The Scorned Bride: His Cruel Vows

Chapter 13- Caught

Thalia's Pov

Dory turned around and glared directly at me, the corners of her eyes red with years of built-up jealousy. “Why was it like that? You aren't even my real sister! You're just a dog that was picked up after your parents had an accident!”

When we were kids, before Aria even came into the picture, Dory and I had actually gone to the very same school together. Back then, I was always at the top of my class. I excelled in arts, no matter what it was. Piano, violin, drawing, you name it, I was always at the very top, getting praise from all the teachers and parents. Dory had been forced to stand in my shadow the entire time, and she had hated me for it ever since.

"You took everything away from me back then," Dory spat out, stepping closer to the desk again. "My mother's attention, the teachers' praise, everything. Whenever our results came out and you showed yours to my parents, they would praise you and buy you things. But me? They would only stare at me and say things like; ‘do better, your adopted sister is at the top of her class’. I would watch you smile at the praise while I would get nothing but looks and comparison.”

“Is that why you hate me? Because I worked so hard in order to show your parents that I was good in school? They were paying my school fees! They told me that if I didn't be at the top of the class they wouldn't let me go to school anymore and I would become one of the maids! I had to work twice as hard! How can you hate me for that? The gifts you said they gave me were more books! They were warnings never to fail an exam! I had no choice!”

“You always have a choice!” Dory yelled back, glaring at me, “What's wrong about being a maid, huh?! If you weren't trying to get things out of your reach, you're only good enough to become the lowest of servants!”

“D… Dory…”

“But it doesn't matter, because now I'm going to destroy the thing that you care about the most."

I watched her in horror as her hands slid further down the table. Suddenly, her fingers stopped. She was resting her hand right on top of a small, delicate snow globe resting on the corner of Aria's desk.

My heart stopped. "No... Dory, please," I begged, my voice breaking. "Not that one. Please, don't touch that!"

That snow globe was not just a random item. It was the exact snow globe that Adrian had given to Aria on the day they first started dating. Aria cherished it more than anything else in the entire world. She loved it so much that she never let anyone touch it, not even the maids when they came in to clean her room. If anything ever happened to that snow globe, Adrian would lose his mind. It was important to both of them.

Dory looked at my terrified face and let out a cold, sharp laugh. She picked up the snow globe and slammed it down onto the floor right in front of the desk.

The thick glass ball shattered instantly. Water spilled out across the floor, soaking into the rug, while the delicate little figures inside broke into pieces alongside tiny floating flakes of fake snow.

"NO!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. A surge of pure panic and adrenaline hit me all at once. I kicked back with my feet, thrashing my body with everything I had. The two maids were taken by surprise by my sudden strength, and their hands slipped off my arms.

The moment I was free, I rushed forward and shoved Dory away from the desk with all my might. Dory stumbled backward, gasping as she hit the wall behind her. I fell to my knees right in front of the shattered snow globe, my breath coming out in fast, shallow gasps. My whole body was shaking so hard I could barely control my fingers.

‘No, no, no, this can't be happening!’ I thought, my mind racing in terror. ‘If Adrian sees this... if he comes home and sees his gift to Aria destroyed like this, he's going to blame me! He already hates me! My life will get ten times worse!’

"I have to pick it up... I have to fix it," I whispered to myself like a crazy person, my hands darting out toward the sharp mess on the floor. I began grabbing the broken pieces of glass and the shattered plastic figures as fast as I could, trying to gather everything into a pile.

A sharp piece of glass sliced deep into my right palm, followed by another sharp piece cutting into my fingers. Blood instantly began to spill out, mixing with the clear water on the floor. But I didn't care about the pain. I didn't even mind the shards piercing my skin over and over again. All I could think about was picking up every single piece, trying to find a way to glue it back together or replace it before Adrian came back from his trip.

If he saw this, he would never forgive me.

"Thalia, stop! What are you doing?!" Dory's voice suddenly rang out, but this time, her voice wasn't cold or angry. It was high, pitched, and full of fear.

Before I could even look up to see why she was acting like that, Dory threw herself onto the floor a few feet away from me and let out a loud, blood-curdling scream.

"Adrian! Please help! Thalia is going crazy!" Dory shrieked at the top of her lungs, tears suddenly pouring down her face as if she had been attacked. My heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway outside and it was coming closer with every second. A tall figure burst through the open doorway, his face dark and full of anger.

It was Adrian. He stopped dead in his tracks at the entrance, his sharp eyes taking in the scene, the broken glass scattered everywhere, Dory crying on the floor, the two maids standing near the wall looking terrified, and me sitting in the middle of the mess with blood dripping from my hands.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Adrian asked, “Thalia, what did you do?!”