NO ONE'S POV
The warm morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting a golden glow throughout the huge room and onto the sleeping beauty's face.
Liliana's kaleidoscopic hazel eyes fluttered open slowly as she groaned sleepily, turning around and burying her mesmerizing face in the soft silk of her pillow.
The sunlight made her olive skin glow and shine, her long chocolate-coloured hair disheveled and sprawled around her.
She drew a rich silk blanket over her small and curvy body to try and keep out the sun from penetrating the sheet. The other reason is that she is utterly exhausted; for days now, she only sleeps 3-4 hours since she tends to work till night time.
Liliana has been busy and tired these few days, as she has not slept enough to feel fresh and have to face a major problem in the Russo company.
You might wonder what the problem was? Well, there is someone in the company who has been feeding off their important information to rival companies due to which now they are facing critical backlash and bankruptcy.
Liliana still has to know who betrayed the company and gave away the important information making her more stressed out.
The company is rapidly degrading and losing its fame and other important projects and alliances. The once popular and famous Russo company is now slowly getting stripped of its title.
Her phone alarm rang out in the room, capturing a groan from Liliana as she grumpily stopped the alarm and got out of the warm and cozy queen-size bed.
The silk blanked slid down her slender and delicate frame and onto the bed as she made her way to her large bathroom.
She walked inside the bathroom, her feet sliding against the cold marble floor. Elena undressed herself and stepped into the shower and opened it.
The freezing cold water touched her soft and smooth skin, running down her body, instantly relaxing her. Liliana stood in the freezing cold water for a few minute, her body relaxing alittle at the feeling of the chilly water but the stress and strain in her muscles was still quite visible.
Liliana took a shower and did her morning routine. She then walked into her walk in closet and began picking out her clothes for the day. She chose a white crop top that displayed her slender waist along with a black blazer over it and matching black pants with some black and gold YSL heels.
She brushed out her long, wavy brown hair and pulled it into a clean, slick back ponytail, long wavy hair falling down her back.
She made her way out of her bedroom and down the stairs of her mansion to the dining table.
The food was already there. Her step-mother Isabella Russo, a mature precise beauty of women in her mid 60s with her shoulder length blonde hair with pale skin and chocolate-brown eyes, was done half of her breakfast already.
Meanwhile, her dad, Vincenzo Russo, a matured strict man in his 60s with his slicked back short black hairs with some grey strands. He was done with breakfast.
Her older step-brother, Matteo Russo, in his late 20s, with blonde hair styled in a curtain haircut, beige skin tone and brown eyes, was about to start eating his breakfast.
As Liliana walked inside the dinning room, all eyes landed on her. Her step-mother's precise stare, her father's strict gaze and her step-brother's cold glance, all this intense stares sended shivers down her spine.
Her father was sitting at the top of the gigantic dinning table, her step-mother on the right hand side of her father and her step-brother on his left. Liliana sat beside her step-brother.
Everyone's eyes were on her, the tension was so thick that one can cut it with a knife. Liliana felt the tension building, choking her.
Her father cleared his throat, returning her to reality, "Have you caught the culprit yet?" Vincenzo, Liliana's father, asked with coldness and hoarseness.
"Not yet, but I am working on it, she replied with firm tone with a hint of tremor in her voice."
"You are not working as much as you could," he said coldly; black pitch eyes piercing at the hazel ones.
"But I am trying," She protested. Liliana knew that she was doing her best but still, nothing could make her father praise or even mention her in his daily speech.
"Don't argue with me, Liliana. You are not trying hard enough, you are not pushing yourself hard enough. It's been 2 weeks and you still haven't found the culprit. The company is slowly degrading," her father scolded her, his black irises glaring into hers.
"But I'm trying my hardest. I've searched the whole company's information about each employee, but I haven't found anything yet. The culprit is more smarter then you know," Liliana argued, eventhough her tone and voice was firm there was still a small shudder in her tone, a shiver running down her spine at her father's intense glare.
"Don't raise your voice at me, young lady. I am your father and I know more then you. I've been the CEO of the Russo company before you, I build this company working day and night and you destroyed all of my hard work. If I knew that you weren't the worthy of being the CEO then I would have never handed the company over to you and would rather have handed it over to your brother, but since you are my biological daughter, I had to make this disappointing and disapproving choice. I do not want to hear any more excuses and find the culprit in 2 days. Do you understand? Her father spat at her.
His words were like acid, burning through her heart, "Yes, father," she replied, her voice low. His words stabbed Liliana's heart every time. She would never be good enough for him.
"Don't be so hard on the poor girl, honey, she's trying her best," her step-mother said in a high pitched voice making Liliana internally gag at her fake tone.
"She deserves it, honey. Matteo is much better then her, she is such a disgrace to the Russo family's name," her father spat out coldly.
His words strapped Liliana's heart like a sharp knife. She could feel the smirk on her step-brother's face. Liliana wanted to wipe off the cocky smirk off of her step-brother's face.
Not being able to take any more of her father's insults, her step-mother's fake words, her step-brother's cocky smirks, Liliana stood up from her chair and began walking away without eating her breakfast.
Nobody was telling her to finish her breakfast or even to eat something; she didn't expect that anyway. Liliana had gotten accustomed to these debates between her father and herself on morning, in the presence of her step-brother and step-mother.
This was her every morning routine, waking up tired, a cold shower, other necessities, going down, getting insulted, and then reporting to the company on an empty stomach.
This had been such a norm to Liliana already, but each time it hurts more when her father insults her and speaks so poorly of her.