The Donna They Threw Away

"Candace." Her voice was sickly sweet. She traced a finger over Cian's abs as if showing off. "Cian's exhausted, still asleep. He worked so hard to help me last night..."

I watched her performance with a blank expression.

"Oh, by the way," she added suddenly, covering her mouth in feigned surprise and shaking her head. "Isn't today your formal introduction? It's all my fault. If I hadn't been drugged... Candace, you're not mad at me, are you?"

The camera panned to Cian's sleeping face. His neck was littered with hickeys, and there was a very distinct bite mark on his collarbone.

"Liliana, drop the act. You know perfectly well who drugged whom," I cut her off coldly, having no interest in watching her charade.

"Candace," she sneered, her mask falling away, "Cian and I have known each other for over ten years. Did you really think you could compete with me? We're not related by blood. He was always meant to be mine. What are you? A charity case. A poor little artist with a bit of talent and nothing to your name. What makes you think you ever deserved him?"

I laughed.

When we were together, Cian had mentioned this "sister" countless times. He always said she was fragile and that I had to treat her well in the future. I once teased him for being so doting on his sister at his age. I never imagined this was the truth between them.

She smiled smugly, then instantly switched to a pitiful expression. "Cian, Candace is bullying me..."

He woke up in a daze. When he saw me on the screen, he froze. "Candace..."

"Cian, don't you think this whole devoted brother-sister act of yours is disgusting?"

Liliana burst into tears. "It's all my fault! Cian, please don't fight with Candace. I'll just leave..."

The moment she started crying, Cian exploded. "That's enough, Candace! If you have a problem, take it out on me! Don't take it out on Liliana! She's already been through so much, and you want to push her even more? It's just a ceremony! What's the big deal if we postpone it? Do you have to be so malicious?"

"We haven't even been officially recognized by the family yet. Who I sleep with is my business. You have no say in it!"

I watched Cian shield Liliana and let out a hollow laugh. "You're right. We're not family yet. Your body, your choice."

My unnervingly calm tone seemed to placate him. "Good. Don't be angry with Liliana anymore. As long as you treat her well, we'll have the ceremony in a few days."

I nodded calmly. He clearly took this as a compromise and hung up, satisfied.

From that moment on, I would no longer care about anything related to Cian.

...

At three in the afternoon, I heard the front door unlock.

Cian walked in with his arm around Liliana's waist, dragging two oversized suitcases behind him.

"The doctor said she needs to rest," Cian said casually, as if discussing what to have for dinner. "After all, this mess happened because of you. Liliana will stay in the master bedroom."

Liliana tilted her head and smiled sweetly at me. Her slender fingers deliberately tugged at Cian's collar, revealing the raw, red marks underneath.

"You don't mind, do you, Candace?"

I said nothing, watching her survey our penthouse as if she were its mistress.

She suddenly stopped in front of my most treasured possession, my parents' only memento—a miniature portrait in a silver locket. "Wow, are these Candace's parents?"

Before I could react, the silver locket crashed onto the marble floor.

Glass shards scattered, scratching across the smiling faces of my parents in the photo.

"Candace, I didn't mean to."

I stared at the shattered image, the only likeness I had of my parents, and a wave of fury washed over me. I raised my hand.

Before I could touch her, Cian stepped in front of Liliana and slapped me hard across the face.