Chapter Three
1801 Words
Lyra was staring at herself in her half-broken standing mirror, her green towel wrapped around her body. She raised her hand to her head and gently touched her bandaged hair, wincing as she felt pain from the contact.
She sighed and brought down her hand. She had brought out her change of clothes and placed them on her shabby single bed that looked like it had seen better days.
She was walking into her tiny bathroom when her door was flung open by no one else other than Selene.
"You little b***h!" Selene said maliciously, angrily walking toward Lyra.
SLAP!
"Ahh!" Lyra palmed her cheeks, her head starting to ache from the impact of the slap.
"Look! Look here, you bastard!" Selene held Lyra roughly behind her neck and forced her to look into her phone.
"Ah! Please, it hurts, let me go!" Lyra cried out painfully.
Her vision had turned blurry from her banging headache; she couldn't even make out the pictures on Selene's phone; she could only manage to see the bold caption:
"An Unknown Lady Tries to Kill Our Most Eligible Bachelor Billionaire!!!"
"You're lucky no one could identify you, if not, it'd have been more than a slap you'd be getting from me, foolish girl," Selene pushed Lyra down to the floor, eyeing her maliciously before walking away.
"Oh, and, be down there and make us lunch in five minutes," Selene said before banging the door loudly as she left the room.
Lyra sat on the floor, crying, she sobbed as she thought about her mother. She wished her mother had never died, and she wished they had never gone for that evening ride, but she knew this wasn't a fairytale where wishes came through; she knew this was her harsh reality; she could only be there for herself.
She stood up and wiped her tears; she just needed to work harder and complete the course she had secretly bought online. Since her father refused to send her to college after she finished high school, she started working to support herself, and when she got enough money, she purchased a course online; now, she just had to look for a way to get money and purchase the last part. It was the most important part that would fetch her the certificate she'd been vying for.
She slowly entered the bathroom and had a quick shower, then dressed herself in her loose-fitted shirt and pants.
She sighed heavily before she started walking downstairs.
She was quietly moving to the kitchen when she heard Judy's tipsy voice whispering something to Selene.
"Wait a minute, I think this girl looks familiar... Don't you think she looks like—"
"Ah, here, have more champagne, dear friend, a toast to my baby's arrival!" Selene said loudly.
Four days after her mother's death, she was shocked and heartbroken to see her father bring in a new woman and her daughter, only for her to find out that the girl was three years older than her; it confirmed that her father was never loyal to her mother.
All those while they seemed like a happy family, he was sneaking behind her mother to see his other family.
The moment she set her eyes on Selene and Veyra, she hated her father, and her view of all men changed.
From then on, her life changed for the worse too. Her father became a stranger to her as he showered all his love and attention on Veyra, while she was forgotten and turned into a housemaid.
Lyra was busy watching the dishes when she heard Judy greeting her father as she was leaving.
She rolled her eyes; her father was never home early when her mother was alive, but now, he's always home before the proper work closing hour.
Well, it was understandable; his real family was now with him, so he didn't need to sneak around going to see them.
"Oh, honey, you're back! I missed you so much," Lyra felt like puking when she heard Selene's fake voice from the living room.
"Yes, my love, I couldn't wait to get back to you, hahaha!" She heard a kissing sound and quickly turned her ear away from the disgusting couple.
Lyra was serving them dinner; she had just finished placing the food on the dining table when she heard Selene's excited voice.
"Honey, we have to throw a party tomorrow for our princess; she'll be here in an hour," Selene said excitedly.
"That's true, I've missed my darling baby;
what's it been? Three years?" Cael asked.
"Yes, you see now, you've made me tear up," Selene sniffed.
"I'm sorry, my love, I didn't intend it that way," Cael held Selene's hand, petting her.
"What are you standing there doing? Get out!" Selene barked at Lyra, who was still standing behind them, listening to what they were saying.
Lyra startled and quickly walked into the kitchen, tears slipping down her cheeks.
Hearing them talk about Veyra with such love and affection hurt her so much; she'd tried getting over the feeling, but each time they praised her in front of her, it left her feeling worthless and inferior.
On many occasions, she'd planned to run away from home, but each time she remembered she didn't have enough money, she stayed back and kept enduring the sufferings she faced at home.
Lyra stood behind the kitchen door, eavesdropping on her father and stepmother's discussion.
"Cael, there's something we need to discuss," Selene said quietly.
"What's that, my love?" Cael asked, worried by the change in Selene's face.
"We can't let our daughter marry a good-for-nothing just because we owe that family a fortune," Selene whispered.
"I know, Selene; I'm thinking of a way out too," Cael replied, sighing.
Selene scoffed, "Thinking, Cael? There's nothing to think about," she said in a haughty tone.
"What do you mean?" Cael asked.
"It's time we put to use that
good-for-nothing daughter of yours; she's the perfect match for a nobody like that man," Selene said, hatred lacing every word.
Cael thought about it for a while before he slowly nodded.
"Good, I thought you were hesitant," Selene scoffed.
"No, darling, just like you said; a useless person should be matched with her kind," Cael chuckled.
He didn't care; as long as it was Lyra, he wasn't losing anything giving her off to a nonentity.
He was saving his first daughter, hoping he could find a way to introduce her into the socialite world so that she would land a rich husband and bring more wealth into the family.
Lyra stood frozen in place as she heard what they were planning about her.
- Writer
