Chapter 14–A Living Nightmare
Emelia’s POV
There was no way in hell Bernadette just said what I thought she did. Right? She didn’t just suggest that Lily live in my home? So my husband could take care of her?
Could Bernadette see the smoke coming out of my ears? Could she tell that it felt like she’d just slapped me in the face?
“No, absolutely not!” I said in an exasperated tone. That is out of the question and completely out of line!”
Bernadette rolled her eyes at me and diverted her attention to Victor. “Oh, come now, dearest son. You don’t think I’m being unreasonable, do you?”
Victor avoided my gaze that I was burning into him. His lips pushed into a thin line as he hesitated to give an
But I knew him better–1 knew exactly what he was going to say. Just the suspense of waiting for him to confirm my suspicions made me want to vomit.
Victor sighed. “No, mother. You’re not being unreasonable
“Oh, Victor!” Lily squealed. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. This is going to be so exciting! It’ll be just like when we used to have sleepovers when we were kids!”
Victor smiled tentatively at Lily but shifted his gaze towards me. His eyes were ridden with guilt as his smile faded.
I threw daggers in his direction, unmoved by his sullen expression.
“Oh, how exciting! I’m so happy to see you and Lily so close again,” Bernadette cheered. “We should celebrate! There’s a brand new steak restaurant that just opened up in the city. It’ll be my treat!”
“You are unbelievable!” I hissed at Victor. The venom of betrayal spread throughout my body as I shoved past him, and stormed up the stairs.
It’s like everything I’d told him didn’t matter to him!
Lily continued to cheer and celebrate despite my earlier refusal. Of course she was happy she got her way!
Bernadette scoffed. “What a spoiled brat you’ve married, Victor! You need to make sure you watch out for that wife of yours. Now that Lily’s under your roof, she may take advantage of her kind nature and continue to bully her!”
I slammed my bedroom door shut as I threw myself on the bed. As I grabbed my pillow and pulled it close to my chest, I began to sob uncontrollably.
Sure, my mother–in–law’s disrespect and mistreatment of me was normal, but Victor’s refusal to even try and talk to me about Lily moving in was what hurt the most. His betrayal and humiliation weighed heavy on my body.
How could he do this to me? How could either Bernadette or Lily possibly think this was a good idea? Why were they so bent on torturing me?
A knock came at my door but I chose to ignore it. Despite that, the door opened anyway.
“Emelia…” Victor’s voice was cautious. “Can we talk?
“You are the last person I want to talk to right now! Leave!!
Victor closed the door, and while I thought he had listened to me and left, I felt the weight of his body push down
+25 BONUS
Chapter 14- & Living
on the bed
“No, I’m not leaving.” His voice was stern. “Just hear me out.”
“Why is it that I’m always having to endure whatever excuse you can conjure up for that woman? For once, will it kill you to actually be considerate of how I feel?!”
“I really wish that there was an easy solution to this, Em. I really do. But I can’t just abandon Lily. She needs care- she needs companionship.”
I shot up on the bed and glared at him. “Do you even hear yourself? Lily needs companionship?! Your mother called me a brat and warned you that I’d try and “bully” Lily while she lived here. And have you forgotten that Lily doesn’t even like me?!”
“Lily has some flaws, sure, but she really is a kind person. The night after the banquet, after you’d stormed off, she apologized for her mistake about the call. She did feel bad about it all.”
“And you believed her? Just like that? Lily didn’t even try to talk to me down there! She hid behind your mom and played your emotions like a damn violin!”
Victor sighed. “Emelia, please. All of Lily’s family has moved so far away from her, and she hasn’t been able to adjust at all. It’s honestly really pitiful. It was the main reason why she moved back–because she needed to be around people she knew.”
“Pitiful is an understatement.” I stated coldly.
“Please try to understand.” Victor stated. “This is temporary anyway. It’s just until we can teach her the life skills to be self–sufficient.”
“Until we can teach her-?” I stopped and shook my head in disbelief. “Victor, I really can’t deal with all of this right now. Just… just leave me alone so I can think, okay?”
For a few moments, Victor hesitated. He must’ve thought that I’d change my mind to simply appease him, but he should’ve known better.
After he finally left the room, I buried myself under the covers as the overwhelming weight of the day’s events crushed me. I didn’t even have the chance to think about what had just happened, and instead passed out.
When I woke up, it was completely dark in the room. A gnawing hunger caused my stomach to grumble, so I decided to go downstairs and find something to eat.
They should all be out enjoying their steaks anyway… Pft, as if there’s anything about this situation that’s actually worth celebrating.
As I walked down the stairs, I heard voices coming from the living room. I wasn’t expecting them to actually be home.
Instead of wanting to confront them again, I chose to walk slowly and carefully so I could sneak past them and into the kitchen.
“Victory, I truly am happy that you saw reason tonight.” Bernadette stated approvingly. “Lily is a good woman- you really do need to start prioritizing your friendship with her more often.”
“I still value Lily as a friend, don’t worry.” Victor spoke. “But I’m married to Emelia, and I really do need you to accept that. I can still care about Lily and want what’s best for her, but I have a wife.”
Bernadette sighed. “I just don’t understand why you had to marry her of all people… Lily is such a better woman! There was no need to call off the engagement.”
My mother–in–law’s words rooted me in place like I was s
enough
Victor and Lily used to be engaged?
