REVENGE OF THE HEIRESS

ANASTASIA Grinning from ear to ear, I stared at the wedding ring on my finger. I couldn’t believe the day I had been waiting for ever since I could recall was about to become reality. That day was tomorrow. My wedding day. Lucas and I had been dating for years, six? Seven? Name it. We dated this long to strengthen our bond and understand each other perfectly. Everyone admired our relationship, especially my stepsister who would always remind me of how lucky I was to have him. And to be honest, I was. After today, I was going to be married to the love of my life. My stepmother and stepsister, Liana, were making the final preparations for the wedding the next day. Their hands moved quickly around the last touches of my gown as they both smiled at each other. It was just us since my father died. We had our disagreement but it was never that deep. They always showed me genuine love and affection. “You are so lucky, Anastasia,” Liana said again for the umpteenth time, her voice with the excitement of a child. “There is no other like Lucas, you have got yourself the best.” I smiled softly as I thought of him, I guess I was indeed lucky. Lucas has always been there for me, through all my downs. We were both business associates before we became lovers. Funny how we crossed paths through a business meeting. From that very day, I was convinced that he was the one, the right man I was going to build my life with. The one I was going to spend the rest of my life with. We had been in this for long enough so I was certain. “I know,” I said. “I just want it all to be perfect. Everything has to go well tomorrow. My stepmother squeezed my hand as she stared at me. “It will be, sweetie. You’ll turn out to be the loveliest of brides.” I glanced down and quickly picked up a shiny, narrow silver silk tie, which was orderly kept on my lap. I had bought it a few weeks back imagining how it would look on Lucas on the day of our wedding. ‘I almost forgot; I need to take this to him, please," I said with a huge smile. ‘I want him to wear it for our wedding.’ My stepmother’s expression became resolute. “No, no, dear. Brides shouldn’t meet the groom before the wedding. It’s a bad omen.” Mother was always this fetish and even though I didn’t care about such things, I didn’t want to displease her but I needed to give this to Lucas. Dropping my face, I looked down at the tie. “Mother, you should stop with your supernatural beliefs, they are just petty made-up stories. I want to hand this to him.” “Anastasia, couldn't you give this to him since?” She asked, folding her arms. She was right, I could have given him this, on any of the days we spent time together. “It slipped through my mind. Just let me do this, I promise to return in time. You wouldn't even notice that I'm gone.” “No way, that’s a very bad idea,” she stood her ground. It wasn't going to be easy to convince her with her superstitions and her beliefs. “How about I take it to him, Anastasia? At least the point is that you want him to use it for the wedding right? So it doesn’t matter who gives it to him,” Liana chimed in, with a smile. Oh, isn’t she just the best sister in the world? Even if we were not bonded by blood, she always loved me like we were from the same womb. “Thank you, Liana,” I said, holding her hand. “Just make sure he understands how much this means to me.” “Sure,” she replied, taking the tie and dashing out of the room while my stepmother continued to check my dress, just to be sure it was okay. She left after some time while I waited impatiently for Liana. I wanted to hear her describe Lucas’s reaction. Minutes passed by and with each tick of the clock, I couldn’t help but wonder why she wasn’t back. The impatience became too loud to ignore, so I picked up my cell phone and called Liana. It rang and it rang until it went to her voicemail. That was highly irregular. She never ignored my calls. She must have been driving or something. I paused for a moment, then thought better of it and called Lucas instead. No luck there, too; his phone went unanswered as well. I tried again, each trial going into voicemail, prompting me to try again. Something was off. I rose from my seat and began to walk back and forth in the room, checking my phone every few seconds. Neither of them returned my calls. Minutes passed, and so did hours. I was already impatient enough. I decided that I could no longer sit and wait. What if something terrible happened? Grabbing my purse, I made my way out of our house. My stepmother wasn't there at the moment, so I didn't inform her that I was leaving. Besides, I didn’t want her to stop me from going because of her fetish beliefs. When I got there, everything seemed to be normal. Lucas’s door was unlocked, meaning he was around. I scurried up the stairs to his room, since he wasn’t downstairs. As I got there, I saw his room door partly open and a strange small sound coming from that direction. It sounded like a lady's voice. I took a step towards the door, my heart unconsciously pounding. My legs froze to that spot when I recognized Liana’s soft, unmistakable chuckle. I remained by the entrance, my hand gripped tightly around my bag as I heard her voice again. "Oh, Lucas," she said in a tone that made me feel uncertain, “I wished you wouldn't get married. How would we continue this?” “Don’t worry, darling, that’s not a problem. Your sister is not so smart, this might even be the best time to spend time together. Move in with us, she’s got too much faith in you and me to suspect a thing.” Lucas’s words were followed by mocking laughter from Liana. “Gosh! She is so dumb. I will take her to the altar and soon become the manager of her family’s wealth, and then I won't need her anymore. Once she provides me with what I want, I will dispose of her.” The words of his mouth and the sound of Liana’s laughter made my spine cold. This was unbelievable, the two people I loved most! How could they? “When we are done with her, she won’t be left with anything. Even Mother can’t wait to drop the act of loving her, she wants us to fasten our belts and get it all over with.” I choked back a noise and slapped my hand to my mouth. I could not even think properly as my heart felt like it was being shattered into tiny pieces. Lucas. Liana. And, what’s worse, my stepmother? Someone who I had considered my mother. How long have they been plotting against me, and how far has this been going on? So the wedding was all part of the plan? I looked through the l space in the door, I could only feel helpless when I saw the last image I could stand. They were on the bed entangled without anything on. They were both naked. This was the day before my wedding. I wanted to walk in and ask for an explanation. I wanted to see their faces when they were caught, but some force stopped me. At that moment, my heart had broken into a million pieces that made my legs weak. I gathered my last strength and turned to leave, quietly walking out of the door, the image of what I had just seen still in place in my head.