Once They Chose Her, I Chose Myself

I drove back to Corleone Estate on Whitton Island. The moment I stepped through the door, I was doused with icy water.

"I'm sorry, Elena! I was watering the flowers and didn't notice you!"

Sophia continued aiming the water hose at me and only set it down after I was completely drenched.

I wiped the water from my face and struggled to open my eyes. I was stunned by what I saw.

The lilies that I had personally nurtured for the last five years had been totally uprooted. They were Papa's favorite flowers when he was still alive.

In their place were dozens of rose bushes. Their bright red petals stung my eyes.

The chilly March breeze billowed past, making me shiver violently since I had just had surgery.

I was suddenly hit with a dizzy spell, and I nearly collapsed.

A scoff resounded from the door.

Antonio and Matteo stood side by side, wearing matching mocking expressions.

"I thought you were going to keep being stubborn and stay away for the rest of your life, Elena."

"Even her own Madre doesn't want her. Where else can she go?" Matteo sneered while balancing a cigarette between his lips, looking at me with disdain.

My heart throbbed painfully.

I recalled the first day I had arrived at Corleone Estate.

Antonio had given me the best and biggest room in the estate, saying, "This room belongs to you for the rest of your life, Elena. No matter who moves into this house, you'll forever be the only lady of our family."

Matteo had grabbed my hand and pressed a piece of chocolate into my palm. "You're the Principessa of our family from now on, Elena. Don't worry. I'll protect you from today onward."

After we grew up, we had to move to this villa on Whitton Island.

As expected, Antonio had remembered the promise that he made to me. He had created an identical replica of my room in the villa's estate.

However, everything changed when Sophia appeared.

At first, she used the excuse that she wanted to atone for her Padre's sins to occasionally work at the villa. Later, she started showing up every day until she eventually moved into the villa.

Sophia broke my perfumes, claiming that they had slipped from her grasp. She "accidentally" misplaced my documents. She also destroyed the only photo I had of Papa right in front of me before she hid behind Antonio, stammering that she hadn't done it on purpose with teary eyes.

The first time I lost my temper, Antonio had shoved me aside.

He frowned and said, "Sophia and her Madre were forced to live on the streets because we helped you take revenge on her family. She's lived a tough life. Her Padre is already dead, and her family has already atoned for their sins. What more do you want?"

"He's right," Matteo chimed in. "She's only 22 years old. She's so much younger than you, so why don't you be a little more understanding?"

A wave of confusion washed over me for the first time as I gripped the torn-up pieces of the photo.

Everything changed after that incident. I was no longer the lady of the villa.

Sophia began to usurp my place a little at a time.

I felt eerily calm as I stood in that familiar but unfamiliar place in my soaked clothes, looking at the lilies that had been dug up from the ground. I realized that I wouldn't miss anything once I left.

I entered the villa and saw my belongings piled up in a messy heap in the hallway.

There were coffee stains on my clothes, and my books had been torn apart. The photos that I had treasured for the last two decades were scattered all over the ground.

Antonio had one arm wrapped around Sophia as they approached me. He looked down at me from the tip of his nose and said, "You should know your place, Elena. You're just a temporary member of the Corleone family. You don't have the right to look down on Sophia.

"You'll be moving to the maids' quarters from today onward. You also don't have to concern yourself with the family business anymore. We're short on housekeepers, so you're responsible for the house's cleanliness from now on. We can talk more once you've learned your lesson."

Matteo tore the teddy bear that Mamma had given me in half, causing the cotton to scatter everywhere before landing near Sophia's feet.

"We won't let you off the hook so easily if you upset Sophia again, Elena."

If I had heard their hurtful words in the past, I probably would have lost sleep over how devastated I was.

However, I didn't feel much at that moment.

"No need," I said in an eerily calm tone as if I was talking about another person. "I'll move out as soon as possible. I'll also leave the family as you wish."

Antonio scoffed. "I see you're determined to stay here and be a useless piece of trash. Forget it. I'll let it slide this time for Mamma's sake. Remember your place next time."

I circled him as I headed for my room, whispering, "There won't be a next time."

Although I had made many wonderful memories in this villa, at the end of the day, it wasn't my home.