The Trial of the Villainous Bride

Leony Harper was in love with the "love" that her favorite romance novels sold her.

Perhaps because she grew up in a dysfunctional family, she took refuge in her desire to fall in love with a prince who would rescue her from all her sorrows and then live her happily ever after.

Well, more than love, she became a little obsessed with the idea of ​​being loved.

However, she forgot that she could no longer live a period of romance in the 21st century. And that, in the romantic novels that were more suited to her current social circle, there were more characters besides the protagonists who were crazy in love.

For example, there were the villains who would never be loved, secondary characters who only existed to help and make the protagonists stand out more with their special qualities, and there was no shortage of vengeful fiancés or vicious childhood sweethearts. In this case, she was a combination of all of those.

Leony played the fiancée, without any major skills other than her handsome face, of the rich and handsome CEO who fell in love with the poor, gentle, and innocent female lead whose mother was sick and had to work hard to pay the hospital bills.

But that role of hers conflicted with what she had always been taught: to be worthy and virtuous.

"Please do not leave me"

In the end, she didn't care about losing her dignity, her name, and everything she had built, just so she wouldn't lose him. She was desperate, she didn't want to be abandoned again.

She tried to crawl over to him but only received a look of disgust and revulsion from him.

On the cold floor, soaked in red wine, she knew this scene by heart.

She had read it thousands of times in her favorite novel: The Moment of the Villain's Trial.

What she didn't understand was why she was in this position.

Was she the bad one? Where had she gone wrong? What did she fail at? Was this her punishment for despising all the extras in the stories? She, like many readers, didn't care how those extra characters felt, even she tended to ignore her scenes just to read the main characters' saccharine romance. That was her selfish escape, but was this punishment worth it just for that?

"Please…"

"For Leony! Don't you have dignity?"

Yes, this was her punishment for living in a dream.

For not facing the reality of it.

"Kamil, please-"

CRACK!

She tried to get up, but her heel broke and she fell to the ground with a thud. As if that weren't enough, Murphy's Law came into effect.

Leony Harper, the proud and dignified eldest princess of the Harper family, was abandoned by her fiancé at the most important charity gala of the last five years.

The gala hosts happened to be busy and security was nowhere to be found.

No one dared to breathe too loudly or intervene among the industry giants.

Furthermore, they also did not feel like taking the losing side just out of a hypocritical moral sense.

It was no secret to anyone that Kamil Mittal had a lover who he loved more than his current frigid fiancée.

On the other hand, Leony was a beautiful woman, but she had a dull personality. She was boring, too proper, too chaste, too rigid. The only outstanding quality about her was that she liked to spend money on her friends like it was water. Furthermore, compared to her younger siblings, her family's support seemed like it was just for show.

Among the most select social circles of the capital, they were betting when she would be replaced by one of her brothers as heir to the family business.

Now, her day had finally arrived. It was the perfect excuse, she could not survive this scene and most likely she would have to go abroad, a perfect reason to place another heir.

The social world would have one of the biggest shakeups from it. One of the most promising applicants, the vibrant socialite flower was going to be plucked and wither before fully blooming. A shame for her, but a relief for the rest.

One of the top future socialites' strongest competitors had died today. Leony Harper was nothing anymore, she no longer had her past glory with her hair soaked in wine, her professional makeup ruined and red marks on her pale skin.

Nor, even if she burned the entire fortune of her ancestors, could they erase this humiliation.

She was abandoned and all these years of effort were erased because of one man.

On the other side, her beloved fiancé now had eyes shining with pure hatred and repulsion as he stared at her. He had decided to end everything today by bringing his lover with him. A sparrow that had climbed a high branch trying to become a phoenix.

The situation was worthy of some popcorn.

"Look at you Leony, you're so disgusting." Every word of his, every syllable stung her heart and made her blood run cold. "I dislike you, so stay away from us."

She looked at them without seeing them, with her unfocused gaze and a pale face. She felt as if the floor had disappeared and she had a bottomless void in her stomach, as if she was hanging on to the lump in her throat alone and suffocating.

Kamil, her childhood friend, her accomplice, her life partner, hers all of her. The only one who had always been there for her when she felt alone, now he also abandoned her for someone... better?

Leony looked up from her and looked at Selena, from their first meeting she understood what her true colors were. But it seemed like everyone else was blind to her charm.

Standing next to her trash fiancé was Selena with a fake look of distress. A beautiful, petite woman, whose adorable little face screamed innocence. She was pure, docile, and gentle. She has a meek nature, with soft smiles and the attractiveness of any man's first love. She knew how to always provoke the protective nature of them, more specifically Kamil, who vowed to ruin anyone who dared to harm him.

Selena, in a word, was a schemer who knew how to act and what to say at the right time. And Leony had lost to that.

Why did she have to end up like this? She had tried so hard… for nothing?

Was it worthless now? Would she be abandoned by everyone again?

It was impossible to survive this, even her family would abandon her too.

Leony gave the trash couple a chilling look as if they had brutally massacred her entire family going back three generations. Was it possible to hate someone so much to the point that her eyes practically burned with poison? Well at this moment, she only saw everything red.

She hated Selena, and she hated her big fiancé, even though it also destroyed her inside.

Without thinking, Leony jumped towards Selena and grabbed her hair. She heard the screams and felt the tugging, but without missing her chance, Leony tore a golden lock from her. Her trophy. If I were going to antagonize a cliché drama, involving a poor, unfortunate Selena who managed to capture the heart and attention of an incredibly handsome billionaire, I would do what I always wanted to do as a viewer: Wipe the smile off the husband-taker's face.

Hit her with the chair.

Scratch it and spit it out if you must, but don't lose to it.

"Let her go or I swear you'll pay for this, Leony!" Kamil's enraged voice echoed throughout the room.

The voice she loved so much, the soft, pleasant voice that whispered millions of promises in her ear now threatened to kill her.

Soon, male strength managed to knock her to the ground.

The physical pain she felt awakened her thirst for revenge.

With no other options, Leony lifted her scratched face, kicked off her heels, and looked at the couple.

He was trying to gently comfort Selena while he checked her for injuries.

Leony couldn't take her eyes off them. More than a decade ago she knew Kamil. She arrived first then Selena. They knew everything about each other, but now she finally understood the phrase that you will never know another completely. You can never rule over another's heart. She was just the woman of the process, not the one at the end.

From now on, they were strangers.

Her heart was torn in every direction and she was hurt by the horrible look he was giving her, it hurt more than a physical blow. Her injured hands were shaking, she couldn't think properly.

She had dedicated the best years of her adolescence to him, she stopped going out with her friends and family to please him, his word was the law and it even mattered more than hers. She had ceded her prizes to him, school notebooks and homework were made by her for him, and her connections were ceded to him, all so that he would stand out more in his family and consolidate his position as main heir. among his brothers.

And while she slaved at her desk, Kamil went out to have fun with his lover freely.

She was pathetic.

She gave up everything and was left with nothing, only her unrequited love.

What a despicable joke.

The socialites of Oreham, the most important financial capital in the world, watched the spectacle from their booth. Some hid more than others, but without fail, they all moved their mouths non-stop while mocking, gossiping, and laughing at Leony.

"You finally show your true colors, Leony! How worthy and virtuous, aren't you better than those women you despise so much with your friends! I put up with you all these years out of pity and this is how you repay me? Trying to harm Selena because of your sick love? Stop harassing us, Leony! Understand your place."

Yes, she was just a disposable pawn to him, she would never be his queen. He didn't want to understand it before so she had to learn it the hard way. And even if she fell from grace in this great room, no one would have mercy on her in this jungle of the strongest.

She was alone.

"Because of the relationship between our families, I will not sue you, but this will be the last time. Use my kindness as a warning, Leony. Stay. Stay away from me. And my future wife." His voice was chillingly cold and dangerous.

Future wife? How funny. The Mittal family would never accept her, society would eat her alive. A simple lover with no history. No one would feel sorry for her and she had faith that not all men were idiots.

She glared at them, and if she could kill them with this, they would have been cremated long ago and their ashes would have been thrown into the sewers. She felt so weak and helpless. She wanted to do something, but she didn't know what. Her atmosphere was icy and nipped at her heart, making her feel small and helpless. She was on the losing side, even though she didn't want to be unilaterally abused and outraged.

"You understand me?" Kamil hissed angrily and impatiently when he saw her vengeful expression.

He leaned down and roughly grabbed her chin. Leony winced in pain, causing him to tighten his grip on her. They both knew that with that force she would leave a nasty bruise on his jaw, but he wanted to avenge Selena.

"You are nobody and you never will be. You only have your family's money, otherwise, you cannot compare yourself in any way to Selena, so stop that haughty look towards her."

Was she nobody without her family? Maybe he was right.

But right now, she was the proud eldest daughter of the Harper family and until the end, she would play her role well.

If they condemned her as a villain, she would be their best antagonist.

Did he want to step on her and destroy her? Let her do the same.

She spat on it and with the last of her strength pushed it away. She grabbed her heel and threw it at him.

"Trash! If I'm nobody, you're no better than me. You're just your father's mistake from a drunken night!"

SLAP!

A black shadow flew at the speed of light and before anyone could react, a hand hit her face with such force that it spun to the side of her. Leony brought her hand to her sore cheek, shocked and holding back tears. The stinging pain spread across her face to her lip and a deafening ringing appeared in her right ear.

The crowd gasped in shock. Never in a billion years would you expect Kamil to hit a woman. He was always so down-to-earth, sweet, and cordial to everyone.

Although they didn't expect Leony to say exactly what she said out loud.

Kamil was the youngest son of the Mittal family, whose partner always stood out in all social circles for his "strong and sincere love." A courtship worthy of a movie. They had a fantasy wedding, flirtation, and public displays of love that made any woman sigh, even the gifts and details pointed to them being the couple of the century. The envy and desire of all young girls! Who would have imagined that suddenly a lover would appear with a child in her arms?

"My God! Kamil, are you okay?!" Selena immediately grabbed his rough, calloused hand, trying to calm him down.

His hand was still bright red from how hard he had hit her. Leony didn't even want to imagine what he looked like now.

"Don't worry about what she said. She's crazy and just wants attention" She whispered to him in her honey-sweet voice as if comforting a child. She blew on her red hand and rubbed it lightly as if she were a priceless treasure.

Kamil's eyes softened as he saw the frail woman next to him.

"I'm fine darling." He whispered to her.

Leony hated the theater they were both performing and she hated even more all the feelings she gave him.

Selena's image overlaid hers.

Kamil had one arm around Selena's waist, keeping her incredibly close to him and holding her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

Leony almost laughed, she almost went crazy for real.

Last night she was the one who occupied Selena's position.

Since when had he started cheating on her?

"Honey, let's not pay any more attention to it. I'm tired, let's go..." Selena's voice became soft and gentle, like a spring breeze on a hot summer day.

Instantly, Kamil's beast turned into a human and he agreed with her. "As you wish, love." He whispered to her.

Maybe it was tiredness, but Leony could almost swear he saw the protagonist's halo about her. She saw the flowers in the background near the couple in love, the glitter, and the choir of angels. Yes, they were destined to be together, a couple of infidels made for each other.

From the first time he met Selena, he always agreed to everything she wanted too easily.

Now it was clear, he was in love with her and every inch of her heart yearned for her. So how could she be so blind? How could she believe his lies when he swore to her that she would never mess with someone like Selena?

It was useless to continue fighting for someone who was not worth it.

Her pride was destroyed and her reputation was ruined. How would she get home herself? The most likely thing is that her family would also disown her and the party of interested parties who were her friends would leave her aside...

The gossip would never stop.

She was tired and the worst wasn't even beginning yet.

Something hot and bitter ran into her eyes. Leony's clear eyes blinked, unable to hold back her tears any longer. It was the first time she cried in front of someone. Regardless of whether they were tears of anger or sadness, great waves surged in her broken heart.

She was always kind and generous, but she wanted to stop.

A distant voice echoed in her mind, a memory that she always wanted to bury came to the surface with more and more strength.

She could give up everything she built for almost a decade.

She had the right and the power to do so.

Yes, she was not destroyed yet.

If she lost anyway, she would take them all with her.

"Even if I'm a nobody, I'm still a Harper."

The unfaithful couple looked over her shoulder as she stood up.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Leony raised her brow. She looked terrible, but the dignity and arrogance in her bones remained intact.

She pulled out her phone and placed a call to the school's familiar public relations number, and contrary to what she always said, she gave her permission.

"Go ahead and publish it."

If her reputation was ruined, so was theirs.

She still had her entire life ahead of her.