Chapter 3
As his big sister, I always let Arthur do as he pleased when it came to the little things, but he was so clueless that he couldn't even tell right from wrong.
After our family went bankrupt and everything we'd ever saved up was snatched away by Jude, he actually came over just to yell at me.
He snapped, "Serves you right! You were always so condescending to Jude, acting like you were better than her. No wonder she was always crying when no one was looking, hating herself for being born poor."
He continued, "Mom and Dad met a tragic end because they always played favorites with you. Everything that's happened. It's what you deserve!"
Even when I died, Arthur didn't show the slightest hint of grief. Instead, he was out there living the high life, enjoying the stash he'd secretly moved before our family crashed and burned.
Honestly, anyone would make a better brother than this idiot.
Just as I was grinding my teeth in fury, Jude spoke up in her usual soft, fragile voice. "It's okay if I have to put up with a little unfairness, Arthur, don't fight with Emilia because of me. It's really not worth it."
Jude blinked, and a single tear rolled down her cheek. She looked heartbreakingly fragile.
For some reason, her fancy dress had been torn apart by something sharp, showing off her legs.
Seeing her try to act tough made Arthur's heart ache for her.
He quickly shrugged off his suit jacket and rushed over to cover Jude up, but Brian got there first.
The two guys locked eyes, their gazes full of hostility. Neither of them even glanced at me as I stood there looking like a total mess.
Shards were still stuck in my skin, and I had to get them out, fast.
I didn't hesitate. I told someone to get me out of there.
I would ensure that they paid for the suffering I endured.
After finally managing to pick out all the shards from the broken glass, my wounds got infected, and I ended up bedridden for days.
When I finally woke up again, I found myself trending online. [Heiress of the Waller family throws her weight around.]
I clicked into the viral tag.
The poster claimed to be an employee of the Waller family. They said they couldn't stand my awful behavior anymore and were putting everything on the line to out me with their real name.
In their story, Jude was the good girl dragged down by her family situation, but she always kept her chin up.
She was painted as pure, gentle, and kind. She was basically the poster child for everything good and wholesome.
According to the post, I was the spoiled Waller heiress. I was so jealous that Jude looked better than me in her dress, I grabbed a pair of scissors and shredded her gown, then threw her out of the party.
Brian, ever the gentleman, came to her rescue just in time. He draped his jacket over her and saved her from utter embarrassment.
To make the story more convincing, the poster updated their post, uploading a photo of their employee badge and a secretly recorded video.
In the video, I glared at Jude, threatening to ruin her beautiful face, and then I slashed at her dress with scissors. The scene switched to Jude, who had her arms wrapped around herself, with a suit jacket draped over her knees. She looked defiant but was holding back tears.
The clip was trimmed to just the most dramatic thirty seconds, instantly making me look like the classic bratty heiress everyone hated.
Jude, on the other hand, looked so pitiful and vulnerable.
[I can't call someone like her my sister. She's petty, jealous to the extreme, and always convinced her fiancé is cheating with Jude. She constantly goes after Jude for no reason. I've had enough! Someone needs to stand up for Jude, and I'm doing it!]
Arthur even shared the post and dropped a comment, throwing his full support behind it and basically confirming everything was true.
The whole thing blew up online, and the drama just kept getting hotter.
By the time I saw it, the post had already racked up a million likes, and the comment section was blowing up. Everyone was calling me a total villain.
[You just lost a dress, but she lost her dignity!]
[Her face says it all. Jude is pure and sweet, like an adorable bunny. But Emilia? She totally has that mean girl vibe. She looks like trouble!]
[So you think being rich means you can do whatever you want? This is a society with laws!]
[Honest question. If even her own brother won't defend Emilia, just how awful is she?]
Reading all those top comments, I didn't even feel a thing.
But when I finally saw that employee badge, my breath hitched.
It was Dustin Fulton, the Waller family's mechanic.
He had been working for us for 10 years. He wasn't talkative, but he always got things done. We all thought he was solid.
Never would've guessed he'd turn out to be just another of Jude's lovesick simps, the classic background guy hopelessly pining after her.
In the last timeline, I got into a car crash.
The brakes gave out, the car spun out of control, and I swerved to avoid a little kid. I ended up slamming straight into a tree.
The airbag saved me, but my face wasn't so lucky. I was left disfigured, forced to face people's ridicule every single day.
Before I could even start digging into what really happened, my parents died, and then I died too.
Thinking about it now, it must've been Dustin. He took advantage of his job as our mechanic and sabotaged the brakes while pretending to do routine maintenance.
I closed the photo and kept scrolling through the other posts.
A bunch of gossip accounts started spreading rumors, saying I was shamelessly clinging to Brian, using my family's influence to force him into an engagement he never wanted.
They kept teasing that he actually had a secret crush on someone else and was getting ready to confess his love.
I could tell instantly that Brian had orchestrated the whole thing.
Netizens were totally obsessed with shipping Jude and Brian, and they jumped on me. They called me a shameless third wheel for getting in the way of their perfect couple.
I smirked silently at my phone screen.
The female lead did have all the luck.
All the guys were out there pulling stunts and doing all the heavy lifting, while Jude just had to stay in the background and was showered with love and sympathy from the fans.
If I didn't stir things up a little, I'd be failing my role as the evil side character.