The Scorned Bride: His Cruel Vows

Chapter 14- Broken

Thalia's Pov

The moment Adrian’s voice echoed through the room, Dory scrambled up from the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. She rushed straight toward Adrian and ducked behind him, grabbing onto the back of his suit jacket as if she were a helpless child seeking protection from a wild animal. And that the wild animal was me.

“Adrian! Oh my gosh, Adrian, you’re finally back!” Dory cried out, her voice trembling with panic. Tears streamed down her face in thick trails, making her look completely shattered. “Thalia… Thalia is crazy! She's seriously crazy, Adrian! She almost tried to kill me too… You have to do something about her!”

I sat on the cold floor, frozen, with sharp shards of glass sticking out of my bleeding palms. I stared up at her in disbelief. “That’s not true…” I tried to speak, but Dory cut me off, her screeching voice drowning out my words.

“She came into Aria’s room without permission!” Dory spun her lies effortlessly, her hands shaking as she pointed a finger at me. “I saw her sneaking down the hallway, Adrian! I came in here as nicely as I could to ask her to leave. I told her this was Aria’s room and that she shouldn't be in here! But the moment I said Aria’s name, Thalia just went crazy! She snapped!”

“It’s a lie!” I screamed, pushing myself up slightly from the floor, ignoring the biting pain of the glass pressing deeper into my skin. “Adrian, it’s a lie! Don't listen to her!”

“She started grabbing everything off the desk and throwing it on the floor!” Dory wept loudly, burying her face against Adrian’s arm before looking back up at him with wide, frightened eyes. “I tried to stop her! I begged her to put things down, but she pushed me away so hard I hit my back against the wall! Look at me, Adrian! She shoved me!”

Dory took a deep, shuddering breath, her expression twisting into a mix of horror and disgust as she looked down at me.

“She screamed at me that she’s your rightful wife now,” Dory continued, her voice dripping with poison. “She said Aria was nothing but a fake, pathetic and pretending princess who didn't deserve you anyway! She said Aria was never as innocent or pure as everyone thought she was. She called Aria a dirty, useless girl who stole everything from her, and said that now that Aria is gone, she’s going to erase every single trace of her from this house!”

My breath caught, “I never said those things! I didn't say any of that! Adrian, please…”

Before I could even finish my sentence, a figure moved into the room. It was Matthew, Adrian's friend. I've seen him multiple times,when he came around to look for Adrian. He only greeted me once, and the rest of the time, he only spoke to either Adrian, Matthew or people in the house, but never to me.

The corner of his eyes were very red, filled with a kind of anger that I had never seen on his face before. The moment Dory’s words registered in his mind, Matthew didn't even pause. He lunged forward, stepping right past Adrian, and grabbed me hard by the collar of my shirt.

He yanked me off the floor so fast my knees dragged against the sharp glass, causing fresh pain to shoot through my legs. “You sick, disgusting monster!” Matthew shouted directly into my face, his hands shaking as he gripped my collar so tightly it choked me.

“Was killing Aria not enough for you?! Huh?! You drove her away, you got her killed, and now you’re in here destroying her things?! Is it that your heart is made of stone, Thalia?!”

I shook, my hands hovering near his wrists, dripping blood onto his shirt sleeves. I gasped for air, trying desperately to explain through the tightness in my throat.

“I... I didn't do it!” I choked out, tears finally breaking past my eyes from the sheer terror of his grip. “Matthew, please... listen to me! I only came in to drop off some things! Some things that Aria left in my room... that’s all! That’s the only thing I came inside to do! I didn't break anything!”

Matthew didn't listen. He glared at me with hate, as if looking at a filthy bug he wanted to crush under his shoe. I looked past Matthew’s shoulder, my eyes desperately searching for Adrian. He just stood there, staring without saying anything.

“So my sister is lying, then?” Adrian asked. His voice was low, cold, and empty of any warmth. He looked down at me as if I were a stranger. “Are you telling me my own biological sister made up this entire story just to frame you?”

The words hit me and in that single second, everything became crystal clear. Me being hopeful that Adrian would believe me was quite foolish.

It was true. Why would he believe me? Why on earth would Adrian choose to believe an adopted outsider over his own sister? He hadn't believed me days ago when I swore I didn't scheme against Aria. He hadn't believed me when I tried to explain myself before. He had treated me like a criminal then, and he was definitely going to treat me like a criminal now.

My trembling lips pressed together. The fight inside me slowly drained out. There was no point in speaking. No one in this room was listening to me anyway. Seeing that I had gone quiet, Dory let out another shaky breath from behind Adrian.

“Adrian...” Dory whispered, her voice trembling as she gestured towards me, “Look at what she did... look at what she broke. It’s... it’s the snow globe.”

Adrian’s whole body went completely still. “The snow globe?” he repeated softly, as if he couldn't comprehend the words. “Thalia broke… the snow globe?”