On the day of my engagement, I found out my father’s mistress was none other than my best friend. Standing just a few feet away, I saw them wrapped in each other’s arms. My world collapsed. Instinctively, I reached for my fiancé, Cole Parker, hoping to find some comfort. But the second my hand brushed against his, I felt only coldness—his hands were clenched into tight fists. Confused, I looked up at him. His eyes were bloodshot, his face twisted with rage and jealousy. Before I could react, he stormed forward and threw a punch at my father. “Richard Hayes, you dare touch my woman? I’ll kill you!” I stood there in my engagement dress, frozen in the middle of a busy street. It felt like I had fallen into an icy abyss. My fiancé and my father were brawling on my engagement day—because of my best friend. I couldn’t imagine anything more absurd or humiliating. The guests who had come to celebrate were left speechless, their eyes darting between the fight and me, their whispers barely masking their amusement or pity. And then my so-called best friend, Mia, sauntered up to me, a smug smile plastered across her face. She looked me up and down, completely unfazed by the chaos. “Lila Hayes,” she said, her voice dripping with mockery, “why should you have everything? Why should you get to live a life of luxury while I have nothing? It’s not fair. But don’t worry—now everything you have belongs to me.” Her words shattered me further. I turned to my mother, desperate for some kind of support, some comfort. But to my horror, she was just standing there, watching it all unfold with a cold, detached expression. My heart sank as I stumbled toward her, tears streaming down my face. “You knew, didn’t you?” I choked out, my voice trembling. My mother sighed, her face devoid of the warmth she had shown earlier during the engagement party when she’d held my hand and proudly called me her “precious daughter.” “Yes,” she admitted, her tone flat. “I’ve known for a while.” “Why didn’t you tell me?” I screamed, my voice breaking as tears ruined my carefully applied makeup, smearing it into a grotesque mess. “What good would it have done?” she said, her voice unfeeling. “You’d just be another person suffering. The Hayes and Parker families need this marriage to happen. Do you have another option?” I laughed bitterly, the sound hollow and filled with despair. “So that’s all I am to you,” I said, my voice trembling. “A tool for this alliance. My happiness doesn’t matter. Loyalty doesn’t matter. Honesty within this family doesn’t matter, does it?” My mother averted her gaze, looking toward the fight between my father and Cole, now being broken up by their assistants. “Lila,” she said, her voice sharp, “what right do you have to complain? No one in this family has it easy.” Her words hit me like a slap. I staggered back, my tears blurring my vision as I shook my head in disbelief. “Wow,” I whispered, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “My engagement day—one of the most important days of my life—and my dad, my fiancé, my best friend, and even my own mother have all betrayed me. What a pathetic joke I am.” With that, I turned and ran, ignoring the voices calling my name. I couldn’t stay there a second longer. Everyone in that place disgusted me.
By the time Cole returned to the house that evening, I had already destroyed everything in the engagement suite. The servants huddled in a corner, too terrified to intervene, watching me tear through the room like a hurricane. When I finally collapsed on the floor, exhausted and out of breath, Cole walked in. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, revealing bruises on his chest and a fresh cut on his cheek. He looked down at me with zero remorse, his expression cold and condescending. “Are you done?” he asked, his tone laced with irritation. I glared up at him through my tears, wishing my gaze could cut him like a knife. “Lila,” he began, his voice calm but mocking, “this is just a business arrangement. I thought we both understood that. I didn’t think I needed your permission to see other women.” His words made my blood boil. I grabbed a broken vase from the floor and hurled it at him with all the strength I had left. But he sidestepped it effortlessly, letting it shatter against the wall behind him. Cole let out a low chuckle, shaking his head. “Bring me a mirror,” he called to one of the servants. The staff scrambled to find one that hadn’t been smashed in my rampage. They returned with a small, cracked mirror, which Cole grabbed without hesitation. Without caring about the jagged edges, he shoved the mirror in front of my face. “Look at yourself,” he sneered. “Take a good, long look. What do you see? A spoiled brat throwing a tantrum? You’re pathetic. A far cry from the poised, elegant woman you pretend to be. You’re nothing but a disgrace. Tell me, Lila—what do you have that can even compare to Mia?” I stared at my reflection. My makeup was ruined, my hair a tangled mess, my face streaked with tears and smeared mascara. I looked like a ghost of myself. “Nothing,” I whispered, my voice hollow. “I have nothing left. It’s all hers now. Congratulations, Cole—you get to share a woman with your future father-in-law.” The words had barely left my mouth when his hand struck me across the face. The force of the slap sent me careening into the coffee table. My head hit the edge, and blood began to drip down my forehead, mixing with the mess on my face. “Shut your damn mouth!” Cole roared, his voice filled with venom. “You’re no angel yourself. Don’t act like you’re some innocent victim. You’re lucky I even agreed to marry you. If you insult Mia again, I’ll make sure you regret it.” He took a step back, glaring down at me with pure disdain. “As for your father,” he added, his voice cold, “he’ll pay for crossing me. The Hayes family fortune isn’t his to control. Marrying you was already a loss for me.” His phone buzzed, interrupting his tirade. The anger on his face disappeared in an instant, replaced by a sickeningly sweet smile as he answered the call. I knew exactly who was on the other end of the line. Even after everything that had happened, he was still whispering sweet nothings to Mia. I felt bile rise in my throat. Before I even realized what I was doing, I lunged at him, pounding my fists against his chest. “You liar!” I screamed. “You said you loved me! That’s the only reason I agreed to this sham of a marriage! You’re all liars—every single one of you!” Cole grabbed me by the shoulders and shoved me to the ground. “You brought this on yourself,” he snarled, his boot pressing down on my hand. The shards of broken glass dug into my palm, drawing blood. “You believed me because you’re an idiot,” he hissed. “You’re nothing but a naive fool. Don’t blame me for your stupidity.”
I returned to the Hayes estate like a walking corpse. The house was eerily quiet, the usual noise of the staff completely absent. The sprawling mansion felt colder and emptier than ever. In the living room, my parents were locked in a tense confrontation. “Richard Hayes,” my mother, Evelyn, said calmly, taking a sip of her tea. “I can cover for you this time, clean up the mess from Lila’s engagement disaster. But I’ll need 10% of the company’s shares in exchange.” My father shot up from the couch, his face twisted with fury. “Evelyn, don’t push me!” he barked, his voice echoing through the room. She let out a sharp laugh, unimpressed by his outburst. “Push you? You’re the one sneaking around like a fool, not even smart enough to hide your tracks. You couldn’t keep your mistress a secret from your own daughter. And let’s talk about who you picked—Mia? Really, Richard? Of all the women in the world, you chose her? Talk about desperate.” At her words, my father’s anger melted into a cold smirk. Sitting back down, he ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair, regaining his composure. “Lila and Mia are close, aren’t they?” he said, his tone mocking. “All I’ve done is bring the family closer. A little bonding, if you will.” My mother scoffed. “You’re disgusting, Richard. Just sign the papers. Are you giving me the shares or not?” I stood frozen in the entryway, hidden in the shadows, tears silently streaming down my face. In their eyes, I wasn’t their daughter. I wasn’t even a person. I was just a tool. All the love and privilege they’d showered on me over the years? It was nothing more than an investment. An animal fattened up for slaughter, ready to be traded for their benefit. I wiped my tears and stepped into the room, my feet heavy but determined. When they saw me, the air shifted. My father’s smirk faltered for a brief moment, but he quickly masked it. My mother didn’t even flinch, her expression as unreadable as ever. “So this is why you had me,” I said, my voice low and hollow. “Not because you wanted a child, but because you needed a tool. Wouldn’t adopting one have been cheaper?” My father’s expression hardened. Reaching for the ornate ruler on the side table, he weighed it in his hand like a weapon, his gaze sharp and commanding. “Lila,” he said, his voice cold. “Is that how you talk to your father?” My mother stood, uninterested in the unfolding drama. She sighed, clearly intent on leaving the room. I ignored my father’s looming presence and turned to her instead. “Mom,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “You never loved me, did you?” All those years of soft smiles, gentle words, and careful lessons—they were nothing but calculated lies. Every decision she made in the name of “love” had been nothing more than a cold, strategic move. She looked me over, her lips curling into a faint, pitying smile. “Lila,” she said finally, “look at the state you’re in. You’re embarrassing.” Her words hit harder than Cole’s slap earlier that day. “Embarrassing?” I repeated, laughing bitterly as tears burned my eyes. “And what about Richard Hayes and Cole Parker? Is there anyone in this city more humiliating than them right now?” My father rose slowly, his presence suffocating as he stalked toward me. His gaze was heavy with disappointment. “Lila,” he said, his voice low and menacing, “you’ve forgotten your place. After everything this family has done for you, after all the effort we’ve put into raising you, this is how you repay us?” I let out a hollow laugh, staring at him through a haze of tears. Even his disappointment was laced with cruelty. “You’re right. I have forgotten my place,” I said, my voice breaking. “I was foolish enough to think I could have real love, real family. But I forgot—this family is nothing but monsters, and I’m just another pawn in your game.” My father nodded, unmoved by my words. “If you’re too stubborn to see reason, then it’s time for you to clear your head,” he said coldly. “Go to the chapel and kneel. And make sure they bring the red mat for you.” My stomach dropped. The red mat wasn’t just for kneeling—it was lined with sharp, jagged spikes. My father had used it to punish disobedient employees before, and the thought of being forced onto it made my blood run cold. I stared at him in horror, but he only smiled. “Lila,” he said, his tone mocking, “your father’s had a rough day. Do you really think you can walk away from this without consequences?” Panic surged through me, and I tried to run. But the guards outside were already waiting. They grabbed me by the arms, ignoring my screams and struggles, and dragged me to the chapel. The moment they forced me down onto the red mat, pain shot through my knees like fire. I bit my lip to keep from screaming, but tears poured down my face as I glared at my parents, who stood in the doorway, watching with cold indifference. Through gritted teeth, I spat, “I will never marry Cole Parker. I will never stay in this house. As long as I’m alive, I’ll leave this family—and I’ll never come back.”
Hours later, the guards dragged me back to my room, my legs too weak to carry me. That night, I heard the roar of an engine outside—someone leaving the estate in a sports car. Not long after, the door to my room creaked open. I couldn’t see clearly, but I could smell the faint, familiar perfume. Mia. “Don’t bother pretending to be asleep,” she said, her voice dripping with amusement. “I know you’re awake.” I forced my swollen eyes open, staring at her as she leaned over me, her face lit with mockery and triumph. “Why?” I croaked. “Why are you doing this to me?” She laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, Lila. Have you forgotten already? I told you—I want everything you have.” She paused, then added with a smirk, “Although, I must admit, it’s been a bit disappointing. Turns out you’re nothing but a pretty package hiding a pile of garbage. No one truly loves you, do they? Not your parents, not Cole. You’re pathetic.” Her words cut deep, but I stayed silent. “Now me?” she continued, her voice smug. “Everyone loves me. Your father, Cole—they’d do anything for me. Doesn’t that sting, Lila? Knowing you’ve already lost?” As if to drive the knife deeper, my father appeared in the doorway. He wrapped an arm around Mia’s waist, pulling her close, and the two of them walked away together, leaving me alone with my rage. I grabbed my phone with shaking hands and sent a single text to Cole. Then I waited. Minutes later, the sounds of shouting and fighting filled the house. While chaos reigned outside, I crawled out of bed, ignoring the blood dripping from my knees, and fled into the night. The road down the hill was pitch black, but for the first time in days, I felt something close to hope. When I finally collapsed, my clothes soaked in blood, headlights appeared in the distance. A car door slammed, and someone ran toward me. Before I could see who it was, I fell into their arms and lost consciousness.
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