Sweet Revenge

"Cousin sister! Cousin sister!" said a sweet tone.

Antonia could recognize this kind of sweet, cheerful, and mostly fake voice tone of her uncle's daughter. She braced herself and looked at her with a gentle expression.

"Annette! I have been waiting for you. You asked to meet. What were you going to tell me?" said Antonia with a lovely smile.

Antonia never had a good relationship with her family. All her cousins, uncles, and elders hated her. The only one who truly loved her was her mother. Her father was cold to her because she was a girl, but he seemed to love her in silence. He remained neutral when she was punished or bullied for no reason. He neither protected her nor scolded her.

Her mother had a difficult pregnancy with Antonia, and as a result, her father decided not to have any more kids, fearing that he might lose his wife. Despite him treating her as nothing more than thin air, Antonia was happy that her father loved her mother deeply. She was highly affected by their love and often dreamed of the day she would meet the other half who would give her the same amount of love.

Among the children in the family, Antonia was the most intelligent and capable. Her abilities and uniqueness only drew the enemies closer while increasing the jealousy and hatred of the other family members. Although she was special, she was doomed to keep her abilities to herself as she was the eldest granddaughter of Mr. Donovan Landar, the head of one of the classic old rich families in Italy.

The Landar family was quite powerful and wealthy but had strict rules. Only males were allowed to succeed in the family, and among the children, only the smartest one was chosen as the heir. Girls, on the other hand, were raised to be properly educated and learn how to do minimal tasks that could help them assist their future husbands. Girls enjoyed more freedom in going to places than the boys, who had to study all day. The only purpose of the girls was to spend money freely and prepare to be perfect bride candidates, which would strengthen the ties between powerful families through marriage.

The only one who couldn't adapt to this rule was Antonia. She didn't find pleasure in dresses or shiny shoes. Instead, she found pleasure in studying economics, politics, swordsmanship, and fighting lessons that the boys would do. She would often skip classes to sneakily watch the training of the boys. From afar, she would take notes and practice the fighting skills.

Her mother noticed that her daughter was interested in the boys' training more than necessary. One day, when she went to check on her daughter in her room, she opened the closet and saw the three new dresses that had arrived for the banquet torn apart. After questioning Antonia, she learned that Antonia had torn the dresses apart herself. She felt as if the dresses were suffocating her like heavy chains, and she declared that she would only wear pants from now on.

Her mother was shocked to see Antonia's determination not to behave like a girl, viewing it as a threat to her future. She started to fear that her daughter might have a bad ending for not listening to her grandfather and not obeying the rules of the house, so she decided to look for a suitor for her. Antonia hated the idea, but her mother was the only person who truly loved her, so for her sake, she decided to comply with her wishes.

After attending the party, Antonia stayed around the hall for only half an hour, then went to the balcony with a tray of food and a glass of wine. She thought it was better to stay hidden on the balcony until the party ended than to go around with Annette mocking her openly in front of others. She couldn't even talk back, or she would be punished.

On the balcony, a simple accident led her to meet a boy who would make her discover the real meaning of butterflies in the stomach. The boy was also escaping from the party, just like Antonia, and both of them started to chat and laugh. After the party, they met a few times coincidentally at other events as well.

One day, a bunch of luxurious cars came to the mansion of the Landar family. Everyone was confused as to who it was, but when Antonia saw the boy coming out of the car, she realized he was the boy she had met a few times. He wasn't a simple person but the already chosen heir to the powerful Danados family, a classic family that was higher in status than the Landar family.

The boy, who had only become her boyfriend a week ago, was one of the most desired bachelors. Antonia couldn't believe it when he went straight to her and got on one knee, presenting an expensive diamond ring. The servants came out of the car and presented expensive wedding gifts to the shocked Mr. Donovan and the other family members, who were burning with envy, especially her cousin Annette, who had set her sights on the boy for some time.

Antonia couldn't believe that her dream of finding the one she loved, who would take her away from there, had actually come true. She agreed to the proposal, and after four months, the wedding ceremony arrangements were made. Everything seemed perfect for Antonia. The jealous people had to keep their mouths shut, and the hypocritical ones started praising her to gain her favor.

Even her family started to treat her with the respect she deserved as a lady from a wealthy family. The plates in front of her, which were often filled with leftover food, were now filled with the best dishes. Antonia felt pleased with the situation, but there was something troubling her. It was her fiancé hanging out with her cousin Annette more than necessary, but then she kept telling herself that it was normal to hang out with her so-called family members.

Antonia never told him about the real situation and her real position in the family, fearing that he might be disappointed in her. After the wedding finished and they got married, she would tell him everything they had done to her, including Annette trying to burn her face once out of jealousy for Antonia's beauty. With the wedding approaching, the happy atmosphere grew.

Mr. Donovan even started to treat Antonia better. Everyone in the family started to change their attitude towards her. Antonia knew that they changed their attitude because she was going to marry a good husband, but she sincerely hoped that she could get along with them.

Just when Antonia thought that she would finally have her happy ending after facing all those neglectful and cold glares, Annette had a wicked plan on her mind that would change the course of the story at the last minute—a plan that would make Antonia's life take a huge turn, a turn for which she wasn't prepared.

"Cousin sister, you are getting married in a week. The wedding preparations are almost ready. Today there's a concert here. A famous pianist will be performing. I brought you here to go out and have some fun. Axel has been so busy with his work lately that I haven't seen him around," said Annette with a smile.

"Yeah! My sweetheart is busy with both the company and the wedding preparations. He said he wanted to make a surprise for me," said Antonia with a smile, making a dreamy and happy expression.

"Here are your drinks, ladies!" said the waiter, bringing them two cocktails.

He gave the pink cocktail to Antonia and the blue cocktail to Annette.

"This... we didn't order yet," said Antonia, confused.

"I ordered it!" said Annette, taking the blue cocktail.

"These aren't with alcohol... right?" asked Antonia, looking at the cocktail.

"Yes, miss! It's an alcohol-free cocktail. Rest assured, miss!" said the waiter with a smile, then looked at Annette, who showed a devilish smile on her face.

'You damn useless thing! You won't be able to laugh for long. As soon as I take you off the screen, Axel will finally come to his senses and see who's the best girl for him. A loser like her is not worthy of him,' thought Annette with a smirk.

"Cousin sister, aren't you going to drink anymore?" asked Annette when she saw that Antonia had placed the glass down after taking only a sip of it.

"I don't think I can drink more. It's not that good. The waiter said that it was alcohol-free, but to me, it feels too spicy to be alcohol-free," said Antonia.

"It's normal for them to be a bit spicy. It's a cocktail, after all. Plus, you are going to get married. You can't continue behaving like a child, Antonia," said Annette.

"Huh?" said Antonia, confused.

"Axel is a strong man, and he likes alcohol apart from wine. You two will drink a lot during your honeymoon," said Annette, giving another glass to Antonia.

"What do you mean?... Drink a lot of alcohol on our honeymoon?" said Antonia, confused.

"My silly cousin sister. Men like to drink together with their women next to them. You can't continue to behave in such a childish way, or you will not be able to keep up with Axel's desires. I know you don't have a good alcohol tolerance, nor do you like it, so I brought you here to train and get used to it," said Annette and gave Antonia another glass.

Antonia closed her eyes and drank the glass she had started first, finishing it.

"Here, drink this too," said Annette.

"I can't. It's really bitter and not good," said Antonia.

"It will taste good soon," said Annette.

Antonia looked at the other glass and didn't want to drink anymore. Annette held the glass in her hand, then showed it to Antonia.

"...You love him, don't you?" said Annette with a smirk, using her love for Axel as an excuse for her to continue drinking.

"Yes..." said Antonia and took the other glass from Annette's hand.

After enjoying the performance and drinking up to five cocktails, Antonia started to feel her head spin.

"Waiter! Another one!" said Antonia in a drunk tone.

"Cousin sister, you have drunk too much. Shouldn't you stop now? ... I'm saying this because I care for you," said Annette with a smirk, then looked at the waiter who placed another cocktail in front of Antonia.

"I know you care for me, Annette. I care for you too, but I still want to drink," said Antonia and drank the other cocktail.

Annette looked at her with a smirk. After the show finished, Annette held Antonia by the arms and took her to a room on the second floor where they could relax.

Meanwhile, in another suite, three powerful businessmen were gathered together and discussing.

"This is the contract," said the secretary, handing the contract to two of the businessmen present.

They took the contract and started to read it.

"Mr. Damian Wright, don't you think you are being a bit too much? Ten billion?" said one of the businessmen.

"You were the ones who begged to join my next project. I am just stating the price of joining my project. You can refuse if you do not want to," said Damian with a smirk.

The two businessmen remained silent and nervously stared at the contract. They had invested a lot to secure a meeting with Damian. If they were to back away now, all the efforts and money they spent would go to waste. They took the pen and reluctantly signed the contract.

"See! So much nagging for a small signature. The moment investors see the fruits of the projects, they start their annoying sweet talk. You will experience the same thing, gentlemen," said Damian with a smirk.

"...If it's really as Mr. Damian says, then we wouldn't have anything else," said the businessman with a smile.

"Escort the gentlemen out," said Damian with a polite tone, making his secretary escort the two men outside.

After they left, his father looked at Damian with a smile.

"I knew you would be able to pull this off perfectly," said his father with a smile.

"Now that the negotiation is finished, I will head back," said Damian, getting up from his seat after drinking a glass of water.

"Don't you want to have a drink with your old man?" said his father.

"...Heh! I know what you are up to. I have made myself clear before," said Damian with a devilish smirk, then headed to the door, but suddenly a weird feeling invaded his body, making his mind spin.

"It seems to have already taken effect. I didn't want to do this, but you left me no choice, Damian," said his father, getting up from his seat.

"How... What did you give me?" asked Damian.

"A helping hand in creating my grandson," said his father.

"Cough... Cough... Aghhh! Ahhhh! You... What is this...? You... You... How could you do this to me?!" said Damian with an annoyed expression.

"I have given you the freedom to do as you please, Damian, but you must understand that you aren't a simple person. You have a duty and a responsibility to fulfill. The empire can't remain without an heir. And the heir must be born from you," said his father, then got up from his seat and headed to the door.

"I will never satisfy your wish," said Damian, trying his best to keep himself under control.

"It's useless to resist. The drug you drank is too powerful. I especially made sure to choose the one with the best pregnancy rate. The girl is also carefully chosen. She is waiting for you in room 66. Go ahead and do your thing. You can abstain if you want, but you will end up receiving a heart attack," said his father, leaving the key to room 66 on the desk.

"You are so cruel!" said Damian, clenching his fists.

"If I am not cruel, you will not give up on this nonsense. Artificial insemination... forget it. The child must be healthy, and creating one in a natural way is the best choice," said his father.

"You are aware that I will never marry that woman nor any other woman. I don't like women," said Damian.

"...It's not necessary for you to marry her. The most important thing is the child," said his father with a serious tone, then left the room, leaving him alone.

'Damn it! You old man! Just you wait. After this is over, you will see it. I will make sure you regret it. Aghhhh!... This drug is too strong and may as well kill me... How could he do this to his son?' thought Damian, with his breath starting to become heavier and his vision becoming blurred.

Damian realized that he had no choice left but to go and find the girl his father had prepared for him. Unless he slept with her, he would suffer serious health issues.