Five

THE DAY THAT FOLLOWED WERE PURE CHAOS. A month after the announcement of my break up with Jacob, plus his sudden engagement with Cecilia right after the bat, their wedding happened, but I was absent. It was like a public mockery to me, and I couldn't handle it.

Not because of a feeling of love, because they weren't present, but because of the friendship I thought we had built. The fact that it was hard to find the right guy. And of course, the betrayal, and how shameless Jacob was.

My birthday masquerade ball was also postponed because I wasn't feeling it. And no one judged since everyone thought it was because I was heartbroken or some shit like that. Which again, was not the case.

Then half a month after the wedding, when the day I chose for the ball to happen came, like a bomb, Cecilia came back from her honeymoon, and came to visit us alone. Just to bring the not-so-shocking news of her pregnancy.

The only shocking part was the fact that the whore was three months pregnant. Which meant that I was right and they had been fucking way before I caught them. It made me so nauseous that I almost threw up. And wasn't even the worst part.

Everyone was happy with it as if she has never done anything wrong. And they expected me to be like that as well. What a joke!

"You should congratulate your sister for the baby, Hope Ariella Bissonnette!" Dad yelled at me, annoyed by my distaste.

I scoffed bitterly, "I don't think so!"

He held his hand higher, ready to slap me, but I held his wrist before the impact and he gasped. "How dare you?"

"How dare YOU beat the only daughter you have who's not a bastard!" The boys, Cecilia, and Lorena gasped. "What am I supposed to congratulate this project of a whore for?" I scoffed. "Oh, yeah, dear sister, congratulations on the fact that you fucked around and got found out! Oh, no, better yet. Congratulations on seducing my fiancée, both with your honey words and with this languid body of yours. I bet his bed loved to be warmed up by you. How does it feel, hm? To fuck a man who's not yours, make him get you pregnant out of wedlock, then steal him from who he was supposed to be? How is it to be a whore like your mother? She seems to have taught you well!" I only felt the impact when my dad kicked me in my ribs until my back hit the wall.

I'm sure it broke something!

"You are bitter because it's the truth!" I spilled. "Not that you would care, father. Since you, like Jacob, don't know how to be loyal. You were fucking a whore, while married to my mother, the most amazing woman in the world. You let yourself be bewitched by this bitch, and your bastards until my mother died and they did their best to take everything away from…" I gasped. "From me! Including my fiancée. You are a bunch of greedy sons of a bitch!"

Quickly like lightning, Leopold was right next to me, thanks to the fact that he uses his magic for speed. Then he kicked me thrice on the ribs with all his strength and I coughed blood, but I didn't stop smiling.

"Yes. Do that. Beat me. Break my ribs. I'll be glad to expose to the entire Kingdom that this fake family is fucking toxic. And that the patriarch is so useless, that he lets a whore and her bastards take over the…" I couldn't finish as dad came and kicked me in the mouth.

"Tsk. You and your poisonous tongue! Can't even stop trying to degrade us on such an important day for us!"

Kaio, who was the farthest away from me came closer with a psychotic grin, "You do indeed speak dirty like a whore!" Then he kicked me in the head and I fell unconscious.

𖣘𖣘𖣘

When I opened my eyes, I saw three familiar faces. Marianne Gordon, the maid who was like a mom to me as I was growing up; Thomas Goethals and Dean Van Loon, the two physicians with healing magic under my dad, who almost weekly had to take care of the injuries my dad and the boys caused on me. And for them to be here together, my state must have been ugly.

"My Lady," it was good to hear Marianne's sweet voice. "Are you conscious?" She probably asked to be sure, since I had sleep-walking/talking episodes before. And from all she told me, I took it from my mom.

"Hm!" I mumbled and she slowly and very carefully helped me sit up. Then I turned to the physicians who were fond of me already. "Was it bad?"

They nodded, worried. "We told you to stay shut before, Lady Hope. You know that the more you talk back at them, the more they will hurt you," Thomas said with his eyebrows arched, and I could tell he was sad by the gleam in his eyes.

"We've been healing you for around three hours and a half. That crazy Count always used too much strength on you when he does this, and it's hard to heal. You had eight broken ribs, a broken nose, and a sprained jaw," Dean sighed. "And to make it worst, today is the day of your birthday ball. How could they do this?" He sounded annoyed.

Marianne gulped, "What caused them to do this to you this time, my Lady?"

Sigh. "They wanted me to congratulate Cecilia for being pregnant with Jacob. And worst, she's with three months," even the physicians gasped in dismay. "I just couldn't handle it! Especially because she came today purposely just because it's the day of my long waited ball. She's probably planning on stealing the spotlight from me!"

"Can't you do something to that cunt?" She hates her as much as I do, which is comfortable.

I passed my fingers through my hair, "I could make use of a memory wizard. Then they could put light on the memories of one of my Knights or the Butler, or even on mine since we all saw them. And then we could make everyone present see what she did because that isn't edited with magic."

They all gasped at my audacity. "I'm afraid your father might freak out!"

"That's the dangerous part of it! And I don't know what to do regarding that. I could run away for a while. Because if I do that and stay here, he might kill me. That might be my best chance to get revenge on them for it since it's still fresh on people's minds. And Cecilia deserves a lesson for doing what she did!"

They shared a worried gaze, "If I didn't live in the Castle, I would offer you my place to stay!" Marianne said petting my hair kindly.

"Me too!" The physicians said together.

"That's alright and I appreciate it. But I'll find a way. And most importantly, I'll have to drink a little bit just to help me let it all out," the good thing is that I'm already an adult so no one can complain if I drink alcohol or not.