Chapter 45

Chapter 45

“Little Damon!” Ferdinand Steyn grinned widely, his old age not stopping him from wearing what was

clearly a Hawaiian shirt to the formal affair. His wife was no better, carrying what looked like a mimosa

as she giggled on his arm. “How’s it hanging?”

Corinna crossed her arms, absolutely seething inside despite the plastic smile on her face.

Even I had only met the elder Steyns a handful of times, and that was only by accident.

Corinna cleared her throat, stepping forward.

“I believe this is my party.” She gave me a dark look, but I just shrugged. She smiled at the press,

raising a glass of what I was sure wasn’t wine in the air. “So I’d like to raise a toast!”

Once everyone’s glass was lifted, she continued. “To our promising futures!”

As everyone around us followed suit, raising their glasses, I only raised an eyebrow. What was she

planning now?

Corinna downed the whole glass in front of the entire crowd, shrugging it off as she grinned.

“I’m so happy you could come, Adelaide,” she stepped forward, grabbing my hands in her own. She

stared up at me like we were real sisters with affection between us. “Have a sisterly chat with me, won’t

you?”

I opened my mouth to politely decline, but Corinna was not waiting for answers. She pulled me forward

with all her strength, and I yelped, losing my footing. Luckily, Damon’s hands were still wrapped around

my waist, keeping me firmly upright.

“My wife won’t be going anywhere.” Damon said, coldly.

Corinna’s lips spread into a slow smirk. “Really? You won’t let my sister wish me good luck for my

wedding?”

Her eyes flickered to the mass of cameras watching our every move.

“It’s okay,” I smiled at Damon, “You’re right here. Fifteen minutes tops, remember?”

Damon sighed, reluctantly letting me go.

“Perfect!” Corinna giggled. “Now, come along sister!”

She tugged me in front of the spotlight, putting me center stage with her as she posed for the camera,

blowing a kiss with her hand tucked tightly in mine.

I stood stiffly, looking awkwardly from the flashing cameras to Damon standing on the sidelines.

“Relax,” Corinna said through her smile as she wrapped her arm around my back, pulling me forward

with her. “I’m not going to eat you.”

“You could’ve fooled me,” I bit back, but smiled nonetheless. I wasn’t as natural in front of the cameras

as Corinna, but I knew not to ruin our family’s image.

I thought for a second that maybe this was all Corinna wanted. Just some photos to clear up the bad

blood between us, at least for the press’s sake.

Until I felt a sharp pinch on my lower back. I didn’t flinch, still smiling as naturally as I could as Corinna

leaned her head on my shoulder, her lips just below my ear.

“Damon’s in love with me, Adelaide. Don’t forget that.”

Her voice was pure venom even as she smiled like a loving sister for the cameras.

“This isn’t over. He’s mine, and he always will be.”

I glanced over at Damon, and from the way he was holding himself, he knew something was wrong. I

swallowed down my feelings as I always did, turning to Corinna with a soft smile.

“Congratulations on marrying Ashton, Corinna,” I smiled brightly. “You two truly deserve each other.”

Corinna didn’t get angry as I thought she would. She only smirked.

“Thank you, sis,” she sneered and then spun on her heel and disappeared into the flash of the press. I

sighed, my shoulders slumping.

The spot where she pinched me was bound to bruise.

“Are you okay?” Damon embraced me as soon as I was within arm’s length of him, and I sighed,

melting into him.

“She threatened me and pinched me, but that’s about it,” I whispered. “So, the usual family reunion.”

“She’s planning something,” Damon growled. “But I don’t know what.”

Turns out, we didn’t need to wait.

The soft music cut out with a screech, the feedback of a microphone all anyone could hear for a few

seconds until a single voice rang out through the hall.

“Attention

Corinna standing on the stage, the mic in her hand, a pitiful look on her face as she held a microphone

in one hand.

“My heart is breaking to have to tell you all this, especially on such a joyous occasion,” Corinna sighed

as if she was truly torn up about it “But I can’t stay silent any longer’ I have to do what’s right!”

Well, this wasn’t going to be good.

“As all of you may have heard, my fance Ashton was caught having relations with another woman?”

Corinna cried, sparkling tears flowing down her face

“Heartbroken as I was, I took him back and gave him another chance. But just moments ago, I was

informed that my fiance was being unfaithful yet again”

The crowd burst into murmurs as everyone began whispering all at once. All eyes were upon Corinna

as she stood on the

stage

“My fiance. Ashton Steyn has been sleeping around,” she sobbed, covering her mouth and then taking

a deep shuddering. breath. “With my own sister, Adelaide Hildebrand””

Oh.

All eyes swung from the stage to face me. Regardless of the truth or not, now that her words were out

there, the whispers began.

“Her own sister?”

“How tragic!”

“What a whore!”

I paled, frozen in place but my eyes were locked on the smirking figure of my half-sister, the one who

had just thrown me into a bus, set it on fire, and pushed it off a cliff.

I hurriedly turned to Damon. He seemed to be as calm as always. There was even a slight smile in his

eyes, but I knew-that was the worst sign. Damon ruffled my hair, letting go of me as he cut through the

people, and I stood there like an idiot, a deer stuck in oncoming traffic as I waited for the collision.

What could I even do?

“I knew she was a b*tch!” someone screamed.

“She was always jealous of Corinna!” another yelled.

“That’s right!” Corinna continued, throwing gasoline onto the fire she’d started. “I am heartbroken that

my own sister could. do this to me! I…I could never imagine such a deep betrayal from my own blood!”

Corinna fell to her knees on the stage, covering her hands as she sobbed openly into the mic. “Oh, how

could she do this to me?” she wailed.

Eyes full of resentment turned to me, and I felt like a zoo exhibit, all eyes on me and not a single one

friendly. They were going to tear me to shreds, and there was nothing I could do about it.

The screech of the microphone filled the air, and I looked back at the stage in shock.

Damon had grabbed the microphone from Corinna’s hands and promptly thrown it into the fountain. I

watched it sink into the water with wide eyes.

Deja vu

I was not a stranger to the humiliation I was feeling now. Was it only a few months ago that I had stood

in this exact position, watching as my boyfriend got engaged to my sister?

I remembered the piercing eyes of accusations and giggles as they discussed my life like it was a TV

show and not the reality I had to live in.

I stared down at my feet, my hands clenched into balls as their whispers and laughter swirled around

and around until 1 couldn’t tell if they were human or monsters in their skin.

1 struggled to hold back the flood that had gathered behind my eyes, the stinging heat more than I

could bear at the

moment.

“What a whore!” they cried.

“How disgusting!” they sneered.

“How amusing!” they taunted and jeered behind their porcelain masks, right behind the safety glass as

they judged me like they knew who I was.

And through the storms that gathered around me, the shadows that crept along my skin as they

threatened to devour me, a voice cut through all the static.

“Lies.”

My head snapped up to the stage where Damon stood like a lighthouse in the midst of a hurricane.

Breathing heavily with at thunderous glare on his face, the noise of the crowd died down to a halt.

“Corinna Hildebrand has been saying nothing but lies. Damon didn’t raise his voice, but the coldness

was enough for all to hear. “She and her fiance have been trying to slander me and my wife since their

little charade began.”

“You’re the liar!” Corinna got to her feet, panicked as she thrust her finger at him. “You’re just covering

for her

“Quiet!” Damon snapped. Her mouth closed with a snap, and even I was taken aback by the hatred in

his voice.

Behind the booth, the massive screen lit up, showcasing what looked like a police report in a massive

close-up,

“Firstly, the accusations that my wife has been having an affair with Ashton Steyn are all false, Damon

said, coldly. “It is the opposite. Last night, Ashton Steyn attempted to force himself on my wife. The fact

that he is not here today is related to this as he is currently wanted for questioning.”

I flushed with shame, but luckily, Damon moved on very quickly.

“While they were not having an affair, before our marriage, Ashton had been in a relationship with my

wife, Adelaide, and ordered her to keep it silent by forcing her to sign an NDA. Here is a copy of it. The

relationship only ended on the very day Ashton got engaged to Corinna.”

I stared in both wonder and shame as Damon cleared our names quickly and efficiently, every piece of

proof in his hands as he detailed his contractual relationship with Corinna and the deal Corinna and

Ashton had made to boost their careers.

The press was in a frenzy, especially when Damon announced the documents were all made public

this morning.

The bombshell had yet to drop though.

“Finally,” Damon declared, glaring at Corinna, who was on her knees, wide-eyed and trembling. “The

biggest lie of them all. Corinna Hildebrand is not pregant.