Chapter 13: A Stupidly Bad Actress

The performance’s audience was meant for the parents but the star of the show was obviously for me so I stuck my hands in my pockets and casually walked over. “What’s wrong, sis? You look a bit shaken.”

I couldn’t control the faintest hint of a snark in my voice and, once again, my mother gave me the stink eye.

What? It’s hard to control it sometimes.

Grace then glared daggers at me through her tearful eyes. “Why did you do this?! I’ve been nothing but nice to you!”

“Huh?” I tilt my head confusedly. “Sweetie, if you want me to know what exactly I did wrong, then you’re gonna have to be a whole lot clearer.”

My words held truth and this made Grace curl her lip with frustration but she still tried to keep up the “victim” act.

“You didn’t have to rip up my dresses if you didn’t like them! All you have to do is give them back! I know they’re not your taste but I really was trying to be a good sister!” She weeps with her crocodile tears that didn’t even roll down her cheeks and yet she still pretended to wipe them away with her wrist.

Gabriel looks at me. “Where were you last night?” He asks seriously, expecting an honest answer. Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t know that I’m the most dishonest person he’s ever met. As for the “crime scene,” I can only assume that this is the suspected time that I had apparently massacred some shitty dresses.

Oh shit. I was fucking Julian at that time…

I tilt my head to the other side this time so that my floppy, wet hair could cover up the burn I was starting to feel in one of my cheeks. The last thing I needed was for them to see me blushing. As usual, I think up a quick lie. Lying is one of the things that helped me survive on the streets and it also became a talented skill of mine.

“I was showing Mom the rose garden. She knows I have trouble sleeping at night sooo we decided to go for a walk. Gardeners aren’t outside at that time. Privacy is a virtue for me.” I say with an insipid shrug of my small shoulders.

Mom looks at me in the corner of her eye, she hesitates for a second but then forces a smile. “Yes, it was quite a nice walk. It’s been a while since I strolled in the rose garden.”

I almost cackle as I watch Grace’s face burn red with rage. My mother was obviously lying on my behalf and Grace knew better than to speak out against her father’s new wife. Gabriel looked between the three of us and then rested his hand on my mother’s shoulder.

“Isabella, dear, if you ever want to stroll through the rose garden, all you have to do is ask. I am very glad that you and Sukia are spending time together though, truly.” Gabriel then turns to me and gives me an endearing smile.

Again, I’ve seen a lot of actors. Both shitty and quite skilled. So I was able to tell that Gabriel isn’t acting. The man seemed to truly care about my well-being. The old me would’ve loved to take advantage of his childish innocence and yet… with my Mom back in my life, I can’t help but think otherwise.

There’s no way I’m growing soft. Right? Right??

I then turned to Grace and coolly grinned at her since I could never successfully put an innocent smile on my face. “I’ve seen stuff like that before. Looks like you got some rats in your room. If you want, I can catch ‘em and get rid of ‘em.” I say while looking her up and down.

I made it very clear that she was the rat. Her jaw my clutched in rage but she still gave me a sweet smile. “No, that’s fine, Suki. I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions. I hope this doesn’t make you think differently of me.”

She gave me puppy-dog eyes during her last words but behind those eyes, I could see a petty bitch poking at my button. A vein throbbed in the side of my neck as she just barely triggered me by calling me “Suki.” Only a handful of people can call me that, and she definitely wasn’t one of them.

“Oh don’t worry, sis.” I step forward and place my hand on her shoulder before letting my quiet murmur pour acid into her ear. “I’ll ALWAYS watch your back. That’s what sisters do, yeah?” I then give her back a couple of pats before walking away.

Grace glared at me with the most hateful eyes I’ve ever seen. If she was a cutthroat from where I grew up, I would think she’s out for blood. But she’s just some pampered, pretty, princess in a fancy mansion. She’ll just cry and throw another tantrum surely.

My mother looked a little nervous. She could see the aggression in my actions. Meanwhile, Gabriel only saw what I was trying to pretend to do. He wiped his eye as if there was a tear in it. “Aw. It makes me so happy knowing you both are getting along so well! Thank you for looking after my sugarpie, Sukia. You’re such a sweet thing.”

Gabriel’s sweetness made my mother snort as she tried not to burst out laughing. I on the other hand just kept walking without looking back. I’ll be damned if I see the look in Gabriel’s eyes when staring at me because something told me he’d have exaggerated twinkled stars in them.

Fucking hell… this bastard is so blind that a man with gouged-out eyes can see better than him!

Even though this mansion was ridiculously huge for a family of five, unfortunately including me, at the same time it felt cramped. I guess it was just the atmosphere I wasn’t used to. It’s too clean. Too pretty. Too safe. Or at least it felt safe to me. Compared to what I lived through back on the west side of the city, a spoiled princess is the least of my concerns.

I walked outside and fixed on heading to the rose garden. The pool was fun and all but the garden was oddly relaxing… now that I think about it, I’ve never walked through a rose garden before. The air was naturally sweet because of this. And, I kind of just wanted to hide out behind the tall bushes and hedges. The thought of seeing Julian made my stomach sick.

Why do I always end do doing this to myself? I want something badly, I get it, and then I regret it. It’s like tasty, spicy chips that give you the shits later that are just as spicy on your ass.

Before I could get anywhere close to the rose garden, I heard an angry voice shout my way.

“HEY!”

I didn’t even have to look to see who it was. Of course, I knew Grace was going to start chasing me like a dog after a cat eventually. If only she knew this kitty had some nasty claws. But the frustrated woman continued to stomp after me, I could hear how hard she stepped just by how loud the clack of her high heels made against the concrete. Shit, you could even hear it in this fluffy grass.

“Look at me you fucking RAT!” She screamed at me again as she caught up to me and reached for my hair. But, as Julian experienced with a punch to his nose, my reflexes were sharper than probably anybody else’s in this whole pampered neighborhood.

I spin around at the last second and snatch Grace’s wrist up like a viper striking its prey. My olive-green eyes didn’t sugarcoat my aggression this time.

“You have a lotta nerve fucking with me. Even everybody on the west side knows not to fuck with me. But yet again, you are a spoiled lil sugarpie, am I right?”

I say my last words with a nasty smirk on my naturally lush, dark pink lips. Grace’s rage flipped into fear quickly as soon as I placed my hand in my front pocket and showed her the silver handle of a knife that I always kept on me. That knife has saved me out of dirty situations plenty of times over the years. In a way, it was like my best friend. And oh how I loved showing off my best friend.

With my hand still tightly gripping her wrist, I yank her forward till I’m able to get inches from her face. I purposely let my hot breath touch her skin just to give her flawless skin goosebumps. I can still see the fear in her eyes and yet she still had enough anger to challenge me as she stared back into my dangerous glare. My face was close enough that I could kiss her if I wanted to, and yet I only spoke a handful of words.

“What was it you wanted to tell this fucking rat?”