would change. "You’re nothing but a lying, cheating coward," I spat, "You don’t deserve love, and you certainly don’t deserve mine. You and Amelia can go to hell, both of you.” I said to him, snatching my bag from the table and walking outside. Once I did, I took out my car keys and was about to open the door when someone walking into the house caught my eye. I froze when I saw the very person we were talking about come into the house, a huge smile plastered on her face. She stood right in front of me, waving her hands in greeting as she mouthed, enunciating her words clearly, “Hello, Sister.”Audrey's Pov “Hello, Sister.” Amelia greeted me, her eyes glinting under the sunlight, “How are you? Have you heard the news yet? The engagement party is actually tomorrow, we have been planning it for a while now.” She tilted her head to the side, clearly enjoying the shock I had on my face. “Tomorrow?” I muttered. “Yeah.” She put her hands into her bag and shuffled around, then brought out a letter, waved it in the air and put it into my car. I swallowed the anger that was threatening to spill out, “Since when have you been sleeping with him?” “Oh, that? From the very beginning.” Amelia responded without any ounce of shame. I closed my eyes, taking a long suffering sigh. When I reopened them, I had calmed down. Calmed down enough not to bash her head onto the window of my car. “Amelia, what's your actual purpose? You had always loved taking what was mine, so did you have fun?” I questioned, but I didn't let her reply, “You have a boyfriend yourself, he's Zachary's brother so h
Audrey's Pov I clutched the marriage papers in my hands as I stared at myself in the mirror, looking at my reflection. Xander and I had signed the marriage certificate a few hours ago and it was already time for the engagement party. Sighing, I carefully placed the certificate into the drawer and glanced at the invitation letter on the bed. “The party must have gone into full swing by now.” I muttered to myself, still staring. Then my gaze went to the sleek black dress that was on the bed. Xander had sent it earlier. It was elegant, bold and commanding, all the things I wanted to be tonight. With a sigh, I put it on along with some dark makeup to compliment the dress. There was no room for hesitation now. With a deep breath, I grabbed the invitation to Amelia's engagement party and left. When I arrived, the villa was bustling with conversation. I could see Amelia in the distance along with Zachary and both of them were talking to people. Amelia was with her mother while Zachary w
Audrey's Pov “Nooo!” It was clear to me who had just yelled, or so I thought. It was supposed to be Amelia, all red faced and angry, however, Zachary was the one who yelled, his eyes wide with anger and despair. “You can't give it to her! Amelia is the real owner of the inheritance, we are getting engaged to be married! Audrey’s marriage is just a sham!” Zachary walked up to my father to declare. Eric furrowed his eyebrows and so did Xander who was quieter than I expected. The way Zachary acted was confusing, he had no say in the sharing of the inheritance so why was he acting this way? I glanced at Amelia who was trying to pull Zachary away, and then at her mother who was white as a sheet. Her eyes showed everything she was thinking about, she was like an open book. And then I realized. Zachary and Amelia just weren't sleeping together, they had planned from the start to do this so they could have the inheritance. And from the looks of it, Amelia's mother had suggested this. I
Audrey's Pov He leaned back on his chair and intertwined his fingers with his elbows resting on the armrest, “Should we make this official or do we keep it on a low and see how it goes? I can arrange for a proper marriage ceremony and send out invites, if you want that” He stated and I sighed deeply thinking about what kind of scandal this could bring, everyone knew about my relationship with Zachary because I was a fool for love so I flaunted him. What a waste of time!!“We can keep it a secret for now, if they start spreading rumors those people who attended my sister's wedding know the real story, I wouldn't be surprised if a reporter was there. Let's just keep it under wraps for now, we can make it official later” I concluded and he nodded in understanding, now to address the elephant in the room. “You said I should move in with you right?” “Yes, I'd advise you to do that if we want to convince your family that we are together” He replied curtly. “You are not bothered by the
Audrey's Pov I declined the call but she started calling again so I picked up and faked a sleepy yawn, “Do you want me to tell you a bedtime story, little sister?” I mocked and I could imagine the ugly scowl on her face. “You pathetic thing, you think you've won but you don't know what is going to hit you” She retorted, her voice shaky and filled with hatred for me. I giggled at her frustration, it's funny how the table turned so fast and to think she thought she could frustrate me. I'm a businesswoman. I will always find a way to deal with any situation, “You and your idiotic mother planned to outsmart me, I must say you got me for a minute there you were not as stupid as I thought. But you are not as bright either” I hung up on her before she could start screaming and cursing at me. I'm the biological child of my father. I don't know why they think they can just come in and take what belongs to me, something I worked hard for while Amelia was busy wasting away in one party or an
Audrey's Pov Xander escorted me to my father's mansion and I felt a bit irritated by his overprotective attitude, it's not like Amelia will come at me with a knife. Okay hold that thought she might, but I will expect that from her mother because Amelia might be a little witch but her mother is the destructive one. The car halted and I opened the door proceeding to step out when I felt a firm grip on my hand, I turned to see Xander holding me. “Be careful in there, if it was up to me I would have followed you in but you said you wanted to do this yourself, just call me if anything occurs” He articulated in a serious tone then he did something out of the ordinary. He pressed a chaste kiss on my forehead and I froze in shock, I wasn't expecting him to be this worried or concerned about my wellbeing, our marriage is based on me using him for revenge so I didn't get why he seemed so cool about it. Still lost in my head I headed inside my father's house and the moment I walked in it f
Audrey's Pov We settled on having breakfast and my supposed doting husband sat beside me, Amelia looked red and angry while her mother just glared at my soul from across the table. They probably wished I was dead now, unfortunately, I don't plan on joining my mother anytime soon. I'm still stunned by the stunt Xander pulled out in front of them, not that I do not appreciate it but we never really discussed anything like getting intimate.My father sitting at the head of the table cleared his throat and everyone diverted their attention toward him, my stepmother wore a concerned look but I knew it was fake. “Are you alright Dad?” I asked and he nodded waving it off in a dismissive manner, I beckoned at a maid standing on the threshold of the kitchen. “Is there enough milk? Bring some for my father” I ordered and she rushed to go get some milk, my stepmother was still glaring at me like I did something wrong but I just ignored her. “You didn't have to, I'm not going to die anytime
Audrey's Pov I wasn't expecting my boyfriend to be Zachary, I was more than disappointed because it wasn't who I thought it was. My assistant brought him in and he wore a remorseful look, okay here we go again. “Hey, I... Um I just wanted to let you know that I didn't want to do it I was only following Amelia's introductions, she threatened to kill me if I didn't give in to her. She would never be like you and you know I love you too much” He finished his rubbish speech with his sad puppy face. “Are you done? Cause you need to leave” I affirmed and he went down on his knees like the pathetic asshole that he is, I roll my eyes at his facade. “You know how much I love you Baby please, I don't know what Xander told you but I know him, he lies and manipulates you to do things you don't want to do. He is using and the same way he did with your sister, just listen to me this one time and I swear I will never do you wrong again” He begged looking like a clown to me, “Are you still going