On my engagement day, I discovered that my father’s affair partner was actually my best friend. Seeing the two of them embracing in the distance, I nearly collapsed. Instinctively, I reached for my fiancé Parker’s hand, seeking comfort. But I touched only the cold, tense back of a clenched fist. Confused, I looked at Parker. His eyes were bloodshot, his face contorted with jealousy and madness. Before I could react, he charged forward and punched my father square in the face. “Henry, you dare touch my woman? I’ll kill you!” Parker roared. I stood on a busy street corner in my engagement dress, feeling as if I’d been plunged into an icy abyss. My fiancé and my father were brawling on my engagement day, all because of my best friend. I couldn’t imagine anything more scandalous and absurd than this. All the guests stared in shock at the unfolding scene, their expressions a mix of concern and schadenfreude barely concealed by hushed whispers. Yasmin, my so-called best friend, sauntered over to me with a smug grin, looking me up and down. She didn’t seem the least bit flustered, just utterly pleased with herself. “Oh Hazel, why should you have everything handed to you on a silver platter while I had nothing? It wasn’t fair. But now, one way or another, it’s all mine.” Dazed, I turned to look at my mother, desperately seeking even a shred of comfort despite knowing she was another innocent victim in all this. To my surprise, Mom watched the chaos unfold with cold detachment. My heart plummeted. In disbelief, I walked towards her. “You knew about this all along, didn’t you?” Tears streamed down my face unbidden, ruining my carefully applied makeup and painting an ugly, messy portrait of my life. Mom sighed, her expression devoid of the warmth she’d shown earlier at the engagement party when she’d held my hand and told everyone I was her precious darling. “Yes, I’ve known for a while,” she admitted flatly. “Why didn’t you tell me?!” I shouted, feeling like the world’s biggest fool. “What good would that have done? It would have only caused you pain. The merger between our family and the Parkers was never going to be called off. Did you have a better option?” I laughed bitterly, the sound hollow and despairing. “So in your eyes, I’m just a pawn for this merger? My happiness doesn’t matter, loyalty doesn’t matter, and honesty from my own family matters least of all?” Mom averted her gaze, looking towards my father and Parker, who were being pulled apart by their assistants. “Hazel, what do you have to complain about? In this family, none of us have it easy.” I stumbled backwards, shaking my head vehemently through tear-blurred vision. “How wonderful. On my engagement day, one of the most important days of my life, my father, mother, fiancé, and best friend all betrayed me at once. What a pathetic excuse for a human being I must be.” With that, I turned and ran, ignoring the voices calling my name behind me. It was all too sickening. Every single person here disgusted me to my core.
When Parker returned, I had already smashed everything in our shared apartment. The servants cowered in corners, watching me fearfully, too afraid to intervene. I finally collapsed on the floor, utterly spent. Parker casually unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt. The injuries on his face were stark. He looked down at me imperiously, his expression devoid of any guilt for his actions. “Are you done with your tantrum?” he asked coldly. I remained silent, glaring up at him with as much venom as I could muster through my tears. “Hazel, ours is just an arranged marriage. I thought we had an understanding. Who I’m with or what women I play with is none of your business.” Parker’s voice was weary, the injuries marring his once-handsome face making him look grotesque. I grabbed a half-broken vase near me and hurled it at his head. He dodged easily, letting it shatter against the wall behind him. Parker sneered, stepping back and gesturing to a servant. “Bring a mirror!” All the mirrors in the apartment had been smashed in my rampage. A servant timidly brought over a small shard that was barely usable. Parker grabbed it carelessly by the jagged edge and thrust it in front of my face. “Look at yourself, princess. Look what you’ve become. Disgusting. You’re nothing like the refined lady you’re supposed to be – just a shrew! How can you even compare to Yasmin?” I gazed at my reflection in the mirror shard. My ruined makeup mingled with sweat and tears, matting my hair to my face. Black tear tracks streaked down from raccoon eyes. I looked worse than a ghost. “You’re right, I can’t compare to Yasmin anymore. She’s taken everything from me. Congratulations Parker, you get to share a woman with your future father-in-law!” SLAP! Parker’s hand connected hard with my cheek. The force sent my head snapping to the side, slamming into the nearby coffee table. Blood trickled down from my temple, mixing with the colorful mess already adorning my face. “Shut your mouth, you bitch,” Parker snarled. “I’m sick of your holier-than-thou attitude. Say one more word about Yasmin and I’ll end you.” “As for your dad, how dare he try to steal my woman? I’ll make him pay. The family business isn’t in his hands yet anyway. Marrying you was already me doing your family a favor.” Parker shook out his hand and straightened up. His gaze raked over me, brimming with disgust. Just then, his phone rang. The speed at which his expression transformed was truly impressive. Parker’s voice turned soft and sweet as he cooed into the phone, his demeanor suddenly loving. Even though the person on the other end had just publicly humiliated him in front of dozens of people. A wave of nausea washed over me. I struggled to my feet and lunged at Parker, pummeling him wildly wherever I could reach. “You bastard! You said you loved me, that’s the only reason I agreed to this marriage! Otherwise, how could I have ever consented to this arrangement?!” Liars, all of them. Consummate actors who had staged an elaborate farce, playing me for a fool. Parker snapped. In a rage, he kicked me away forcefully. My back slammed into the already shattered glass, the impact sending waves of agony through me and leaving me immobilized. He stepped forward and viciously ground his foot into one of my hands, crushing my palm into the glass shards on the floor. “That’s your own damn fault for being so gullible. I said I loved you and you believed it? Don’t blame others for your own stupidity.”
I returned to my family’s house like a soulless zombie. The servants were nowhere to be found, leaving the massive mansion eerily quiet. My parents were in a standoff in the living room. “Henry, I can smooth over this engagement fiasco, but I want 10% of the company shares in return,” Mom said calmly, sipping her tea as she negotiated with Dad. Dad leapt up from the sofa, eyes blazing. “Mia, don’t push your luck!” Mom scoffed. “I’m pushing it? You’re the one who couldn’t keep it in your pants. At least have the decency to be discreet and not let Hazel find out. You’re relying on her marriage to the Parkers to gain leverage in the company. You could have any woman you wanted, why go after Yasmin of all people? Talk about poor taste.” Dad settled back down, casually smoothing his hair. “Hazel and Yasmin were such good friends. I was just… strengthening family ties,” he said with a smirk. Mom rolled her eyes. “You’re truly shameless. Enough talk – are you giving me the shares or not?” I stood silently in the foyer, tears rolling down my cheeks. So in their eyes, I wasn’t a daughter or even a person. Just a tool to be used for their benefit. All these years of pampering me were just an investment, like fattening up livestock. And now it was time to cash in on their investment. I slowly walked out to face my parents, my expression dead and hopeless. “So why even have me in the first place? If you just wanted a pawn, wouldn’t adopting have been more cost-effective?” Dad’s expression instantly reverted to normal when he saw me. He casually picked up an ornate ruler from a side table, weighing it in his hand as he fixed me with a stern look. “Hazel, is that any way to speak to your father?” Mom watched coldly, even moving to leave. I ignored Dad’s intimidating aura and turned to Mom. “You never loved me either, did you?” So all that maternal affection was fake. All that gentle guidance had ulterior motives. All those choices forced on me in the name of love were just cold calculations. Mom looked me over and sighed. “Hazel, coming home looking like this… it’s embarrassing.” The pain that lanced through me was even worse than when Parker had slapped me. “Embarrassing? Ha! Is there anyone in this city more embarrassing than Henry and Parker right now?” Dad slowly stood and approached me, disappointment etched on his face. “Hazel, you seem to have forgotten your place. We didn’t invest all these years raising you just for you to act so recklessly.” I laughed bitterly, staring at him through my tears. Even his fatherly concern looked twisted and grotesque now. “Of course. How foolish of me to seek genuine family love. I forgot – in the deep waters of high society, there are always monsters waiting to devour you.” Dad nodded, utterly unmoved. “Since you insist on being obstinate, you need to be taught a lesson. Go kneel in the ancestral hall. Have Chen bring the red cushion.” I looked up at him in horror. The “red cushion” was something Dad used to punish disobedient employees. It was covered in hard, sharp spikes that would shred your knees to a bloody pulp within minutes. Seeing my reaction, Dad smiled. “Hazel, Daddy’s in a very bad mood today. You’ve misbehaved – did you think there’d be no consequences?” I tried to flee this hell, but the guards outside instantly restrained me. At Dad’s command, they dragged me kicking and screaming to the ancestral hall and forced me onto the red cushion. The pain was excruciating, tearing through me. I fixed my parents with a crazed, bloodshot glare as they stood watching impassively in the doorway. Through gritted teeth, I spat out: “I will never marry Parker or stay in this family again. As long as I’m alive, I’ll stay far away from all of you and never look back!”
The guards had to drag me back to my room. Late that night, I heard the roar of a sports car speeding away outside. Soon after, someone entered my room. I couldn’t open my eyes, but I sensed them bend down to examine me closely. The familiar scent instantly revealed the visitor’s identity. It was Yasmin. She chuckled softly. “No need to pretend, Hazel. I know you’re awake. Your mom left the mansion, so I came to check on my dear best friend.” I slowly opened my eyes to look at her. That beautiful face was twisted with mockery and disdain. “Why are you doing this to me?” I asked weakly. Yasmin clicked her tongue. “Your memory really is terrible. Didn’t I already tell you? I want everything you have.” She paused, then added with feigned regret: “But I didn’t expect you to be fool’s gold – shiny on the outside, worthless within. Not a single person truly loves you. How disappointing, Hazel. You’re so pathetic.” “But now they all genuinely love me. They’ll do anything for me, forgive any mistake. From that perspective, I suppose I’ve won something real after all.” Just then, my father walked in and wrapped an arm around Yasmin’s waist. Right in front of me, they began kissing shamelessly before leaving together, wrapped in each other’s arms. A hatred deeper than the ocean consumed me, drowning out even the physical pain. I grabbed my phone and sent Parker a message, then waited silently for round two of tonight’s battle royale to begin. Soon enough, the sounds of fighting and yelling erupted outside. Things being smashed echoed through the night. I knew this was my only chance to escape. Ignoring the blood still flowing from my legs, I crawled and stumbled out of the mansion. The mountain road down was pitch black and terrifying. Not a glimmer of light to be seen. Yet it filled me with hope and relief. The frantic escape left my pants completely soaked with blood, leaving a trail on the asphalt behind me. But I couldn’t stop. Just as my energy was about to give out, a pair of headlights appeared on the opposite mountain road. Someone got out of the car and walked towards me. My vision went black as I collapsed into a broad, warm embrace. Then I lost consciousness completely.
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