Emily's POV

He seemed to stutter to find the right word, seemed to be waiting for a miracle that could free him out of the trap he had walked right into.

" It's for a friend, I was just helping him hold it" he finally managed to wheez out.

I shook my head again his pathetic attempt to lie.

" Liar! You think I don't see it? You think I don't see the blog posts? You are getting married to Karen? You are getting married to my own sister!" I yelled at him and he seemed to relax, as though he knew it was not worth lying about anyways.

" I did not want you to find out this way, we were going to talk about it with you over dinner tonight. I already talked to your parents and..." He was beginning to say but I did not want to hear it.

" You talked to my parents and what? They allowed you to do the little switch between their daughters? Do you even think I'm a joke to you!" I yelled at him.

The tears were beginning to prick my eyes now and I felt like a weakling, trying to hold them from dropping onto my sunken face.

I could not let him see just how much he had broken me.

" It's not a big deal. I know a made the wrong choice with you ever since I saw Karen. She is the one I love and I don't want to let go of  her. " He said.

My eyes were stinging, my heart pounding fast as I walked towards him, and with  a swift motion, I hit him across the face, listening to the sound reverberate through the walls of the room.

He stared at me as though he was shocked I had actually hit him.

Then he placed his hands around my neck, choking me as his eyes blazed with anger.

" Never ever in your pathetic life riase your hands at me again, or I swear to the Lord that you won't live to tell the story" he said, letting go of my neck forcefully as my feet sank to the floor, dragging me along with them.

The door banged loudly and with that, he was gone. Just like that.

This was a new side of him that I was just discovering. This side of him that I never knew existed.

I had sat there, on the cold floor, And I willed all the tears to come out, to try and stop the ache that I felt in my heart.

When I got the call to attend the party that evening, it was the last thing I wanted to do.

It was a call from my parents, something about coming for our grandfather's memorial.

I contemplated calling in sick. I knew Karen and Louis would be there, and my parents too, it was the last thing I wanted.

But I put on a brave face, pulling out my most flattering gown as I stared at myself in the mirror.

I looked like I had gone through a lot, my eyes sunken in and my hair thin from the number of times I had yanked at them earlier that afternoon.

Nothing a little bit of make up could not fix. When I was done with my make up, I was satisfied. I did not look like the snivelling mess I was a few hours ago.

I looked like a woman who was ready to take the world at its feet and that was exactly what I wanted.

" I honestly don't even understand why you are thinking of this, you don't have to go to those bastards party. All they would do is make you feel less" Tasha whined as she drove to the party but I smiled.

" That is why I'm taking you along, so you can remind me that they are all beneath me. Including the little perfect daughter of theirs" I said.

The set up was beautiful. A part of me wanted to ask why I did not have an idea what they were planning until now.

It was as though they did not even need my help planning it, and just decided to invite me to shoo away the negative questions that people might ask.

I took in a deep breath as I looked at the steady flow of people from the event center.

" You can do this girl. If you ever feel the need to leave, at any time at all, you just have to say the word and I would get us both out of there. I would be exploring the dinner setting just in case you need me" she said and with that, she was gone.

I knew her love for food always came before me.

I walked on, looking around as people stared at me, some pointing their fingers and giggling.

I guess the news of the marriage was no secret to most of them now.

" Why would you come wearing that? Are you trying to outshine poor Karen?" I heard a voice asked and I turned around to see my mother.

I tried to search her eyes, to see if I could find some hint of remorse for what she made me go through, to see if I could even get a bit of the motherly look I got from her when I was younger.

" But she is not supposed to be shining. It's our dead grandfather's memorial" I said.

She seemed to scowl.

"You know she is our biological child, and she has more need to look immaculate more than you. And that gown is so revealing. Go change right this instant. You should find some old clothes from my closet and put on. I did not raise you to be so open with your body" she said.

I scoffed inwardly. I spotted Karen a few moments ago. She was putting on a backless dress that left nothing to the imagination. I found it irritating that she thought she could school me when her own precious daughter was dressed like an online slut.

" I won't be taking it off mum. You should go check on the kitchen staff" I said, ignoring the slight twinge of guilt that pricked my heart.

I would never talk so rudely to her. But she deserved it. Not after all her ruthless attitude towards me the moment she got back the daughter that she loved.

Her face turned a bright shade of pink as she stared at me.

" Don't you dare talk to me like that" she said, gritting her teeth.

I refused to meet her gaze as I tried to walk away.

I could hear her audible gasp as I walked into the party, my legs shaking from the encounter I just had with her.

" I did not think you would come" Louis said, looking me dead in the eye.

" Why? Because you decided to get married to my slut of a sister? They are still my family, and I don't care what you or any of them says" I said to him and I could see his jaw ticking. He was angry.

" You would not refer to her like that. I would not take that from you. I wanted to ask you this amicably, but after what happened today I have seen that you are a temperamental woman and I'm so glad that I did not proceed with this journey with you" he said.

I wanted to tell him that I was glad too, that I was glad that I had seen beyond his kind smiles and face and that he had shown his true colours before we tied the knot.

" What do you want?" I said instead, a bored expression on my face.

" I want my ring back. " He said and I looked at him shocked.

The ring he had engaged me with was a simple but yet expensive one. I remembered blushing so violently as I kissed him over and over, thanking him for what he got, happy to take another step with him in life.

He wanted it back. To give it to my sister.

" I threw it out"I said simply.

I enjoyed the look of pure anger that crossed  his features as he stared at me.

" You wouldn't dare" he said.

" Oh but I did. I threw it out the moment I found out about your engagement to my sister. I did not know I was supposed to keep it so you could put it on another girl's finger with the same lies and promises you told me. It just felt repulsive to think about" I said to him.

He looked at me with the fury still clear in his eyes.

" You are going to regret doing that" he said and strod off, leaving me with my heart thumping as I remembered the ring I had put on the table top. I made a mental note to take it and flush it down the toilet for good.

The air was closing up on me and I could already feel my breathing being restricted.

The judge eyes of the crowd as they whispered. Perhaps it's because she is so shabby in comparison to her sister.

Maybe it's because he did not want to be stuck with a woman that is second choice with her parents.

I could hear all their thoughts clearly as my legs wobbled, leading me to the table where I knew Tasha was supposed to be, but she was not there.

I wanted to leave now, to take a walk and get the air out of my system, but I stood frozen to the spot, even as she walked back to look at me.

" Where have you been?" I asked her.

She seemed shocked as she looked at me.

" Are you okay? You are breathing so hard and I'm beginning to think that you won't make it through the rest of the night at this pace" she said to me, putting her hand on my forehead as if to check if I was burning up.

" He wants his ring back. That two faced idiot wants to put the same ring he put on my finger, on my sister's" I said.

She scowled as she looked at me, picking up a cupcake.

" Then screw him. He is an idiot if he thinks he would be getting that ring back. You should turn it into spikes and stick it into his clothes.

Maybe add hair loss powder to his shampoo. I keep telling you how to get your revenge but you never seem to do any" she said, sighing as though she would have done worse should she be in my situation.

" I understand your concerns but I think I'm just better off flushing it down the toilet" I said to her and she shrugged.

" You have always decided to take the easy way out anyways. Should we leave now? If you want we can go and then you can call this shitty gathering a night " she said.

I looked at all of them, watching them giggle and play as they danced, happy like a family, celebrating, forgetting that I was one of them

I met the stare of Karen a few times and it was nasty. She seemed to happy that she had everything I had.

My life, my family, my parents, and now my fiance.

I could not let her win again. Not three times in a row.

" I won't be going" I said with determination.

" But you look like you are about to pass out" she said to me but I shook my head rapidly.

" I would just take a walk in the garden" I said, turning around to leave before she could protest.

I would stay here for as long as I could.

I would show them that it was not easy to break me.

Emily's POV

The garden was my favourite place especially at night. Growing up, I knew I had a thing for gardening. I took my time to sniff the flowers enjoying the pleasant scent they enamated, enjoying the joy that filled me as I watched them bloom.

This was my childhood, sitting on the old swing and watching nature unfold before me.

I sat there now, shaking in my thin dress and a part of me began to wish I had brought a little shawl.

It would have gone a long way in protecting my frail arms from the biting cold.

I could feel a cold coming up but I did not mind. I would sit out here for a while, at least until I garnered enough courage to step back inside that party.

My thoughts were interrupted as a warm jacket was placed over my shoulder, nearly making me jump out of my skin.

The man that stood in front of me was regal to say the least.

He was tall and finely built, his hair styled in a way that I could not comprehend and his fine chiseled jaw looking like he had stepped right out of a magazine.

His skin shine with the night that he stood underneath and I was tempted to blink twice, wondering if he would disappear, wondering if this was all part of my imagination, perhaps it was some sort of copping mechanism.

But the soft feel of the jacket around me felt real enough.

" I don't know why I was expecting to find you inside. But here you are, sitting with the crickets" he said and I paused for a minute to admire just how deep and lush his voice sounded.

I felt my knees threaten to give way instantly. He was that sort of man. That sort of man that made you question your sanity, the type that could have you on your knees for him in just a second.

" Do you know me?" I managed to croak out.

His brows seemed to furrow in the dim light as he stared at me.

" It's honestly sad that you don't remember me anymore, but he rest assured that I know you.  And I know you should not be sitting outside here, let's go in" he said, his voice containing so much power that it nearly made me whimper again.

Without as much as a single question, I followed him blindly back into the house. He could have asked me for my virginity right there and I would have stripped naked and bore myself to him.

I knew I was not the only one who thought of him that way because the whole party seemed to fall instantly silent the moment he walked in.

I knew I looked shabby beside him, but I did not say anything, deciding to keep my head bowed as he walked in with so much purpose and poise that I could almost feel myself garnering courage from him.

We were barely in the party when Louis, with his fake smile and fake suit came running towards us.

" Uncle! I was beginning to think I would not see you today. I honestly thought you did not receive the invitation" he said and a wave of recognition hit me immediately.

He was his uncle. I remembered now. I had met him back at college when I was still just very much in love with Louis. I remembered that his build and confidence unnerved me, making me stare at the sole of my feet when he was talking to me.

And even now, he still had that effect on me.

" I had something done so I came late, I hope that is not a problem?" He said and Louis immediately shook his head like a jelly fish.

" Of course it's totally fine by me." He said and his eyes turned  to me where I stood, still clutching the jacket.

 " And I did not know you were together" he said, eyeing me.

" It does not matter who I'm with" his uncle said with a matter of factedly smile.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see Karen ascend the stage and our eyes met for a brief second, before she gave me a sadistic smile.

Every bone in my body was screaming. She was about to do something.

" Hello everyone" she said, turning everyone's attention to her, then she continued, looking me dead in the eye.

" I know we have all heard about the engagement between me and the love of my life Louis, but I also know that everyone knew he was with my sister.

I just want to clear the air on something real quick. We love you so much sister and this is just love, it's not something that can be denied. Him picking me has nothing to do with your bad habits and also your inability to take care of a man like him, and I really hope you don't beat yourself too much about it" she said.

I clutched into the suit tightly, holding on for dear life as my eyes began to water.

" Tell your little bitch to stop" I said to louis and his own eyes glared at me.

" She was just apologizing, why can't you let go of the hate in your heart for once? She is a better version of you" he said.

All eyes were on me now, some recording. Tears pricked my eyes. I should have gone home. I should have.

Before I could have the nervous breakdown that I thought I would, I felt a strong hand grip me and turned me towards his chest.

His strong cologne hit me and for a moment, I was too dazed to cry my eyes out like I had planned.

" Don't let them see you cry. Let's go" he whispered into my ears and just as we had entered, we left.

He sat in his car with me, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

" Thank you for what you did back there" I finally said when I felt more composed.

" Do you want to get back at louis?" He asked, surprsing me.

" Yes" I muttered.

He pulled quickly into a curb, turning to look at me as he turned off the car, his eyes filled wh deep emotions that I could not comprehend.

" The best way for get back at him is to become his aunt" he said and I stared at him in shock for a moment.

" I don't think I understand..." I was beginning to say but he cut me off.

" Marry me" he said