Chapter2
1059 Words
Alina stormed through the hallway, her chest tight, her thoughts a storm. Everything she had believed about her life was a lie. Every comforting word, every small indulgence… a trap.
She needed answers. Someone she could confide in. And the only person she thought could give them, the woman who had raised her, was the one she needed to confront.
She burst into Fiona’s study. “I need to talk to you!” Her voice shook with anger, a mixture of fear and fury.
Fiona looked up from her desk, eyes wide, lips curved in a carefully measured smile. “Of course, my dear. Sit, sit. Tell me… what’s troubling you?” Her voice was silk over steel.
Alina’s hands trembled, but she forced herself to stay upright. “I want the wedding cancelled.” Her voice cracked on the word.
"Why?" Fiona asked nonchalantly. She thought Alina was probably throwing tantrum about something she didn't like about the wedding. And that wouldn't be the first time.
Alina, with tears in her eyes and voice explained how she eavesdropped and heard the conversation between Liam and Bryer.
Fiona gasped, placing a delicate hand over her chest. “Alina, that’s… shocking! I cannot believe Bryer—”
“Stop it!” Alina shouted. “Stop pretending! I know everything. Don’t act like you’re innocent!”
Before Fiona could recover, the door opened. Bryer stepped in, flawless as ever, her expression carefully neutral.
“Alina?” she said softly.
"Have you seen your dress? Did you like it?" Bryer asked looking all kind and sweet like she was the best sister in the world.
Fiona’s smile sharpened. “She already knows, Bryer. She eavesdropped.”
Bryer’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I see.” She turned, glancing once at Alina before leaving. “I’ll inform Liam.”
The sound of the door clicking behind her left Alina cold and trembling. She whirled back to Fiona, fury and disbelief burning in her chest.
“Why, Fiona?” she demanded, her voice low and dangerous. “Why are you doing this to me? You’ve never loved me, have you?”
Her stepmother’s kindness, the freedom she’d been granted, the way Bryer was always scolded instead of her was all a lie.
Alina felt stupid and used.
It wasn't even that she didn't have people who advised her against Fiona and her daughter. It was just her, she was really foolish.
Fiona’s expression darkened, and her voice dropped to a sharp, cruel edge. “You’re an i***t, Alina. Just like your mother who was also foolish and she paid the price. If you want to survive… you’d better cooperate.”
Alina’s stomach turned. The woman she had trusted, the one person she had thought protected her… was her enemy.
The door opened again. Liam stepped in, Bryer behind him, both faces calm, almost casual. But the cold precision in Liam’s gaze made Alina’s blood run cold.
“Plans have changed,” he said, voice steady, but dangerous. “Now that you know the truth… adjustments must be made.”
Alina froze, what's that even supposed to mean? Her heart pounded in her ears. She was trapped in a web of lies, betrayal, and danger. Every ally she thought she had vanished in that instant. And for the first time, she realized: she was utterly alone.
Alina cornered, could clearly see the faces of her enemies. She was really heartbroken and prayed for the first time in a very long time in her heart that God should show her mercy .
Alina realized she had been played.
But really,... what kind of bride weds with a blue hair?!
Bryer started laughing hysterically.
"I trusted you and sincerely took you as my sister", Alina shouted.
"That's because you are stupid." Bryer retorted.
Ignoring the disbelieving look on Alina's face, she continued.
"And... newsflash," She paused dramatically.
"Your dad is my dad so I'm literally your sister."
"What?" Alina couldn't believe her ears. Bryer is two years older than she is. And according to her mother, her father proposed two days after she told him she was pregnant.
Did her father have an affair with her mother while been in a relationship with Fiona?
Why did her father not tell her about it?
Did her mother know about Fiona and daughter?
Alina had hundreds of questions in her head with no answers.
"Also, Liam is my fiancé not yours. And this is certainly my wedding ceremony not yours."
"What? Liam it's not true, is it?" Alina turned asking Liam.
"I love Liam and he loves me. We've always been in love since the first day of high school and we'll always be in love." Alina said in denial.
"Bryer is the woman I love. I'm in love with her and will always do." Liam said.
Then he turned to Bryer with so much sincerity, "I love you."
Alina was dumbfounded. At some point she thought she was going to die. She couldn't breathe.
The guy she fell in love with and loved so much said he loved her sister and not her.
"Does dad know about all this too? Does he know you're trying to get rid of me?" Alina asked.
This time, it was Fiona who replied.
"Your father betrayed me. He got me pregnant and told me he couldn't marry me because he has to marry whoever his father chose for him."
"Then two years later he married your mother. I got your father to employ me as his personal assistant after threatening him to go tell his wife, your mother, about Bryer and I." Fiona continued.
"I couldn't bear to see your mother having him to herself all the time. Then I became your mother's friend and the rest is history." Fiona said.
"What history? I need to know." Alina screamed.
"We need to go prepare for the wedding." Liam said.
"We can keep her locked here until after the ceremony. By then Mr Williams will be herer with the transfer papers.", he continued.
Mr Williams? As in her father's lawyer?
At that point she couldn't even be bothered anymore who was on her side and who wasn't.
She needed to escape and that's all that mattered.
And of course the wedding wasn't hers. She wasn't the bride, she was the clown.
- Writer
