Chapter 3

3

I was about to snap back when a roar of applause filled the hall.

Quentin had just won a bid for a pair of five-carat diamond earrings.

He walked onto the stage, the spotlights following his every move.

He gave a generic speech about charity, then his gaze landed heavily on Yara.

"I'd like to take this moment to make an important announcement."

I stood in the corner, watching the train wreck unfold.

"My engagement to the Vance family was a promise made by our fathers," he began.

The room went silent.

"Due to a… clerical error of fate, the object of that engagement was misplaced."

Every eye in the room turned toward me.

"But tonight, I am setting the record straight."

Quentin reached out his hand, and Yara blushed on cue, walking up to the stage like a martyr.

"I officially announce that my true fiancée is the real Vance heiress, Yara Vance!"

He pulled her close to his side, his voice booming through the speakers.

"As for the other one… she was just a mistake. As of today, that engagement is void!"

He leaned down and kissed Yara's hand before clipping the diamonds to her ears.

Yara leaned into him, her eyes flashing with a wicked triumph.

A second later, she put her mask of pity back on and looked at me.

"Sister, I'm so sorry. I know this hurts. It broke my heart to see you and Quentin struggling because of me."

"I tried to leave so he could stay with you, but… the heart wants what it wants."

She gave a small, practiced sob, winning over the entire room.

I watched her performance with cold eyes, stepping back when she tried to reach for me.

She acted as if my rejection was a physical blow, swaying as if she might faint.

Quentin immediately caught her.

"Valerie! She's trying to be nice! Don't be a bitch!" he barked.

Yara looked up at him with tear-streaked cheeks and then gave me a bitter smile.

"It's okay, Quentin. She has a right to be angry. I'm the one who ruined her perfect life."

"Valerie, if you can't forgive me, I'll talk to Mom. I'll give you some of my trust fund as compensation. Just please, don't hate Quentin. He's innocent."

She emphasized words like "compensation" and "trust fund" just enough.

She was reminding everyone that I was a parasite who was now being cut off.

The crowd started buzzing with judgment.

"Yara is such an angel…"

"I can't believe that fake girl is being so difficult after everything they did for her…"

"They should have kicked her out the moment they found the real daughter."

My nails dug into my palms. I took a deep breath and lunged, swinging my hand hard across Yara's face.

"Yara! Shut the hell up with the acting!"

She wasn't expecting it. She lost her balance and her head slammed into the edge of a table.

A thin line of blood started trickling down her forehead.

"Valerie! You bitch! You actually hit me?!"

Yara's sweet facade finally cracked as she screamed at me.

"I thought you wanted my forgiveness? What's wrong? Can't take a little slap?"

Before I could say more, Quentin shoved me hard, sending me crashing to the floor.

"Forgiveness? Valerie, you're nothing!"

"If we hadn't taken pity on you, you'd be married to some hillbilly in the mountains right now!"

He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him.

"I think living like a princess made you forget who you are. I can make you disappear tonight."

I pushed myself up from the floor, standing tall and looking him in the eye.

"Don't bother."

"As of today, I have no connection to the Vance family!"

I turned and walked out of that ballroom without looking back once.