The Bride Who Died on the Wedding Day

My soul remained trapped in the mansion. I watched Papa and Mamma stay with the spooked Arianna until she fell asleep before finally leaving her room, and I watched Giusto wake up early in the morning to prepare breakfast for her.

Everyone seemed to have already accepted the fact that I wasn't even home.

Suddenly, Arianna emerged from her bedroom, clutching a bundle of fabric while sobbing quietly.

"This is the dress I prepared to attend the Cioffi Famiglia's ball next week… But how did it turn out like this?"

Mamma hurriedly took the fabric from her and unfurled it, revealing a champagne-colored satin dress with three long slashes from the chest to the hem. The remaining fabric hung down in tatters.

Papa frowned as Giusto leaned over to have a look. Their faces turned dark immediately.

"It's been cut with shearing scissors," Giustio said. "It wasn't an accident. It had to have been Carlotta! She must have been so resentful about Arianna ruining her wedding that she sneaked back in the middle of the night to ruin her dress!"

Arianna wiped the tears from her eyes and feigned sadness as she said, "Carlotta once told me that she really loved this dress of mine… I had even thought about gifting it to her… But I don't think she would have done such a thing…"

"Who else could it be if it wasn't her? The home security system is working well. Nobody else could have broken in."

Giusto was furious.

While watching Arianna orchestrate this act of her own and pretend to be the pitiful victim, I suddenly understood why Papa, Mamma, and Giusto all hated me so much. Arianna certainly had plenty to do with it.

She had always been jealous of my identity as the Principessa of the Capuano Famiglia. She kept fabricating evidence of my bullying her or betraying the Famiglia, framing me, and then using her acting skills to point the finger at me and gain everyone's trust.

Every time, Papa would just lock me up in the basement without waiting to listen to my side of the story.

It wasn't until Diego appeared that I felt there was a ray of sunshine in my life once again. Yet, he was also always fooled by Arianna's pitiful acts.

Giusto slammed his fist into the couch cushion in fury.

"I knew that it was Carlotta! It's just a stupid wedding! What's the big deal about it? Arianna nearly lost her life then! She just wants the whole world to revolve around her and nobody else!"

After a few seconds of silence, Arianna's quiet sobbing resurfaced. "Forget about it. Carlotta has never liked me in the first place. It's just a dress. I shouldn't blame her for it…"

"What do you mean, 'forget about it'?" Mamma exclaimed, wiping away her tears in a heartbreaking manner. "I won't let this blow over just like that! When Carlotta comes back later, I will make sure she explains exactly what she's up to!"

"We'll talk about it again if she ever comes back," Giusto said with a cold grin on his face. "There's still no trace of her anywhere."

Papa got up and walked over to Arianna, lowering his head to look at her. "Throw this dress away. I'll have the family seamstress come over tomorrow to make you ten new dresses instead."

Arianna was stunned for a moment. Then, she threw herself into Papa's arms and exclaimed, "Thank you, Papa!"

"Also, Carlotta's room is facing the south, and it gets good sunlight during the day. You can move in. There's no point keeping it empty now that she's not coming back."

Arianna looked up at once, her eyes still brimming with tears. However, her lips lifted momentarily in a sly smirk, and I was the only one who caught it.

"But… But Carlotta will get angry about it…"

"Who does she think she is?" Giusto spat.

"She ran away from home just because her wedding got cancelled. What's the point of leaving the room for her? It's not like she cares about this Famiglia anymore anyway!"

Mamma nodded and said, "He's right. Haven't you always wanted your bedroom to have a balcony, Arianna? It all works out just fine."

Arianna nodded happily, smiling sweetly at them.

I floated next to them, taking in everything with my own eyes.

I had only gotten that bedroom for myself when I turned ten years old, and I'd been delighted for an entire month just because of it.

But now, the room was going to belong to someone else instead.

It was fine. I wasn't going to be returning to it anyway.

Meanwhile, Diego stood by the window without saying a thing.

After Arianna finally calmed down, he turned around and said with a frown on his face, "The Carlotta I know would never do a thing like this. All the rooms have surveillance cameras. We just need to check them to know the truth."

Arianna got flustered and gripped the hem of her dress at once.