Chapter 3

I could bring up an endless list of humiliating incidents involving my family, such as the time I came to this house to kneel before my father for money for my mother's treatment, and the time Amanda and her mother gave me a box of used and torn clothes because I "needed to dress better."

But asking me to help organize the wedding of my ex-fiance with his pregnant lover, who was my half-sister? That had to be one of the most sadistic items on the list.

"I will not help Amanda organize her wedding with Andrew. Why would I do such a thing?" I said slowly, giving my father time to admit that this was a bad joke.

Serge looked at me with disapproval, while Amanda watched with a smile she tried to hide while eating her fruit salad.

"It’s disappointing that you aren’t deciding to be a better person about this matter. If you don't help, I will be forced to reconsider your contract with our company. I heard you just managed to sign as a permanent employee," he threatened.

I would have screamed and thrown out insults if I could. However, I couldn't do any of those things; I was a marionette, free for them to puppet at their convenience again.

"I thought they couldn't fire me whenever they wanted," I smiled to hide my rage.

I didn't think I was doing it well. Amanda and her mother were struggling not to laugh at the situation.

"We will pay the contract indemnity. And that also means that you will cut contact with your family. Is that what you want? To destroy your relationship with the only sister you have for a man? Put aside childish jealousy and focus on what matters. Our family image, our family legacy... and your career."

My hands were invisibly handcuffed. My job was all I had left; I couldn't lose it at that moment. I needed more time to find something better and figure out where on earth to live.

"In what way am I supposed to help with the wedding?" I said, grinding my teeth together.

The three felt calmer with my yielding to this absurd plot.

"You could start by returning the engagement ring to Andrew. It's a family jewel valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars," my stepmother noted, "It should belong to his future wife."

"Of course, I will return it," I spoke with another manic smile.

"You could also help me choose my wedding dress. Now that you've come to your senses, it would be very important for me to have you with me," added the hypocrite Amanda.

Here my smile faded; I swore I wanted to throw the vase with the tulips on the table at her head. Such malice was unnecessary, and they knew it.

"How else can Marianne help us, dear?" my stepmother questioned Serge.

He wiped his mouth with the napkin and left it on the table, then stood.

"I have an important meeting. You three take care of it. Peacefully, might I add," he requested and left.

I refused such a deal and followed him inside the house. I needed to confront him alone. I decided to speak before he climbed the main stairs of the house.

"You can't do this to me, father. What need is there to punish me this way?" I asked.

He stopped and faced me. He sighed and rubbed his forehead because I must have been the problem in his twisted mind.

"You are just like your mother. You don't know when to stop," he lamented, "If you can't keep Andrew happy, it's better for Amanda to take care of him for you, for us."

"He was my boyfriend, Dad! I loved him!"

"And do you think he loved you?" he mocked. My heart broke for the third time. "Your feelings are not valued more than the child growing inside your sister, nor are they valued more than the bond that unites us with the Wells. Our roof is collapsing on us, and all you care about is yourself. This is your opportunity to show me that you have your head on your shoulders. Don't be weak, be strong like a Fairmount should be."

"Sir? He's in his office. He's waiting for you," an employee mentioned from the top of the stairs.

"I have nothing more to talk to you about, Marianne. Go back to your mother and sister," he said, wanting to climb the stairs.

"That is not my mother, nor my sister, and you are not my father. Save your false motivational speeches," I said. My words enraged Serge and he started yelling at me.

I didn’t really hear what he yelled at me because I was already leaving that house that was never mine to begin with. I left the family that never was, nor would be mine. At the same time, I swore to myself that I would get revenge. Somehow, in some way, everyone would pay for this.

-

However, swearing revenge was one thing, and carrying it out was another. So, I took refuge in the free margaritas the company provided us for this mid-year goal celebration at the bar. I was sitting alone, drinking my third margarita of the night. Behind me, my colleagues were chatting and drinking.

This was my favorite day of the year, mainly because of the free food and drink from this restaurant that had a deal with the company. But even the taste of free alcohol had been ruined by Andrew, Amanda, and my father.

"Are you okay?" Jenna asked, sitting next to me at the bar.

"Do I look okay?" I said to my colleague.

Jenna was a work colleague who had become my friend over the years. However, we worked in different departments—she was in marketing while I was in sales—and we had both been very busy fighting for our respective promotions.

"How could they do that to you? Is it real? Did he really break up with you, and is he planning to marry Amanda?" she asked sadly.

"The rumors travel fast. Did they already reach the upper floor where your office is?" I asked, bitter.

"Actually, the gossip reached me at lunchtime. I looked for you earlier in the cafeteria. Where were you?"

"Dad invited me to lunch. He wanted me to help organize the wedding. Oh, and they wanted me to return the engagement ring so she could wear it."

Jenna was shocked by what I had done. Her mouth couldn't be more open with indignation.

"What’s next? That she's pregnant with Andrew’s child?" she asked angrily. When I nodded, she got angrier. "Throw her down the stairs, make her lose it."

"It’s not that I haven’t thought about doing that..." I laughed, then a tear slipped out that I wiped away. Jenna rubbed my back. "The truth is I would never do that to Amanda. The truth is I hoped that by marrying Andrew, Dad would respect me and let me be part of the family. I dreamed that everyone would finally accept me and admit that they treated me badly. But I’ve accepted that it was a fantasy of mine. Who would fall in love with me? I’m pathetic."

"Hey, no, that’s not true. I don't want you to say those things about yourself. Who hasn't been cheated on? It's not your fault they cheated on you. You are a great person. You’re beautiful and talented at what you do. He’s the one missing out. Let him stay with the spoiled Amanda. A nice surprise awaits him. Karma will get him."

"But not quickly enough for me to avoid helping her choose her wedding dress," I complained and threw back more of my drink.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Jenna commented with a wicked smile. "There are some rumors going around."

"What kind of rumors?"

"We know that Andrew has insisted on buying most of the shares in the company for years, right?"

Of course, I knew. Andrew had confirmed that he had gotten involved with me for that purpose just this morning. Fairmount Corporation was founded by my father, so naturally, he had most of the shares. But recently, other shareholders were pushing for a change of direction, globalization, and expansion. They wanted more branches and more countries to operate in, but Dad was against such a move. He wanted to play it safe. He hated change.

This was why Andrew was so interested in buying his shares. He wanted to be the one to make that change a reality. He was close to achieving it, all thanks to Amanda.

"Yes. What's new about that?" I asked, puzzled.

"I heard there’s a new foreign investor who’s offering double Andrew’s offer. Double!"

"It can't be possible," I whispered, shocked by such an event.

Jenna pulled away from the intimacy of our conversation and turned over her shoulder to our colleagues. Disapproval filled her features.

"Just as such audacity couldn't be possible, either."

I turned my head in the same direction, and immediately felt the urge to finish my margarita in one gulp. My friend was looking at Amanda and Andrew. Our colleagues were greeting them, and from here, I could hear compliments on how good Amanda looked.

"Hypocrites," Jenna muttered angrily.

"Excuse the interruption, but we wanted to make sure you were all having a good time and congratulate you on your mid-year goals," Amanda announced.

I couldn't help but notice that Andrew was holding her by the hip. He spotted me like a hawk and pulled Amanda closer to him. I knew the women in the corner were whispering about me. I knew everyone was dying to see how I would react.

"We also came by to extend an invitation. As you know, Andrew will soon be part of the Fairmount Corporation family, not just on the work side but also personally," she looked at him with love, and he did the same. "We are getting married in November at Willowdale Estate. You are all invited."

I stopped listening when the applause started.

We were also supposed to get married in November, at the same place. Next week, we would have sent out the official invitations. I couldn't bear it. As certain people with no self-control looked in my direction mockingly or with pity, I rushed out of that place. I walked quickly towards the bathroom hallway to either burst into tears or have the biggest panic attack I might have ever had. Maybe both.

But instead of reaching my destination, I crashed into a tall man with a drink in his hand. The force of our collision made me take several steps back as the liquor spilled on the floor. As I looked up to get a good look at him, I was left breathless. He was incredibly attractive, with broad shoulders in a black suit, blue eyes, and a divine masculine scent emanating from him.

"You should watch where you're going. Now you owe me one," he said suggestively.

Perhaps a sober and level-headed Marianne would have told him no. However, the current me, who had downed three margaritas, had been freshly publicly humiliated yet again, and who was on the verge of being fired, did the opposite.

"Yes, you’re right."