Chapter 3

Victória painfully stepped out of the taxi and dragged her weak, exhausted legs toward the living room. She still wanted to speak with her father.  

She had barely reached the entrance when she heard cheerful laughter coming from inside.  

“Bruno, are you sure you can give me this red diamond ring? I’m not your fiancée. If Victória finds out, she’ll be furious!”  

Both Victória’s grandfather and Bruno’s grandfather had been friends since their youth. As a result, the two families had always been close, and a marriage between the two had been arranged since childhood.  

Over the years, as they grew up, Bruno adored the idea of having Victória as his fiancée. She was beautiful, and he had to woo her extensively until she finally gave in to the idea.  

However, at the moment she stepped through the front door, Victória saw Ciara clutching Bruno’s arm tightly, pouting.  

“Bruno, do you think I look pretty wearing this?”  

Victória walked straight into the living room without even taking off her shoes. The moment she entered, she drew all of Bruno’s attention. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, completely forgetting Ciara’s presence.  

Victória was reasonably tall, standing at 5'9". People often said she was perfection incarnate. Her skin was fair, her beauty striking, and her figure incredible.  

Bruno had always felt incredibly lucky to have Victória as his fiancée. The only thing that displeased him was that she was too reserved. She lacked the gentleness and thoughtfulness Ciara possessed.  

In the month they had been dating, they hadn’t even kissed. She always found reasons to avoid or reject his advances and was reluctant whenever he tried to touch her.  

“Victória, you’re back? I clearly remember Grandma kicking you out of this family and this house!” Ciara taunted.  

“Kicked her out? Why?” Bruno asked.  

“I went to her room today, and she had drugged President Jackson Carson to sleep with him,” Ciara said. “They were completely naked in bed. If you don’t believe me, look at her neck, Bruno.”  

Bruno walked toward Victória as Ciara spoke, his body trembling with rage. His fists clenched as he saw the obvious hickeys on her fair neck. His face darkened.  

“Victória, what did you do last night?”  

Victória met Bruno’s enraged gaze and felt a wave of sorrow. Her red lips parted to explain.  

“I was drugged by Ciara and your mother. They wanted to ruin my life!”  

“What slander? How can you say that about me? Bruno, don’t listen to her.”  

From the stormy look on his face, it was clear Bruno didn’t believe Victória. He had drunk too much during her birthday celebration the night before, and Ciara had taken very good care of him.  

They had even done some intimate things—although they didn’t go all the way, they had done everything they shouldn’t have under the influence of alcohol.  

Bruno’s gaze turned cold and sharp, his anger like a poisoned arrow. He had no intention of listening to Victória’s explanation.  

“I’ve always heard people say you were promiscuous, but I never believed them until now. Seeing you like this, you were just pretending to be pure and innocent in front of me! The reason you never let me touch you, no matter how many times I tried, is because you’ve been with other men all along, haven’t you?”  

A furious slap landed on Bruno’s handsome face. Victória was so enraged she trembled from head to toe.  

How could this be the warm and tender man who cherished her while courting her? She had been the one hurt and wronged by what happened the previous night.  

She had been betrayed by her stepmother and stepsister, losing her innocence because of it. Yet Bruno not only refused to believe her, but he was also hurting her further by believing Ciara’s lies and slandering her.  

Was this the “affection” he had always claimed to feel for her?  

“Bruno, let me ask you one last time. Ciara conspired against me last night. Do you believe me or her?”  

“Where’s the proof?” Bruno’s hand rested on the angry red mark left by Victória’s slap, his face burning. His expression was dark and terrifying as he glared at her maliciously.  

“You have no proof to show that Ciara framed you because this is your true nature—promiscuous and shameless!” Bruno’s voice dripped with fury, his words biting.  

Victória looked at his face and realized he wouldn’t believe her, no matter what she said.  

She took a deep breath, her red lips curling into a cynical, disdainful smile.  

“Bruno, let’s end our engagement!”  

Bruno was stunned. She could end their engagement so easily. Did he mean anything to her?  

Without another word, Victória went upstairs and headed straight to her room. She took a long, thorough shower, scrubbing her body as if trying to erase the memory of that night.  

She still needed to talk to her father. She firmly believed he would take her side.  

Summoning the little strength she had left, she staggered out of her room, her entire body aching. She needed to get some water to soothe her dry, sore throat.  

As she passed by the master bedroom on the second floor, she saw a sliver of light from inside and heard muffled voices. On impulse, she approached the door.  

“Sir, aren’t you afraid Victória will find out that you helped Ciara drug her?”  

“If you don’t say anything, I don’t say anything, and Ciara doesn’t say anything, how will that girl ever find out?”  

“But Victória must never know that Ciara is actually your biological daughter, and she’d never guess you and Suelen were lovers before you married her mother—or that you only married her mother for her family’s wealth!”  

“She’ll never know. She’s as stupid as her crazy mother was. Besides, so what if she finds out? I’ve already transferred all of her grandfather’s remaining assets to my name.”  

Victória froze, disbelief washing over her. Blood drained from her face as she stood petrified by the door.