Chapter 3
Albert glanced at my scraped hands, his brows furrowing. He pulled a tube of ointment from his pocket and tossed it to me.
He said, "Use it." With that, he walked away without looking back.
I clutched the tube of ointment, my heart a jumble of emotions.
He still hated me, but maybe not as much as before.
The turning point came at Lexie's birthday party.
The Russo family threw her a lavish birthday bash, inviting almost every big shot in the city.
Being the "ashamed" one, of course, I was banned from attending.
Honestly, I was happy to have some peace, spending the evening alone in my room with a book.
Later that evening, Alexia knocked on my door and said Lexie wanted to see me.
I went to her room, and she was wearing a white princess dress, looking just like a real princess.
When she saw me, a self-satisfied smile appeared on her face.
"Celine, it's my birthday today. Why didn't you come downstairs to wish me a happy birthday?" Lexie asked.
I replied, "I just didn't want to."
Lexie came right up to me and lowered her voice. "Celine, are you very unwilling to accept this? Everything you used to have is mine now. Mom, Dad, and Albert only care about me."
She picked up the antique vase from the table, the one Mom adored.
"What if I smashed this and told them you did it? Who do you think they'd side with?" Lexie taunted.
With that, she let go of the vase.
The vase shattered at my feet.
Lexie's face instantly twisted in fake shock, and she let out a piercing scream. "Celine, why did you break Mom's favorite vase?"
Mom, Dad, and Albert burst into the room.
Seeing the shattered vase and Lexie acting all panicked, Mom didn't even think. She marched right over and slapped me.
"Celine! You disgrace! Lexie was nice enough to invite you to her party, and you pulled something like this?" Mom yelled.
I held my face, my ears buzzing.
"It wasn't me," I protested.
Dad was trembling with anger. "You dare deny it? Everyone saw what happened! You're just jealous of Lexie!"
Lexie clung to Albert, tears streaming down her face.
She whimpered, "Mom, Dad, please don't blame Celine. She didn't mean to... It's all my fault. I shouldn't have come to bother her..."
Her "sweet little angel" routine made me sick to my stomach.
Everyone was blaming me, but Albert just watched me. His expression was impossible to read.
I didn't explain, and I didn't shed a single tear. I just looked at them, watching this ridiculous drama unfold.
I said, letting out a laugh, "Fine, it was me. I didn't just break the vase. I was about to..."
Albert cut me off before I could finish. "That's enough."
He shoved Lexie out of the way and walked right up to me. He said, "Come with me."
He grabbed my wrist, his grip tight, and yanked me out of the room.
With everyone staring in shock, he pulled me out of the house.
We sat in silence the entire drive.
[Ding! Target's guilt points increased by 15. Current affection point: -25.]
Albert took me to a business event. He said his date had bailed at the last minute, so I had to step in.
I changed into the dress he'd picked out and stuck by his side for the night.
At the party, I spotted his arch-nemesis, Joseph Sharpe, the heir to the Sharpe Group.
Joseph strolled over with a glass in hand, a sly grin on his face.
"Well, well, if it isn't Mr. Russo. And who's this beauty you've got with you tonight? She's way hotter than that new sister of yours," Joseph said.
Albert's face darkened, and he warned, "Joseph, watch your mouth."
"What? Can't take a little teasing?" Joseph swirled his drink, deliberately leaning in close to me. "Hey, gorgeous, what's the point of hanging out with Albert? Why not come with me instead? I promise I'll..."
Before Joseph could finish, Albert punched him right in the face.
The whole place erupted into chaos.
Amid the chaos, I spotted one of Joseph's goons grabbing a bottle from the bar and sneaking up behind Albert.
"Albert! Watch out!" I shouted.
Without thinking, I rushed over and threw myself in front of Albert.
The bottle crashed into my back with brutal force. White-hot pain exploded through my whole body. Everything went dark as I crumpled to the floor.
Just before I lost consciousness, I saw pure panic on Albert's cold face, a look I had never seen before.
He caught me, his voice shaking. "Celine! Celine!"
[Ding! Target's affection point increased by 30. Current affection point: 5.]
It turned out that taking a blow for him worked way better than cooking him oatmeal a hundred times.