She Chose Revenge, He Chose Her

Sophia’s POV

The crystal chandelier above the ballroom of the Grand Aurelia Hotel was practically blinding. It was supposed to be the best night of my life.

Camera lenses tracked my every move, and for the first time in my life, I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be.

I smoothed down my emerald silk gown, watching the sea of Aurelia City’s elite clapping for us. Everyone was smiling, raising their glasses, and shouting congratulations. It looked like a fairytale. But for some reason, the air felt weirdly heavy, like a storm was rolling in over the champagne towers. The laughter sounded a little too loud, the smiles a little too forced, but I brushed the feeling away. I was just overwhelmed.

"To the future queen of the Vale empire," a prominent guest cheered, raising a crystal glass toward me. "The perfect face for the perfect legacy!"

"Thank you so much," I murmured, leaning into Victor’s side.

Victor Ashford looked like a literal prince. His dark blond hair was styled to perfection, and his blue eyes had that classic, warm charm that had made me fall for him in the first place. He tightened his arm around my waist, his thumb brushing against my bare hip in a slow, reassuring circle. He possessed an effortless grace that always made me feel safe, completely anchored in his presence.

"You look breathtaking, Sophie," he whispered, his breath warm against my ear. "Everyone is completely obsessed with you tonight. You’re literally serving main character energy."

"I only care if you are," I teased, looking up at him through my lashes.

He flashed a picture-perfect smile, the kind that usually melted my entire brain. "Always, sweetie. You're the only one I see. This whole room is just background noise to me."

"Okay, can you two stop being so disgustingly cute for like, five seconds?" Isabella slid into view, holding two champagne flutes with a dramatic pout. She looked like an actual angel in her blush-pink dress, her blonde curls bouncing. "Seriously, it’s giving diabetic shock. Spare the singles in the room, please."

I laughed, instantly stepping out of Victor's hold to hug her. "I wouldn't have survived planning this entire chaotic party without my maid of honor. You're the best friend ever, Bella."

"Duh. Who else is going to stop you from choosing tragic, low-vibe flower arrangements?" Isabella joked, bumping her shoulder against mine. "But seriously, Sophia, I’m just saying—if my future man doesn't look at me the exact way Victor looks at you, the whole wedding is canceled. I'll just end up a rich cat lady."

"You'll find someone amazing, Bella," I said softly, squeezing her hand. "You deserve the world."

"ohh..if i find someone as sweet as your victor, i might consider it," she said, rolling her eyes playfully. "I’m probably just going to marry my career at this rate. It's safer."

She took a slow sip of her champagne, but as she lowered the glass, her eyes drifted past my shoulder. Her playful expression hardened for a fraction of a second, targeting my uncle Damian across the room, who looked insanely tense. He was aggressively typing on his phone near the VIP lounge, completely ignoring the guests around him.

"Hey, Victor?" I asked, nudging his side with my elbow. "Is something wrong with Uncle Damian? He looks like he’s about to faint or throw up."

Victor didn't even glance over toward the bar. He just smoothly shifted his body, blocking my view and steering me away from that side of the ballroom. "Don't worry about it, Sophie. He’s totally fine. Just dramatic as usual. Probably losing a golf bet."

"But he looked at me so weirdly when I walked past earlier," I insisted, frowning. "Like he wanted to say something, but couldn't. His hands were literally shaking."

"Sophia," Victor interrupted. His voice dropped into a flat, clipped tone that actually made me blink, before he instantly bounced back to a smooth, charming smile. "It’s our engagement party. The investors are watching. Just drop the family drama and enjoy the night, okay? You're totally overthinking. Let's just focus on us."

I blinked, a small, uncomfortable knot forming in my stomach. Overthinking. Right. He was probably right. I was always the one who worried too much. I needed to just let it go.

"I need to fix my lip gloss real quick before the photographers corner us again," Isabella said, checking her reflection in her phone screen. "Don't cut the cake without me, or I will literally scream! I mean it, wait for me."

"We won't," I promised, watching her weave through the crowd.

The moment she walked off, Victor’s phone buzzed aggressively in his suit pocket. He pulled it out, and for a split second, his loving, fiancé expression completely vanished. His jaw clenched so hard a muscle ticked in his cheek. The warmth in his eyes completely iced over as he stared at the screen.

"Everything okay?" I asked, reaching out to touch his arm.

He pulled back instantly, tilting the screen completely away from my line of sight. "Just a work thing. Annoying client. I need to take this outside where it's quiet."

"Victor, it's our party," I pleaded, my voice dropping. "Can't it wait for literally one hour? We haven't even had the main toast yet."

"No, it can't," he said, his voice sharper than it had ever been. Then, seeing the shock on my face, he forced a quick, practiced kiss onto my forehead. "I'll be right back, promise. Go get some food, sweetie. Don't starve yourself."

He turned and disappeared into the crowded ballroom before I could even reply.

Standing completely alone in the center of the room, the loud chatter and pulsing music suddenly felt suffocating. The smiles of the guests felt hollow. I needed air. I quietly stepped out onto the grand balcony to catch my breath, the cool night air instantly hitting my face and calming my racing heart.

My phone buzzed inside my silk clutch. I pulled it out, assuming it was Isabella sending a chaotic text from the bathroom. Instead, it was an automated notification from our shared cloud drive—someone had just uploaded a file to our wedding planning folder.

I opened it, completely confused. It wasn't any normal invoice or chart. It was a weird audio file..

Curious, I popped in my wireless earbuds and pressed play.

The sharp sound of rustling fabric filled my ears, followed by the muffled, distant party music from the ballroom inside. Then, Isabella’s voice cut through the static.

"Is she suspecting anything yet?"* Her voice wasn't sweet or angelic anymore. It was cold, calculated, and sharp.

"Please. Sophia believes whatever I tell her," Victor’s voice replied, followed by a loud, mocking laugh that made my blood run cold. "The girl is entirely clueless. She literally signed over her legacy share proxy rights this morning without even reading the fine print. She thinks it's a catering contract. She's completely blind."

The world completely froze. I gripped the stone balcony railing, a violent wave of nausea hitting me like a truck.

"Good," Isabella purred, her voice dripping with venom. "Because I am so sick of playing the loyal little best friend standing in her shadow. 'The perfect Sophia.' God, I hated it. Every second of it. Tomorrow, we take everything. She won't have a single cent or a single friend left in this city."

"You're the only queen I want, Bella," Victor murmured, his tone full of an obsession he had never shown me. The distinct sound of a lingering, passionate kiss echoed through the headphones. "Let her have her stupid little party tonight. Her time is up anyway. We're finally free of her."

The audio cut off.

My hands shook so violently that my phone slipped from my fingers, clattering onto the concrete. The betrayal burned through my chest, turning my breathing into ragged, painful gasps. The two people I loved most in the world hadn't just lied to me—they were planning to destroy my entire life. They were going to erase me.

"Sophia?"

I gasped, spinning around, my back slamming against the railing.

Victor was standing at the balcony doors, his perfect, handsome smile back in place. But his blue eyes were completely dead as his gaze shifted from my face down to my trembling hands, and then to the phone on the ground.

"You shouldn't have listened to that," he said, his voice entirely devoid of warmth, stripping away the fairytale persona.

Isabella stepped out from the shadows right behind him, her angelic face twisted into a vicious, mocking smirk. "Honestly, Sophie. You were always way too trusting. It made it so easy for us to steal your life. You practically handed it to us on a silver platter."

"Why?" My voice broke completely, tears blinding my vision as I stared at them. "I loved you both! I gave you everything!"

"And we took the rest," Victor said coldly, stepping closer and cornering me.

Fear spiked in my veins like ice water. I backed away instinctively, my heels catching painfully on the edge of the low balcony railing. The drop behind me was a lethal, dizzying height. I could hear the wind howling below.

"Goodbye, golden girl," Isabella whispered, her eyes flashing with pure envy.

Before I could even scream for help, Victor lunged forward, his hands slamming brutally into my shoulders.

I completely lost my balance. The cool night air rushed past my ears, the bright lights of Aurelia City spinning violently as I plummeted into the dark abyss below and hit the ground with a hard thud.

The last thing I saw before the darkness swallowed me whole was the man I loved and the girl I called my sister, leaning over the edge, watching me fall with smiles on their faces.