CHAPTER 56: AFTER-EFFECTS

It was supposed to be her day to shine, a day to put her in the spotlight and show the rest of the world that she was an adult.

It was the day that everyone was supposed to know she was capable of handling it, and if there were suitable suitors, it was also time to wait for their hand in marriages, but who knew that everything got messed up simply because she messed with the wrong person?

Nadia deeply regretted irritating Arianna that day. If she had known Arianna would become even crazier after being discharged, she would not have listened to her nanny or tried to get into that commoner's good graces by messing with Arianna.

Because of all the videos that went viral that night, Arianna not only became famous, but she also created a circus out of her family, which resulted in her parents severely reprimanding and punishing her.

The shame she brought upon her family was so great that she refused to leave the house after that night. She tried to think of any flaws she could exploit against Arianna, but it was pointless.

The more she attacked, the more her attacks backfired on her. Nadia was enraged that Arianna had so many followers who worshiped her despite her insanity.

This forced her to confront reality and the disparity between the two of them. It's always been her trying to provoke the other, seeking attention like a deprived child who just wants her mother to notice her.

Even before the attempted suicide, Arianna never looked her in the eyes. She only had one person in her sights, and he didn't look back. Nadia simply despised Arianna because of her crush, who had no idea that she loved him, and looking at herself, she could see that she was heading in the same direction as Arianna before she underwent a major makeover.

She had been thinking a lot about herself for the past few days because she hadn't been to school. At least they didn't make her go because she didn't want to. Nadia realized she had been living her life incorrectly and that this had to change.

Because she was born more privileged than the others, she used her authority to suppress others, resulting in all of the people around her not being her close friends, but people who are only there for the benefits.

She realized how useless these people were when her name was mocked online after the videos of Arianna scolding her and Ruby went viral. They didn't even defend or fight for her like friends do for each other.

Instead, a foe of hers sent her screenshots of some of her friends gossiping about her in group chats, which deeply hurt her. She didn't need this kind of poison around her.

If she couldn't have friends, so be it; she didn't want to live in regret and keep people who were causing her harm when they didn't even add value to her life.

So she went through a transformation and ended all of her phony relationships with those friends, which resulted in them coming over to the house to complain about this and that, but thanks to the tight security, they never saw a single toe of hers.

Nadia also remembered Arianna's grateful smile when she thanked her for everything and how she met her true love at her banquet. This was a major source of concern for her because she had yet to locate the person who had been targeted by Arianna.

But that doesn't matter; what matters is that she was genuine. The other person moved on and was genuinely in love with someone else, while she was bossing others around for a guy who didn't even look at her.

Nadia felt her life was no different from Arianna's in this regard, and because she had seen how things ended for other girls like her, she decided to grow up and take matters into her own hands so that she would not regret it in the future.

This impulse prompted Nadia to make a phone call and arrange a date with the guy she had been crushing on for quite some time. Fortunately for her, he agreed to meet, and because she didn't know what would happen, she reserved a private room at a club.

Nadia dressed up nicely and double-checked that everything was in order because this was her first date. To be honest, she didn't think she'd end up with the other guy.

She had seen photos of him being intimate with this other older girl, with whom he appears to be deeply in love. She just wanted to try her luck, confess her feelings, and put this all behind her.

She didn't want her love to turn into an obsession that would drive her to do crazy things in the future. She didn't want to face an adversary like Ruby in the future in case the older girl became hostile and insane.

The nanny felt pain in her heart as she looked at Nadia, who was all dolled up. It didn't sit well with her to see her young mistress send herself to the gutter in this manner.

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?" the nanny worriedly asked.

"Don't be concerned. I am a big girl, and if I can handle Arianna, I think I can handle anything," Nadia assured her nanny before leaving the mansion.

Before arriving at the club, she drove for about thirty minutes. The manager escorted her to the room she had reserved and brought her some snacks to eat while she waited for the other person.

While she waited, Nadia entertained herself with snacks and scrolled through her phone, reading some news about interesting things that had recently occurred, and it was then that she noticed Arianna happily drinking milk tea at a newly opened café in her duchy.

It felt truly magical to think that one day Nadia will not feel like ripping Arianna's head off the moment she sees her. While she was busy plotting and scheming, her adversary was busy eating delicious food and going to school like any other student.

Nadia felt ashamed of herself; she knew there was no way she could get rid of Arianna from her life because she had become a standard she would have to surpass one day.

Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long before the manager led her to the person she was looking for. Nadia stood up gently, a welcoming smile on her face.

"Please accept my apologies for keeping you waiting. I had an urgent matter to attend to," the young man apologized and explained himself.

In her heart, Nadia couldn't help but scoff. Would he keep her waiting for this long if it was his girl, even if there was something urgent going on? She could already see the difference in treatment and made up her mind to do it as soon as possible and get the hell out of there.

"It's okay, I didn't have to wait that long. Please take a seat," Nadia said, taking her own seat back.

The young man sat opposite Nadia because he didn't want to be near this poisonous girl. It took him a long time to persuade his lover to come here. He didn't want to give Nadia any reason to deal with him in the future, which is why he came to see her despite his hatred for the other person.