Chapter 2
Anastasia Konstantinos
'It's my birthday next week. You are going to wear this'.
When my father bought me an expensive and beautiful gown, I was stunned because it had been a long time since he last did that . And since the last few days that he gave me the dress, I have been asking myself a series of questions, wondering why he would do that out of the blue moon. The last time that my father got me a dress was roughly nineteen years ago when my mom was still alive.
I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection as a pale smile crept up my face. The last time I was this beautiful was on my fifth year birthday, and that was also the last time I had smiled genuinely and meant it. The rest of the years and until now has been filled with miseries that had me wishing I was never born.
'Perhaps father has changed'
In as much as I wanted to assume that, deep inside me, I knew that it wasn't the case. There was no way he could change just like that overnight.
My attention was drawn away from the mirror to Ophelia, my half-sister who just walked inside my room without knocking. She was graced in a beautiful black ball gown with a strap around the shoulder. The dress was adorned with stones that shone beneath the light, and I couldn't deny the fact that she looked gorgeous in it, especially with her lengthy brown hair falling heavily down her shoulders. She had heavy make-up on her face.
"You mute bitch!" She cursed at me after glaring hard at me disgustingly from my head to toe.
She huffed, tucking her hair away. "You must be happy father got you that dress, aren't you? I wonder why he had to get you a dress when you don't even deserve it!" She fired at me, scowling, her eyes filled with rage.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" She asked. A few seconds passed before a smirk settled on her face and she scoffed as she said. "Oh, I forgot you can't talk." as if she was just realising it now that I was mute.
I felt a sting in my heart, my eyes stung with tears building in them, but I fought them back and just watched her talk. I didn't want to cry pathetically in front of her.
"Goodness! I can't wait for father to dispose you because I really can't stand seeing you around me. The thought of you being my sister makes my skin crawl with disgust. You should just die. Ugh!" She groaned with disgust and threw me a deadly glare before leaving my room, slamming the door hard behind her.
I clutched my dress tightly, a drop of tears slid down my cheek, but I barely allowed it to drop before I quickly cleaned it. I wasn't going to let her ruin my day.
I was barely getting over being bullied by Ophelia, when a knock came on the door, and I rolled my eyes frustratingly. Who the fuck was that this time?
I had not gone to open the door when Dimitri walked inside after he helped himself with the door. He was dressed in a royal regalia as if he was a prince of this pack.
His face brightened with a smile, as his eyes roamed my body for a moment before they landed on my boobs which were slightly shot out and my cleavages which were revealing, and I quickly covered my chest with my hands. I had no idea why father chose this kind of dress for me, but whatever plan he had, I didn't dare to complain to him. I mean, I should be glad he got me the dress, right. That is what I was meant to do.
"You killed the fun. You didn't have to cover it, you know?" His lips curled up in a smirk as he took a step closer. Dimitri's eyes were filled with lust, and I could swear on anything that he would feast on me at that moment if he had a chance to.
"You look gorgeous in that, by the way. I think you should start wearing nice clothes henceforth. You look really good in this."
Am I supposed to be grateful for the compliment?
"See you at the party." He reached his hand to touch me, but I flinched, stepping away from him. Disappointment settled in his face as anger flickered in his eyes, but I didn't care.
After he left, I exhaled deeply. Can my day get any worse than this?
I fondled my fingers nervously as I dragged myself into the hall where the party was being hosted minutes after leaving my room. The hall decor was absolutely beautiful. Father must've chosen someone especially to do this.
It was my first time ever that I was going to be allowed into any gathering, and I kind of felt uncomfortable, but I tried to hold myself together.
I spotted my stepmom, Petrova, talking with another Luna, my father was catching up with his fellow Alphas, Ophelia was doing her business also, chatting with her friends that she had invited, and of course, Dimitri was busy laughing and catching up with ladies as usual. I wouldn't expect less from a pervert like him. Well, here I was, left all alone. Nobody noticed me, and I was thankful for that. I didn't want to get into trouble.
My heart almost stopped beating when I looked at my father and our eyes met, but I almost lost it when he started walking in my direction. Is he going to humiliate me in front of everyone again?
I held my gaze low, my heart pumping hard against my chest as he approached me, and my breath stopped for a second when he stood in front of me.
"Anastasia… look at me." His voice was unusually soft, and I raised my eyebrows, snapping my head up to confirm it was really my father, but I was even more stunned when I saw him smiling at me.
"You look perfect for tonight." He added, and I batted my eyelashes. Did father just compliment me?
As much as that warmed my heart to hear it from him, I refused to be deceived. Perhaps he was drunk and had mistaken me for Ophelia.
At that moment, he was called up to the stage, and he smiled at me one more time before leaving, and I let out a sigh.
My father began his speech which lasted for a couple of minutes, concluding it with. "This wouldn't have been possible without the support of my family. My wife, Luna Petrova, my beloved daughter, Ophelia, and finally, my stepson, Dimitri." My heart wrenched painfully when he introduced everyone and didn't include me, but I had to learn to get over it. How could I feel hurt for not being mentioned when instead I should be grateful that he allowed me here?
While his wife, daughter, and stepson were invited on the stage to show their faces, I was left here in the crowd to watch them with my broken heart. I shouldn't have expected less because for a man who treated me that badly, he really never saw me as his daughter.
"I have an announcement to make." He said, looking in my direction and my heart missed a beat as I swallowed nothing. Why was he looking at me?
"Anastasia, please come on stage." My eyes narrowed when he called out my name.
I didn't waste another second before going up to the stage as I didn't want him to repeat it. Why did he invite me to the stage? Was he going to introduce me to them as well?
Sadly, I could only find out when he said the reason he asked me up here.
My heart pounded hard in my chest and I felt my blood rushing as I waited for his announcement…