A sister? Bag?
Hera was confused and her confusion was reflected on her face. Her boyfriend was flustered and did not know how to explain.
The woman continued. "She seems to be also wearing the chiffon dress that I threw because of the stain. Did you send it to be dry-cleaned?"
Understanding what was going on, Hera stared incredulously at her boyfriend with widened eyes. "Am I your sister, Alexi?!" She asked her boyfriend with a trembling voice.
Alexi did not answer and only held the woman's hand that was holding his arm. This was his silent answer to Hera, telling her to stop talking and to scram. He is choosing the woman over her.
"I see!" Hera laughs self-depreciatingly. She stared at the woman in front of her. She was fair, voluptuous, and had a beautiful face. She also has an arrogant temperament, as if looking down on everything or everyone.
The woman smirked. "Hello there, little sister. I am Minerva Briley, daughter of the owner of the Briley Food & Beverage Corporation(BFBC) and sister of the CEO of the Star Ocean Entertainment Company(SOEC)." She extended her hand and pulled Hera to her feet to stand face-to-face with her as she gave her a challenging smile.
Minerva was the only daughter of the Briley, one of the biggest companies in the food industry and Star Ocean was one of the leading entertainment companies nationwide. It is only right for her to be arrogant in front of her love rival.
Minerva already investigated Alexi's background and relations. That's why she knew that Hera was his girlfriend. But so what?! Hera is only a poor orphan, she doesn't have the power to fight with her so she does not take Hera seriously as a rival but as a pitiful individual.
She helped Alexi amass resources in the entertainment industry after she made her brother sign him up as their artist. She was the reason why Alexi has millions of fans even when he was just a newbie.
She did not kick out Hera right away because she knew that they never had sex, besides, isn't it best to have a free maid who will take care of her man and even give him free accommodation and food?
She giggled after thinking about it.
It was Hera's good fortune to take care of her man, as her status made it unimaginable for her to be acquainted with Minerva or Alexi.
Hera felt a lump in her throat and choked up. She was bitter about the outcome. She knew that Athena was right all along, but she was being stubborn, thinking that if she tried harder or maybe if she changed. Things will go differently.
However, Alexi still ended up cheating on her, despite all her hard work towards building their future together. Although she felt sad at first, she quickly realized that there was no use dwelling on what had happened and decided to move forward instead. After all, there was no point in crying over spilled milk.
At this point, she didn't feel like she had a choice. She didn't want to force the person to stay with her, so she had to respect herself and preserve her remaining dignity.
But before that, she wanted to ask him this question. She looked Alexi in the eye, her eyes still misty, and asked. "Have you ever loved me?"
Alexi's body twitched slightly, but he tried to conceal his emotions and pretended that nothing was wrong. However, Minerva noticed the movement of his muscles and became angry. She was serious about her relationship with Alexi and was even planning to marry him once his career took off. That's why she's doing everything in her power to support him.
This is a slap in her face, knowing that he was affected by an unknown woman.
Minerva bit her lower lips as she glared daggers at Hera. Seeing Hera's beautiful face only added to her anger. " Bitch! You're even trying to seduce my man in front of my face?!" She put all her strength in her right hand and slapped Hera.
Hera lost her balance and fell, her face swelling from the loud slap that resounded in the quiet apartment. Even Alexi was stunned and unprepared.
His free hand subconsciously reached out to help Hera up and because of it, Minerva's anger intensified.
Hera perceives Alexi's actions as adding fuel to the already burning house. She ignored his extended hand, stood up on her own, and looked back at Minerva.
Is it bad to know if the person she was in a three-year relationship with has feelings for her? She just wanted to know, to pacify her hard work. Or that's what she wanted to believe.
She was curious to know why he didn't break up with her if he was already with Minerva. Why did he have to give her false promises and make her work towards a dream that would never come true? Was he that self-centered?
Hera was still busy reasoning out with herself when Minerva's resentful voice rang in her ear. "Alexi, babe. Why don't you answer her question?" Minerva's face was scrunched up.
Her meaning is very obvious, she is threatening Alexi that if he does not choose correctly, he will lose everything he currently has. His career and the lifestyle she gave him.
As if those are the only things he'll lose or suffer if he answers wrongly. He knew Minerva's temper, she was arrogant and wouldn't accept no for an answer. She is the kind of woman who will not allow others to be happy if she is not happy.
His legs might even be broken if she willed it. The moment he caught her attention, he had nowhere to run and no option to choose but to follow Minerva.
Alexi answered through gritted teeth. "I'm sorry Hera for using you. Having you around was convenient." He paused and continued after he adjusted his breathing and emotions. "Let's just break up."
Minerva shot Hera a smug smirk and put her other hand on her hips.
Hera refused to let the cheating couple trample on her any further. Despite the ache in her heart, she closed her eyes to steady her emotions and held back her tears. She was determined to stand up for herself and show them that she would not be a victim of their deceitfulness.
She wonders where they get the courage to behave so shamelessly. She's expected to be the one throwing a tantrum after being treated poorly, yet this woman has such thick skin. She lost the will to make a scene, it is beyond her to lower herself to their standard.
Isn't Minerva only doing her good deed by taking her trash? Real men can't be taken.
She calmed herself down after coming to terms with her inner turmoil
However, Alexi and Minerva share the same opinion about Hera's silence. They believe that Hera was unable to bear the emotional impact and didn't want to end the relationship with Alexi. This makes Alexi feel pleased as he sees Hera struggling to leave him.
Alexi cared for his career because he dreamed of being the number one best actor in the future and being able to enjoy a life of wealth, it was indeed an accident that he caught the attention of the young miss of the Briley Corporation but after weighing his pros and cons, he decided to go with the flow while he keeps Hera with him.
He really does like Hera but her status brings nothing to the table and he could only hope that Hera, as his obedient and kind girlfriend would support him in his choices because he is doing it for their future. He expected Hera to understand where he was coming from and to understand his decision.
They just need for Minerva to get tired of him and let him go and he is sure that once that time arrives, he has already made something of himself. He didn't have an ounce of thought of letting Hera go, this is only temporary.
Alexi's expression softened as he looked at Hera and said almost pleadingly. "Hera, this is better for our future." This is his double-meaning message to Hera, hoping she gets what he meant. He wanted Hera to continue to work hard so that she'd be more presentable in the future.
But Hera did not care about his message and instead, Minerva understood his meaning. Due to her uncontrollable anger, she called her bodyguards stationed outside.
Once they got inside, Minerva roared. "Throw her out! Now!"
Everyone was taken aback, but nobody said a word. They followed Minerva's orders and started to pull Hera out of the unit.
"I can walk on my own! Don't touch me!" Hera tried to pull her arms, but no one listened to her.
Amid the tumultuous scene, the paper bag enclosing the gift that was meant for her now ex-boyfriend suffered a tear along one side. Subsequently, the gift tumbled out of the bag, descended to the floor, getting knocked around by the bodyguards, and eventually it ended up beneath the shoe cabinet adjacent to the doorway. And nobody noticed it due to the chaos.
She was unceremoniously escorted from the premises, her dress in tatters, looking all pitiful. But that wasn't the end of it. It appeared insufficient; the bodyguards were cognizant that she was the love rival of their young mistress, so they decided to add insult to injury. They intentionally ripped her clothes even more and gave her a rough shove onto the pavement outside, just to make her day a bit worse.