VELVET VENGEANCE: TO RUIN A DYNASTY

(ARIA'S POV)

(Nighttime, Cleave Hotel)

I cannot believe that I am actually serving drinks. I dropped the tray on the counter with a frustrated groan. This was already my twentieth serving, but Ivory still showed no signs of swapping me out like she did the others. I did not pick a fight, though. I was way too tired to give her another slap to the face.

Just as I was sitting by the snack stand, waiting for my tray to be handed over, my sweet sister Vivienne came with her friends.

"Ohm, Vivienne, is this the Aria?" a girl standing beside Vivienne said, her nose almost flying into the air.

"Well," Vivienne, a melon seed-faced girl with cute black eyes, a slender and petite body that seemed to break from just a touch, with her sticky and magnetic voice and her gentle character, Vivienne was the literal definition of an angel, but in my language, she is just a top-tier green lotus bitch.

"Sister, why are you doing this? I thought you had forgiven me and my mother. Why are you doing this to me?" Vivienne held my hands and burst into tears, shocking everyone and me, especially me, who did not have a single clue what she was talking about.

"What forgiveness? When did Amanda and I ever discuss such a term?" I was still in shock at Vivienne's weird behaviour when a sharp pain shot through my hand, which she held, my skin almost tearing apart; pained, I pulled my hand away slightly, but Vivienne suddenly fell backwards towards the floor.

"Eh"

"What in the k-drama is this?" I stared at Vivienne stupidly, internally asking myself when my father would show up so I could leave the show, but a force turned my head sideways.

"You heartless wench, who do you think you are? You pushed Vivienne down so hard, are you trying to kill her?" a loud voice almost ruptured my eardrums as a tall, handsome guy towered in front of me.

I had wanted to respond with a slap, but my eyes froze when I saw the face of the person, Kim!

If there is anything like a childhood friend, I guess mine will be Kim, since I was born, Kim had been my friend, hell no, we were even born on the same day and in May and June respectively, once, our mothers even joked that we were going to make a good couple.

He was my first ever friend, brother, lover, crush and fantasy until... my mother died and everything went boom! Kim never came by again to the house, no calls, no text, no messages, he even changed schools, and now, after more than a decade of cutting contact, he slaps me for a girl he barely even knows!

"Aria, I have been hearing all about you from Vivienne, but I always trusted you, but now, I see you for what you truly are, a shameless and ungrateful, unforgiving monster."

"Vivienne, honey, are you okay?" Amanda rushed towards us, her face mixed with worry and pain. "Aria, if you wanted to hit someone, I have told you numerous times to hit me instead. Why would you target my poor daughter, who has done nothing but be kind to you?" Amanda began her round of sorrowful acting, making me almost go mad.

The most frustrating thing was not even the acting skills; it was the fact that everyone was actually believing them.

"I know Aria that I had married your father just a week after my best friend, your mother died but that was for your own good, I wanted to take care of you, I wanted to be by the side of my friend's last offspring in this world, I wanted to fight for you,, I admit, I was insensitive, I never taught how a six year old would have handled that news, I am so sorry, can't you understand me?"

(ABBY'S POV)

What the hell? The tequila shot that entered my mouth almost came back right out as I heard Amanda, Martin's wife, say.

"Is she a woman for real? You shamelessly married your best friend's husband a week after her death, her burial and mourning days have not even been concluded. You gave birth two months after your wedding and kicked the so-called child you swore to take care of to a community hospital and nursery immediately after your marriage, what a liar.

Respect!

What a good joke!

Why did you not respect her memories and her marriage? You have to be part of the family to care for her daughter; are caretakers and nannies a joke to you?

I scoffed at the absurdity of the women crying pitifully, and for the first time, genuinely thanked my best friend for dragging me here to be a shield. How else would I have gotten such entertainment?

Speaking of which, where the heck is Damien?

(ARIA'S P OV)

"Is my father even going to be here? He is not, right?" My voice was not loud, but since I was the object of focus, everyone pretty much heard me.

Their reactions?

They all laughed out loud, looking at me in contempt, my heart finally sank as I took in all their faces, half of them I knew as strangers, the other half I knew as friends but now, no one was by my side, for the first time in my 20 years of life, I knew that I was alone.

Of course, the realization was not funny, tears coated my eyes and threatened to fall, and broke the one promise I made to myself, never to cry in front of my enemy!

"Stupid bitch," the girl standing beside Vivienne took one of the drinks from a nearby tray and raised it at me. I closed my eyes, waiting for the cold and sticky wine, but after, some time, nothing happened, but I did hear a scream. I opened my eyes, but all I could see was a tall back blocking me, while the girl next to Vivienne was shrieking like a madwoman.

"Leave, there is no place for you here." His magnetic and dewy voice rang in my ears even though he was not even facing me.

I didn't bother thanking him; most favours are better expressed in action than words.

"My name is Aria, what's yours?"

"Damien." After some time, he replied. With a smug glance at Vivienne, I nodded and dropped the trays on the counter. "Amanda, never again." And walked out.

However, a strange feeling came over me as I walked past Damien.

"Would I ever see him again?"