Swapped Billionaire's Bride

Chapter Two

Kara's Pov

I had stomached alot of maltreatment from Miranda and Lily.

They denied me my birthright.

Made me a servant in my own house.

Forced me to live in a basement.

But now, Miranda wants to marry me off to some old man? This was the height of my tolerance.

I didn't care to give him a single glance.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll be leaving now."

"Kara..." Miranda tried to stop me. But she paused in her tracks when I gave her a death glare.

I picked up my phone and dialed Alex as I rushed outside.

Half and hour later...

Alex and I agreed to meet at our favourite pub. It was cheap yet decent. We even had our favourite table which the owner always tried to free for us.

"Something wrong babe?" Alex asked, a look of worry evident on his face.

Alex was wearing a Black shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans. He's tall and muscular.

But to me, His greatest feature was his jawline. I can't keep count as to how many times I got lost admiring him.

"They crossed the line today." I begin to vent out my experience to Alex. He was always a good listener.

"Can you believe they expected me to marry an old geezer while Lily is expected to wed Gabriel Stone."

Alex almost choked at his drink. "The Gabriel Stone?" I nodded my head.

"And who's the old man they brought to you?"

"Does it even matter? I didn't stop to listen to his name. Just that he's CEO of some Tech company... Was it Blow Tech?"

Alex once again, nearly choked. "Blow Tech? You had dinner with Adrian Below?"

I nodded silently.

"Wow, your stepmother sure knows her connections."

"Alex!" I scolded. "Focus here."

"Sorry, it's just I've been jumping from interview to interview looking for a job when Miranda can put in a good wor-" He stopped his rantings after meeting my killer gaze.

It was then that I became suspicious. I always told myself that there's no evil deed Miranda wouldn't do.

"What did she offer you?" I said coldly. The atmosphere changed instantly.

"Listen to me babe, that geezer has what 2 or 3 years left in him? Marry him, and when he dies we can be together at the top of an empire!"

I couldn't control the tears that busted from my eyes. I pulled back and slapped Alex. It was my only response.

"You were the only person apart from father that I have ever trusted!"

"Kara..."

"I don't ever want to see your stupid face again!"

***

"Let go of me!" I was being held back by the real maids of the mansion on the orders of Miranda.

My fangs were set on Lily, I wanted nothing more than to smash her face in.

Miranda smirked, "Darling, I'm sure Lily was just looking out for you. You deserve someone who can give you a life of luxury."

"You mean someone who can give you a life of luxury. I refuse to be a tool for you."

"It's for the sake of the company, your father's company. Marry Mr. Hyde and our two companies will merge."

"With you as the head and me living as the s*x tool of a 60 years old man! Why don't you marry your daughter then?"

Lily, twirling a strand of her perfect hair, added, "Its obvious silly, I'll be getting married in a few weeks. Face it, Kara, we're just helping you upgrade."

Anger surged through me, at this point I thanked the servants that kept me in check, because I would have definitely committed murder.

"Upgrade? You've been trying to sabotage every chance I have at happiness!"

Miranda chuckled, "Well, darling, maybe you should've claimed your share of your daddy's wealth instead of playing maid in his mansion."

"Why? Why me, I've never done anything wrong to you."

"Yes, because you are born to suffer, cursed to be useless. Your destiny is to be our maid till you gets old and die. No body will ever marry a potential barren wife."

That was the last straw. There's so much bullshit one can take and I have had enough!

I've made up my mind. I was done being their pawn. The rage burning within me wasn't just about Alex; it was about reclaiming my life, my dignity, and making them pay for every tear they forced me to shed.

"I swear, I will pay you back a thousand fold for what you both put me through."

I took a vow- To rise from the ashes of my shattered life.

In their attempt to break me, they unwittingly unleashed a force they couldn't comprehend – the force of Vengeance.

I will take my destiny into my hands, I will rewrite my story and reclaim what was rightfully mine. No matter what I have to do, or how low I stoop - I will bring them down to their knees.

The next day...

"Missed a spot, dear sister."

It was the usual routine, Lily standing over me mocking me as I cleaned the place.

I ignored her presence focusing at the task at hand.

"That's right. Mother said to tell you to get ready for dinner with the In-laws." I paused, getting up to speak.

"Relax, it's for real this time around, the wedding is fast approaching after all."

"Fine."

"She also said to tell you to wear that dress she gave you yesterday."

"Okay." My replies were colder than usual. Lily couldn't hide her discomfort.

"That will be all, bye."

The last time I sat at the dinning was when dad was alive. I'd usually eat in my room or with the maids. To think they made me share the dinning with an old man...

"I know what phase one of my revenge will be." I smirked.

"I'm going to seduce Gabriel."

Hours passed and the two families were gathered there. Miranda sat at the head of the table, I was to her left, and facing me to her right was Gabriel and by god- the pictures didn't showcase his looks well enough.

He hasn't been here for 10 minutes yet he was exerting this alpha male aura. To his side was Lily, facing her was Gabriel's only parent - His mother.

I recalled in one of the articles I read about him that his father died when he was just 14 leaving him the company and his property. His mother was not bothered by the business life. Once he turned 18, he gained full control of the company.

After greetings were exchanged, I sat quietly amidst opulence, watching, planning.

Observing Lily and her fiancé, I detected a hint of detachment in his captivating anecdotes.

Conversations flowed as the night wore on. Lily thrived in the spotlight while I waited.

My determination exceeded the superficiality of this gathering. Revenge was a slow burn, a methodical journey to right wrongs.

After I finished studying the target, it was time to act. I took a sip of my whine.

"Gabriel, my silly sister here has never actually shared the story of how you met." At this point - everybody set their gaze on me.

I faced Gabriel but I could feel Miranda's gaze, if looks could kill, I'd be dead by now.

Lily on the other hand, slips her hand and to cross with Gabriel. She kisses his cheek and nods.

"Well, Kara..." I swear I almost cussed when I heard him say my name. I mentally pinched myself to stay focused on the task at hand.

"We met 18 months ago during an art exhibit that was sponsored by my company for charity."

"He came to me with the most cheesy pick up lines. 'Beautiful, not the painting, you."

"Hey, I'll have you know my pickup lines have bagged me eve-" He realised what he was about to say and paused. Lily glared at me. I responded with a smirk.

I was right. Gabriel is a playboy.

"I'm sure you can get any woman you set your eyes on. My sister is lucky to have you."

"Thanks." Once again, he failed to realise his blunder until it was too late.

That was strike two. I downed my whine and excused myself to go to the ladies room.

***

After powdering my nose, I retreated to my room to re-apply my make up. While passing through the hallways, I heard voices arguing.

I smiled knowing who the voices belonged to.

I crept slowly and approached my sister's room.

"You are so annoying!"

"Hey, it wasn't my fault someone appreciates my perfect image."

"Do you know how hard it is loving an ex-playboy?"

"If only you knew how hard I tried to change. Trust me babe, you're the only one I see."

"We're getting married in a week, I will rot before I let that mule ruin it."

"Now what did your sister do? She barely said a thing."

Lily scoffed and stormed to the exit- it was my cue to hide myself. Thankfully she didn't see me.

Moments later, Gabriel came rushing out, Lily!

"Gabriel?"

I stood behind him as he turned to face me. We were standing very close to each other, our chests almost touched.

"Kara, where's your sister?"

My next action caught the alpha male off guard - I bursted into tears and plopped to the floor.

"She-she-she."

"What did she do?"

At this point, things felt too easy. Gabriel was like an open book, he reacted the way I predicted.

He knelt and patted my head, "Stop crying, please. You'll ruin your beautiful make-up."

"You think I'm beautiful?" I sniffled.

"Why yes I do, you're just as gorgeous as my bride if not more. Now tell me what happened, where's Lily?"

"She went out, said she doesn't want to see our disgusting faces, I really don't know what I did, I've always treated her kindly and what do I get? I get scorned and bullied in my late father's mansion."

"Wait, your dad's Mark Coleman?"

I nodded.

"But Lily said your parents were divorced."

"She didn't tell you? We're step sisters."

"Why would Lily keep something so important from me? For crying out loud, we're getting married next week."

Maybe I could become an actress after all this.

I held Gabriel's arm leaning closer until I made sure he could feel my breasts. By the way, I wasn't wearing any bra.

And as expected, I caught him peeking for sec. But, he rattled his mind out of that and held my hand with both of his.

"I apologise on her behalf, this is all my fault, she has this jealousy issue. Now smile and wipe away those tears, " he said as he cleaned off my tears. I made sure we maintained stable eye contact.

"I understand, heck i won't blame her, you're truly perfect and to boot, you're a gentleman as well."

People become vulnerable when their egos are inflated.

"Thankyou for the kind words. Here, I'll help you get up."

He stood up and offered me his hand, I took it and got up only to 'coincidentally' slip and use his rock steady body as a cushion to break my fall. Our chests were touching each other with only our clothes as the barrier.

I felt a rod like object thumping from below his pants. If it's what I think it is, then I don't know what Lily was thinking, there's no way she can handle something like that.

"I'm sorry." I said in an embarrassed tone.

"No, it's fine."

We remained that way, eyes locked for a whole minute. Neither of us moved into the an inch nor uttered a word. I decided this was my cue to seal the deal.

I moved even closer to him to kiss him. Everything was going as planned as I met no resistance from him. Or so, I thought.

"I should go look for Lily." He cut me there.

I understood that I had to play things safe. If I acted too rash - I'll only get tagged as a slut.

I nodded and got up, "Thankyou for the talk Gab. Please don't tell Lily we talked, I don't know what she might do."

"Gab?" He smiled. "It was really nice meeting you, take care of yourself. And this shall be our little secret."

I didn't claim him tonight, but I have 6 more days to shatter this marriage and exert my revenge. Sooner or later, he will fold.