VALERIA
Pa! The sharp sound reverebrated through the living room.Due to the sheer force of the slap, my head was tilted to the side involuntarily and my ears kept on ringing.Time seemed to slow for me at that moment and I instinctively reached to touch my stinging cheeks while trying to process what just happened.On feeling the burst of pain coming from the part I touched, I belatedly reacted."You hit me?" I asked, my voice tinged with incredulity as I directed my gaze at the culprit—my mother."Just because I helped Nessa in escaping this damned marriage? A marriage that shouldn't have even existed in the first place?!"In response to my outburst, I saw a flash of heartache in her eyes but before I could barely manage to convince myself that she hadn't meant to really hit me, the words spoke next instantly broke apart my self-deceit."You shouldn't have helped your sister in escaping the marriage! Now what happens when the subordinates of that man arrives to bring her away, uhn? You put the family in trouble and still have the audacity to ask me why I hit you?!""We all could no longer be bothered to care about your rebelliousness and thoughtlessness on normal days but not this time! You have gone too far!"I stared at the woman screaming hysterically at me in confusion and felt that she looked both familiar and unfamiliar. Familiar because I recognized that she was indeed my biological mother but at the same time unfamiliar because the mother I knew always appeared prim and proper everytime I saw her. Even when she was furious, I had never seen her raise her voice at me or anyone else.Not even back then when I had rebelled against the path set out for me had she reacted so intensely.But that aside, her words succeeded in not only making me feel remorseful but instead ignited the rebellious streak in me even more.With a sarcastic smirk, I pointed at myself as I asked, "I put the family in trouble? I did? Are you seriously kidding me by saying that? Because I think all of us here all know that it is none other than you, you and you who are the real culprits as to why this family is now in trouble!" I said as I pointed angrily at my mom, dad and elder brother, the latter two whom had been sitting down silently all along.Anger burned in me as I continued, "As I see it, this marriage shouldn't have existed in the first place! Do you how badly she had been crying when I met her this morning and how desperate she had looked when she begged me to help her escape? Do you really have the heart to marry Nessa to that man who is known for literally being a devil? A man whom the words: Cunning. Ruthless. Sadistic and Tyrannical are mostly associated with? He is called 'Mr. Devil' for a reason, isn't he?! And that is not even to mention the fact that no one had ever seen his true appearance before!""No one has an idea as to whether he is tall, short, black, white. No idea as to whether he is a middle-aged or an old man or if he is an ugly freak with pockmarks on his face! Because why else would not be willing to show his face to the outside world!"Pa!The moment I finished screaming out the last word, another heavy slap descended on my face but this time, I wasn't even surprised and just chose to stare at the culprit with no expression on my face."That's enough, both of you!"My dad suddenly roared out while slamming his hand in the coffee table in front of him. As I turned to face him, I heard him say in a stern tone, "Isn't the mess currently on the ground enough to deal with, yet both of you still have the time to argue and make trouble?"In reply, I bowed my head where I stood but contrary to what would you think, it wasn't because his words got to me but rather because I felt them to be quite ironic. In fact, I even wanted to laugh out loud if the situation permits me to do so.What has the situation on ground has got to do with me? I wasn't the one who planned to sell my daughter for glory!Was it for power, money or maybe resources?Although I still had no clear-cut idea about what deal they had made with Mr. Devil, there was however one thing I understood. It was that whatever it was that he had promised in return for my sister's hand in marriage was definitely no joke.'Why would I think that way?', you might want to ask.It was because my twin sister had been brought up to be the perfect and number one socialite. She was the exact opposite of myself who had became someone even my parents felt ashamed of and was also disappointed in.That was why I still found it somewhat hard to believe that my parents weren't reluctant to marry her off that easily. In the end, I could only attribute the reason to the fact that whatever it was that Mr. Devil had given or planned to give in exchange for my sister as his wife was definitely worthwhile and well-deserved of the efforts they had put into cultivating Nessa all these years!Right from when I became knowledgeable, I understood what my ending would be as a influential and wealthy family's daughter, another wealthy family's trophy wife. Yet, knowing this, I felt unwilling so I tried to fight against that fate and so far, I succeeded though at the expense of my parents growing increasingly dissatisfied with me, and my siblings and I growing somewhat distant.This point could be seen clearly from the fact that if I hadn't happened to hear rumors of Nessa's marriage while I was away with the band on a gig and subsequently decide to return home to see if it was true, I would probably have never known that my twin sister with whom I had shared the same womb would be getting married today!I was deep in my indignant thoughts when I suddenly felt a gaze falling upon me. Looking up, I met those familiar hazel eyes unique to the Hale's. But for some reason, from those eyes where I should have felt some closeness, I suddenly had a bad feeling.."Ria, You and Nessa are identical twins..." The moment I heard those words that seemed to be a bit unrelated to the current situation, my heart suddenly began thumping hard against my ribcage. This was because I knew that he wouldn't have said those words for no reason, especially when there was still an unresolved issue on ground.However, I was reluctant and didn't dare to think deeper into those words. I was determined to convince myself that my brother was just saying that normally.Yes, that should be it..For the moment I even had the slightest thought of digging deeply into that statement, I only felt a deep chill infiltrating my whole body right down from my heels.That was my brother.My biological brother..He wouldn't do that to me.He wouldn't be that unfeeling and mercenary, right?Yet, a voice in my heart couldn't help but whisper to me, 'Yes, he could. He could acquiesce to his closest and favorite sister being married off to someone like that, so why would he reluctant when it came to you to whom he had grown distant to?'Everyone in the room were all smart people, therefore the minute Aaron said that and paused, he didn't even need to say anything more as I saw how the eyes of both of my parents burst out in brilliance as they stared excitedly at me.Probably because I already had an inkling before, my reaction was rather calm on the surface but the gnawing sensation in my heart told me that even if I had guessed the ending, I still hurt.."Yes! How did I not think of that? !" The woman I called mom was the first to stand up and clapped her hands in excitement. Her eyes that shone brightly as she stared at me only served to make me feel disgusted since they made me feel the same way as a dog would look at a piece of fleshy and delicious bone.The description could be considered very disrespectful, especially when the person in question was my biological mother but that was how I felt.I heard her continue saying, "Nessa and you hapoen to be identical twins and most importantly, when we made the agreement with that man, we never specified which daughter it would be!""Shut up!""Mom!"The moment my mom finished saying the.last sentnce, my dad and Aaron both shouted simultaneously at her and for some reason, their reactions made my heart sink.If I hadn't seen it wrong, they seemed afraid and amxious...But afraid of what?Those two weren't people who would lose their composure normally..Wait!What had her mom just said?
Even if I were to die in his hands someday, at least it was better than staying in this den of snakes and scorpions that I call family.After making a decision in my heart, I calmly wiped away the tears on my face before standing up to face the three of them and then I couldn't help but thinking. How was it that I did not realize how selfish, hypocritical, detestable and mercenary these people I called family were all this while?Let's start with mom. She appeared to love her children very much but in fact she loved the luxurious life that only my dad could offer more. Therefore, she would never allow anyone, not even us, her children to disrupt or hinder it. And as for the man in question, he seemed like a stern and loving father normally but was in fact an hypocritical bastard who wouldn't hesitate to sell his daughter for glory as long as it brought enough benefits.As for Aaron... Like the others, today has made me realize that the brother in my memories who always had a warm and
AaronIt should be said that the issue that was hanging over their heads like a sword had been resolved however I knew that none of us who were still in the living room felt completely relieved about it. Myself in particular had a heavy heart as I gazed in the direction which Valeria had disappeared to with mixed feelings in my heart. Unable to completely understand what was really going on, I turned to my dad to talk to him about it but before that, I noticed my mom's fidgety appearance first. I didn't even have to make use of my brain cells that much to figure out what was on her mind, especially when she seemed not to be able to take her eyes off the direction of the stairs - wasn't she just worried and panicked about Valeria's dismissive attitude towards her? To be honest, sometimes not even me myself could figure out the exact kind of person my mom was even with how smart I consider myself to be. But as far as I had observed, she was a person who seeks only what benefits her an
VALERIAUpstairsInside my bedroom, I was busy stuffing my clothes and other necessities into the suitcase when I heard the door open. I looked over casually and the shadow of my mom's shrinking figure reflected in my eyes and on seeing that it was her, I disinterestedly withdrew my gaze and continued with what I was doing. Only then did I ask in an emotionless voice, "What is it that you want?"Behind me, I didn't see how my mom's face instantly fell after I said that but she probably thought of why she was here in the first place and instantly forgot or rather set aside her dissatisfaction with my attitude."Valeria, I... I had no idea that that was what they were planning from the start If I had known I would have... would have...""You would have what?" I turned around and asked in a tone literally dripping with sarcasm. "You would have risked the anger of the man who held your financial lifeline in his hands and the man who would also have that power in the future and told me
VALERIANot long after Mrs Hale left, one of the helpers around the house came to knock in the door. She told me that the people sent by the man I would be marrying were here. I wasn't surprised to hear that my to-be groom himself didn't come since I didn't consider myself important enough to make him who had never shown his face do so now.Honestly, I would be lying if I were to say that I wasn't nervous or apprehensive about the fact that I would be marrying a man I knew virtually nothing about. Nothing except for what the public generally rumored him to be - Ruthless, Vicious, Heartless.There were more, but they all roughly meant the same thing - that my groom-to-be wasn't exactly what you would call a good person.But thankfully, I had a trump card in my hand and planned to use it to negotiate with him. Initially, the trump card was meant to be used to negotiate with my dad to exchange for my freedom when the time came for him to choose me a husband that would help the family's bu
ZANELooking at the woman apologizing sincerely in front of me, I felt close to nothing in my heart. My only concern at the moment was questioning if I had been too rash in making the decision to marry Valeria Hale. True, she might have saved my life a year ago but there are many ways to repay her apart from marriage, no?While I might have no feelings for her nor plan to do so in the future, I however have no intention of being cheated on as long as she still held the title of my wife. And judging from how she had lost her composure just by how I supposedly reminded of whoever she meant, that person definitely held a special place in her heart.For some reason, I couldn't help but think back to a line in the document that recorded the information on her investigated by my men....has been in the relationship only once.Therefore, a good guess was that the person she was referring to was most likely that ex-boyfriend of hers.I was deep in thought when a hesitant 'sir?' entered my ears
VALERIABefore today or rather before meeting the man before me, I had no idea that I even had a special fetish for voices or that it would even affect me that much. The only thing I knew was that after I heard him speak, my insides literally turned into mush and I had to use a hundred percent of my willpower while biting my lips to keep myself from making a funny sound. While I do feel some regret at the fact that he and I had happened to meet at the wrong time, I also felt fortunate at the same time. Fortunate that all I was feeling towards him at the moment was nothing more than pure attraction and not love at first sight.The former I knew would fade over time because although he was my ideal type come true, I hadn't really gotten to know him that well so except for feeling some regret every now and then whenever I remember him, nothing would really change. However, the latter would definitely have been a huge problem.From the time I stepped forward to apologize to the time I fel
VALERIAThe morning sun shine through the glass windows and curtains to land on me. It was my cue to know that a new day had come.Roused from my sleep, I rolled from one side of the bed to another a few times before sitting up on the bed. I then stretched my body lazily for a few minutes before finally getting off the bed and head to the bathroom.In the bathroom, I stood in front of the mirror looking at the reflection of myself while brushing my teeth and before I knew it my thoughts drifted away.Three days. It has been three days since I arrived in Mr Devil's house yet I haven't got to meet this mysterious husband of mine and at least confirmed what he actually looked like. What I was told was that he was on a business trip with no definite time of return but ironically enough, we are already legally married.All I had to do was hand over some documentation to Mr Devil's exclusive assistant, Assistant Michaels whose first name I had come to know was Zane and the next thing I knew