Chapter 4

Back then, when I said that, and the people involved didn't really care, the others kept quiet.

I tried to cover for Paul in front of Brian, but he thought I couldn't let him go and that I was purposely making Janet look bad in front of everyone, bringing up her pain again.

He felt I messed up his chance to break off the engagement.

That was probably when Paul started to hate me.

I felt like the bad guy who came between two lovers.

I wrecked his dream romance.

But he never stopped to consider things from my side.

Right in front of his father, he ditched me, the wealthy heiress, and fell for Janet, the maid's daughter.

Did he really think he could still grab the heir's position so easily?

At the wedding, Paul completely humiliated me, and I became the butt of every joke among the socialites.

Paul acted like some rebellious teenager, insisting on pulling Janet into the entertainment industry with him. He introduced her to resources, signed her as an artist under his company, and put the two of them on dating reality shows.

They were constantly showing off their relationship and hyping up their fans online.

He saw me as the third wheel ruining their love story. Not sure when it all began.

Somehow, I, who was not a celebrity, kept popping up on Twitter's trending topics.

People called me shameless, the other woman who only knew how to wreck relationships.

Others said I was throwing my weight around, bullying Janet, the poor, pitiful girl.

Some claimed I was desperate for a man and that no one would ever want a cold-hearted woman like me.

The backlash against me on Twitter was snowballing.

Some of Janet's fans even sent me razor blades and horror dolls.

I became public enemy number one, the bad girl everyone wanted to tear down.

I was too scared to leave the house, spending my days in tears.

I was a pampered girl, always protected by my family. I'd never experienced anything like this.

Paul was right at the center of everything, but he never said a single word in my defense.

It felt like he was out for revenge, acting as if he agreed I really was some nasty bully.

And with me being the wealthy heiress, everyone naturally cast me as the high-and-mighty, overbearing bad girl.

My dad, out of concern for me, publicly announced he would break off the engagement with the Anderson family.

Tamzin personally visited several times, apologizing and making a promise right there that the Andersons would only ever recognize me as their daughter-in-law.

She took it upon herself to send Janet off to a place nobody knew about.

Paul was beside himself with rage and frustration, but no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find a single clue about Janet's whereabouts.

When I saw Paul again, he was a wreck and disheveled, with dark bruises under his eyes, looking totally defeated.

The way he looked at me was so strange, like I was a complete stranger to him.

"Seren, I'll marry you," Paul said.

I was stunned for a second, and then tears started streaming down my face.

My reputation was ruined, and my parents and Vincent were running themselves ragged trying to deal with it. They knew how much I cared about Paul, and were afraid I might do something drastic.

Vincent was the first person to oppose my marriage to Paul.

I stayed silent, not knowing what to do.

Facing my childhood friend after all these years, I was not made of stone. How could I not feel anything for him?

Paul knelt before my parents, vowing with absolute certainty that he'd protect me for the rest of my life.

After all the deep feelings from our youth, my heart softened a little.

I said yes.

But I would've thought that marrying him would become my worst nightmare.

"Seren, don't mind what Paul said. He's just talking nonsense because he drank too much." Tamzin tried to defend her son.

I looked over at Janet, all delicate and pitiful as she nestled against Paul, playing the helpless damsel.

I could feel the hatred boiling up inside me.

God, this woman was pure evil.

Janet knew all too well about my asthma.

But she still went out of her way to take my inhaler. She just stood there, watching me gasp for air.

The Finch family was innocent victims in our past life, dying for no reason at all.

Back then, Paul always believed I was the one who pushed Janet over the edge, leaving her with no way out.

So he decided to destroy my whole family, using us as a twisted tribute to her memory.

But did I really kill Janet?

Back when she was around, she always played the victim.

And me? I was seen as one of those villainous heiresses in a novel. I was arrogant, lording it over everyone, up to no good, ruthless, and capricious.