Daphne’s legs seemed to cease to function at his words as she crumbled to the ground. The way she sobbed and then wailed made me pity her a little. It was probably killing her to be caught and seen like this by the eyes of the man that she is probably still in love with. On top of that, she was probably shocked beyond belief at how Anthony was acting. Bradon didn’t seem to care just how out of character he was acting at that moment. Although he acted like we were a sweet and doting couple by expressing his concern and care for me, his use of violence wasn’t at all like Anthony.
“I guess you don’t know the truth either...” Daphne said before her eyes glared up at us.
I wanted to stop her from telling Bradon about the incident, but I couldn’t think of a way to stop her at that moment. It was already too late. Whether I liked it or not, Bradon was about to hear about it.
“She was the one who pushed me down the stairs. Because of her, I couldn’t walk and had to go through therapy for years!” she spat as she pointed her index finger accusingly at me.
It was probably at that moment that I fully realized that I didn’t want Bradon to hear or know about it because I feared how he would react. Although I didn’t understand when I started considering how he would see me, I had to admit that I didn’t dare look at his face in fear that I might see a look of shock, disapproval, or even disappointment on his face. Just when I found the words to explain myself to him, Bradon spoke up.
“Is that all?” Bradon asked passively.
“What?! Anthony...what are you saying?” Daphne exclaimed in absolute shock.
“I asked if that is all that you had to say?” he asked, and it was clear that he wasn’t at all interested in what Daphne had just said.
Franky, I was too stunned to even speak. Bradon clearly did not react the way that I had initially feared. In fact, his reaction was totally lacking and that may have been because he did not have a care about me and my past.
“Anthony, I think that’s enough. Let’s just leave...” I suggested when I thought that I’ve about had enough.
“But...” he protested as he glanced my way.
“I’m fine. Plus, I don’t want you to hurt your hand any more than this,” I said before smiling a little his way.
Bradon seemed to hesitate. I could tell that he was itching to hit all the men that were present, and something told me that he had figured out already who the real culprit was.
“My heels are killing my feet, so I want to sit down...” I said before pouting a little.
“Should I carry you? I’m sorry that I hadn’t realized...” he said as he came right back to my side.
“Umm...it’s fine...” I murmured as I wondered if he was really going to carry me.
That would have been quite awkward given the situation that we were in. I could feel everyone’s eyes on us. Not surprisingly, no one was willing to jump into a physical fight with the heir of the Vulkan family. They probably couldn’t afford to pay for the damage even with their life, so I did agree that their choice was a wise one.
I let Bradon wrap a protective arm around my back as he escorted me out. However, before I left, I felt like I had a little something to say to that old friend of mine.
“Say, how long are you going to keep playing the victim? You’re not planning to spend the rest of your life in that wheelchair, are you?” I asked without turning to look back her way.
Without waiting for her reply, I walked away along with Bradon while taking deep breaths to calm myself down.
...
After the staircase incident at school, I asked Diana directly why she did what she did. I could still remember how she shrugged her shoulders before laughing it off like it was nothing. When she sobered up somewhat, the expression on her face turned serious.
“She was being mean to you. You have no idea about all the abusive things she would say to you while I was acting as you. She acts all kind and nice, but she was just faking it. Did you know that she truly thought that she could take your place? She wanted to be my twin sister instead of you. She wanted to be by my side. Just me and her. She’s crazy. I’ve never seen or heard anything so crazy...” Diana said before laughing like she had lost her mind.
“I had no idea...” was all that I could say.
“No one can take your place. You’re my only sister. I love you, Dahlia. That bitch needs to learn her place. Just because we are kind enough to keep her around doesn’t mean that she’s one of us. How dare she say all those things to you? How dare she try to bully you that way?” Diana said as the air around her grew dark and tense.
“I wouldn’t pay her any mind...” I mumbled.
“She won’t ever mess with you or with us again...” Diana said with conviction.
“You didn’t have to go that far. You didn’t have to push her...” I said before heaving a sigh.
“I didn’t push her. She tried to push ‘you’ down the stairs. So, I made sure that she got what she deserved instead,” Diana corrected me.
“She tried to push you?” I asked before my mouth dropped open in disbelief.
“Well, more like she tried to push you. I don’t need to lie to you about anything, you know that. She was stupid enough to try to hurt you, I can’t let her get off like that. Plus, I also didn’t want to be the one falling down those stairs,” she said with a careless shrug of her shoulders.
--To be continued...