"Adriano?" I whispered.

"What happened to you, Alice? You are sweating! Did you have a nightmare?" he sounded worried.

Oh god, what do I tell him now? He is clearly going to question me more if I say don't say anything.

"Why are you here?" I was quite sure he heard my screams as he looked baffled and concerned but I didn't know if he was the only one to hear them.

"I heard you scream when I went to grab some water and if you don't know, you, I and Jane all have our rooms on this floor."

I sigh inwardly, that would mean my parents and his parents wouldn't have heard anything as their rooms were on the floor below us.

"What's wrong Alice?" he asked again.

I opened my mouth to reply but then Jane appeared behind him. "I heard someone scream," she said and then looked between me and him.

I sighed "Yes I had a nightmare. It was about me pushing you guys down the cliff but somehow my foot got stuck and I tripped and fell from the cliff too. So you heard me screaming because I was busy falling down that stupid cliff" I said and smirked again.

Jane sighed and moved her head disapprovingly.

"It's 2 AM Alice. We need to get up early. The guests will be arriving tomorrow for the wedding, so please sleep and let us sleep too" she said and walked away but not before telling Adriano to follow her to sleep. It made me jealous. She had everything I ever wanted and craved for.

Though Adriano nodded at her but didn't move to follow her instead he stayed at the door, in front of me and stared at me. Not once did his eyes left mine during the whole conversation. I raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to say something.

"That was a very lame excuse Alice. I know you're lying." He replied.

My eyes almost got widened but I stopped myself from doing so. I did not expect him to say that. As I was so good at masking my feelings, I changed it into my signature smirk and replied "oh! You know so much about me. I have to say I am impressed! But, shouldn't you be with my sister rather than me or do you still have a spot reserved for me in your heart?"

He clenched his jaw and he balled his fists. He took a step forward toward me. I held myself from stepping away. He was too close for my comfort. His jaw ticked in anger and I knew he was clearly not going to take my shit. "You have the nerve to say that after everything you did? And if you don't remember, this is my house you are staying in. You are just a guest so behave like one. And as your father had already told you, we won't be tolerating your shitty behaviour in this house. If you even think of disrespecting me or any of my family members in front of anyone, I won't let you go easily, Alice. Keep that in your fucking mind." He glared at me with such hatred, which just made me want to cry in front of him but I, fortunately, didn't do so. He watched me for a few more seconds and then turned around to walk away.

I took a deep breath which I didn't know I was holding and closed the door behind me.

"His family", "a guest"

They don't consider me a part of their family, just a mere guest and they are making it very clear to me that I don't belong here and clearly am not welcomed.

*********

It was the next morning and we were all sitting at the dining table as the breakfast was being served. I am eating this sort of luxurious food after 6 whole years and I don't know if I would ever be able to eat something like this again. So I decided to enjoy my meal. We were about to start when one of the guards came from the doors. "Mr Angelo, the guests have arrived."

Who could they be? I thought.

"Send them in" Adriano replied and everyone stood up except me. I was hungry and wanted to eat this delicious looking food until my mom and dad glared at me. Now I'd have to stand too.

The doors opened and I almost cursed looking at the person walking through them.

"Aunt Melissa" Jane said cheerfully and went to hug her.

Aunt Melissa is my mom's elder and only sister. Though she was 5 years elder than my mom but dressed quite the opposite. Right now she was wearing a red bodycon dress with spaghetti straps and a very low neckline. Both her daughters wore the same kind of outfit in navy blue and olive green colour respectively. I couldn't help but compare them. Both my mom and she had brown hair and blue eyes. So did Jane, Anna and Maria. Both Anna and Maria were twins and Aunt Melissa's daughters. They were one year younger than Jane and two years elder than me. Aunt Melissa was 'happily 'divorced a long time ago. All I know about her husband is that he had remarried soon after the divorce, while Aunt got custody of her twins who were barely 2 at that time. All of them, mom, Jane, aunt, Anna and Maria had brown hair, blue eyes, and pale skin and were surprisingly almost the same height, 5ft 7. Though they looked similar, their personalities were contrasting. Mom and Jane were sweet and caring whereas my aunt and her daughters were jealous, cunning, unkind and very cruel.

When I was small and used to read the book 'Cinderella', I'd always imagine them as the stepmother and the stepsisters. They were perfect for those roles. They always acted different toward me, always showing me their hatred and anger. I have no idea why they despised me but now they have more than enough reasons to express their true feelings towards me. They would be very sweet in front of everyone except me and I had no idea why they did that but this time they wouldn't have to hide anything. Back then only Jake saw them acting weird towards me, but couldn't do anything as he was just a kid. Jake is my younger brother who is 6 years younger than me and 9 years younger than Jane. He will be arriving tomorrow with my grandma. I can't help but feel excited at this thought. Two of my favourite people were yet to come.

"How are you, my dear Jane? You look so beautiful." Aunt Melissa said and went to give Jane a hug followed by her two daughters.

And then her eyes fell upon me and she scowled.

"What the hell is she doing here Blake?" she almost shouted and demanded an answer from my mother.

"What the hell," both Anna and Maria said in unison when they saw me.

I didn't know what to say or act but I didn't let my smirk fall from my face. I was about to answer when my mom replied, "she's here for the wedding Melissa."

"Why on earth would you want this slut of a daughter of yours to ruin this wedding? Don't you remember what she did? Do you want her to spoil everything again? Why do you think she wouldn't try to snatch Adriano from Jane? She betrayed him once, she would do that again"

I sighed thinking this woman would never change and she would make sure I experience hell while being here. "He isn't a toy aunt, for me to snatch from Jane. He's a grown-ass man. He would know whom to choose. You don't have to worry about that. Right, Adriano?" I looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"I was young and naïve back then Aunt Melissa. But now I won't get betrayed again by anyone. I've made a wrong choice back then, I chose the wrong sister, but now I have learnt from my mistake and have chosen the right person who is perfect for me and my family." He replied looking me in the eye and a smirk plastered on his face.

Hurt wasn't even a word worth explaining what I was feeling. Shame, I was ashamed of myself. I knew I deserved everything happening to me. This was my karma hitting me back, giving me everything I deserve. But I've already seen, lived and endured a hell much worse than this and now something like this couldn't break me.

My aunt and her daughters smirked clearly satisfied by his answer and hummed in response.

"Well I don't know why they are enduring your useless presence, but I'll show you what you actually deserve young lady. Enjoy while you still can." She whispered in my ear, smirked and left to greet the others. At this point, I couldn't help but let my smirk fall.

"Welcome to hell Alice" I mumbled and sighed.