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..