Chapter2
1139 Words
The elevator dinged, and she stepped out into the elegant hallway. She swiped the key card and pushed open the suite door.
The lights were dim, the air thick with an unfamiliar scent—expensive perfume mixed with something more… intimate.
Her heart skipped, something felt wrong.
She took a step inside, and that’s when she heard it—soft whispers, a giggle. A woman’s voice.
A voice she knew all too well.
Raquel.
Anaya’s stomach clenched.
Slowly, she stepped further inside.
And then she saw them.
Phillip, Raquel, tangled together in bed.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Phillip was shirtless, his hands gripping Raquel’s waist. Raquel, wearing nothing but a silk robe, leaned over him, her lips inches from his.
Anaya felt like the ground beneath her had shattered.
“What the hell is this?” Her voice rang through the room, sharp and raw.
Phillip’s head snapped toward her, his eyes wide with shock.
“Anaya—”
Raquel, however, just smirked and leaned back against the pillows, making no attempt to cover herself. “Well, that was faster than I expected.”
Anaya’s hands clenched into fists. “You… You disgusting—”
Phillip scrambled out of bed, grabbing his shirt. “Anaya, listen. It’s not what it looks like!”
She let out a bitter laugh. “Oh? So, you accidentally ended up in bed with my sister?”
Raquel stretched lazily. “Half-sister,” she corrected. “And really, Anaya, don’t be so dramatic. You should’ve known this would happen sooner or later.”
Anaya’s vision blurred with rage. “You planned this?”
Raquel grinned. “Oh, I didn’t have to, phillip came to me”.
Phillip turned to Raquel, panic in his eyes. “Raquel, shut up!”
But it was too late.
Anaya took a shaky step back, her entire body trembling. “You… were sleeping with her this whole time?”
Phillip sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Anaya, I……”
“I don’t want to hear it!” Her voice cracked. “How long?” He hesitated.
Raquel smirked. “Six months.”
Anaya’s stomach churned, siix months, half a year of lies, of him kissing her while loving someone else.
“You betrayed me,” she whispered, her voice almost lost in the roaring storm inside her.
Phillip stepped forward. “Anaya, please—”
She slapped him, hard. The sound of the slap echoed in the room.
He stumbled back, shock on his face.
“You are a liar,” she hissed. “A coward.”
Raquel chuckled. “Oh, Anaya. Always so righteous. Maybe if you weren’t so *boring*, he wouldn’t have come to me.”
Anaya turned to her, her fury like wildfire. “You are the most vile person I have ever known.”
Raquel only yawned. “And yet, I’m the one in bed with your fiancee “ Something inside Anaya snapped.
She grabbed the vase on the bedside table and hurled it at the wall. It shattered into a hundred pieces, Phillip flinched.
Raquel’s eyes widened before she laughed. “Oh, now this entertaining.”
Anaya turned on her heel and stormed out.
Tears burned her eyes as she drove home. Her hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white.
She needed to tell her parents, She had to.
The Hawthorn estate was silent when she arrived. The mansion loomed over her like a monument of betrayal.
She stormed inside, her heels echoing through the grand hallway.
“Mother! Father!” Her voice rang out, filled with urgency.
A moment later, Richard Hawthorn stepped out of his study, his expression annoyed. “Anaya, what is all this shouting—”
Her mother, Evelyn Hawthorn, appeared next to him, frowning. “What’s wrong?”
Anaya’s chest rose and fell rapidly. “It’s Raquel.”
Richard sighed. “What has she done now?”
“She slept with Phillip!” Anaya’s voice cracked. “My fiancé. They’ve been together for six months!”
Evelyn gasped, covering her mouth. “Oh, my God.”
Richard, however, simply closed his eyes and exhaled. “Anaya, calm down.”
She gaped at him. “Calm down?! You knew, didn’t you?”
He didn’t answer.
That was enough.
“You *did* know!” she whispered. “And you did nothing.”
Richard’s gaze was cold. “Anaya, it’s time you understood something. This family runs on power, not emotions. Phillip is a good businessman. And if he chose Raquel over you, then maybe you weren’t suited for him.”
A sharp pain stabbed her chest. “You’re defending them?”
Evelyn stepped forward. “Richard, she’s our daughter!”
Richard looked at Anaya, his expression unreadable. “Raquel will inherit this company one day. You need to stop acting like you’re her equal.”
Anaya felt the final c***k in her heart, Her own father had chosen Raquel, Just like Phillip had, Just like everyone always did.
Tears burned her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Instead, she straightened, her voice eerily calm. “I will never forgive you for this.”
Richard didn’t flinch. “Then don’t.”
She turned and walked away, each step taking her further from the family that had never truly been hers.
But deep inside, something changed, she would not be weak.
Not anymore.
Anaya stood in the center of the grand living room, her heartbeat thudding loudly in her ears. Her father, Mr. Hawthorn, stood with his arms crossed, his expression dark with disappointment. Her mother, Mrs. Hawthorn, sat rigidly on the sofa, her lips pressed into a thin line. And across from her, Raquel stood close to Phillip, her smirk barely concealed.
“You dare bring such filth into this house?” Mr. Hawthorn’s voice boomed, making Anaya flinch.
“I’m telling the truth,” Anaya said, her voice trembling but firm. “Phillip and Raquel—”
A stinging slap landed on her cheek before she could finish. The force sent her head snapping to the side, and for a moment, all she could hear was the ringing in her ears.
“Enough!” Mrs. Hawthorn’s voice was shrill with anger. “You will not spread such disgusting lies about your own sister-in-law!”
Anaya’s skin burned, but she refused to touch her cheek, Instead, she stared at her mother in disbelief.
“I’m not lying,” she whispered.
Raquel gasped dramatically, placing a hand on her chest as if deeply wounded. “Oh, Anaya, how could you say such cruel things about me? I have always loved you like a sister.”
Phillip chuckled, shaking his head. “Jealousy doesn’t suit you, darling. Just because I don’t love you doesn’t mean you have to ruin other people’s lives.”
- Writer
