Chapter 5

Celina POV:

The world spun around me, a dizzying kaleidoscope of flashing lights and hateful faces. My blood ran cold, fear and fury mingling in a bitter cocktail in my veins. My mother' s locket, now around Anika' s neck, felt like a burning brand on my own skin. I watched her preen, her smile smug, and felt a quiet, simmering rage begin to boil beneath the surface of my despair. My hands clenched into tight fists, nails digging into my palms, the pain a welcome distraction from the agony in my chest.

Then, Anika, still basking in the glow of Haywood's adoration and my humiliation, clapped her hands, her voice ringing through the ballroom. "And now," she announced, "for a special presentation! A video montage from all my dearest friends and family!"

A screen descended, bathed in a soft, welcoming glow. A chill snaked down my spine. A premonition. A feeling of dread, cold and sharp, piercing through the numb shell I had built around myself. Something was wrong. I could feel it in my bones.

The video started, cheerful music filling the room. Faces of Anika' s friends, Haywood' s business associates, all wishing her well. Then, the music abruptly cut out. The screen flickered. A gasp rippled through the crowd.

On the massive screen, a series of explicit photographs flashed, then a grainy video. My face. My body. Distorted, photoshopped, grotesque. My breath caught in my throat. It was me. And it wasn't me. The images were vile, designed to humiliate, to destroy.

My vision tunneled. A cold sweat broke out on my forehead. No. This isn't real. This is impossible. My mind screamed, trying to reject the horrifying spectacle unfolding before hundreds of eyes.

"Stop it!" I yelled, my voice raw, breaking the shocked silence in the ballroom. "Turn it off! Those are fake!"

Anika gasped, a theatrical flutter of her hand to her mouth. "Oh, Celina! How could you? On my birthday! To expose yourself like this!" Her eyes, wide with feigned shock, darted to Haywood, then back to me, a triumphant glint I couldn' t miss. "You're truly depraved!"

"You did this, Anika!" I snarled, my voice trembling with a rage so fierce it tasted like iron. "You put those fake images up there! You're trying to ruin me!"

Anika recoiled, shrinking into Haywood' s side. "How dare you! Me? I would never! You're just trying to deflect, aren't you? You're a sick, twisted woman!"

I lunged for the screen, desperately trying to find a switch, anything to stop the horrifying images. My fingers scrabbled at the blank surface, useless. The video kept playing, each frame a fresh stab to my soul.

Haywood stepped forward, his face a mask of disappointment, not anger. "Celina," he said, his voice cold, devoid of any warmth. "Is this true? Are these... yours?" He looked at me as if I were a stranger, a disgusting insect. "Are you really this desperate for attention that you'd pull such a stunt on Anika's birthday?"

"No! They're fake, Haywood! Anika did this!" I screamed, my voice cracking with desperation. My heart was breaking, not just from the humiliation, but from his unwavering belief in her lies.

The low hum of whispers started, spreading through the crowd like wildfire. "Disgusting." "I always knew she was a social climber." "Poor Haywood, what a tramp he married." Their judgmental eyes were spears, piercing through me. Anika, nestled safely in Haywood' s arms, watched me, a small, victorious smile playing on her lips.

A red haze descended. I saw a champagne bottle on a nearby table, heavy and green. My hand closed around its neck, the cold glass a sudden anchor in my swirling world. With a primal scream, I swung it, not at the screen, but at the projector, shattering it into a million pieces. The images vanished, plunging the screen into darkness.

The room erupted in gasps, shouts. But I wasn't finished. I gripped the broken bottle, its jagged edges glinting dangerously, and staggered towards Anika, my eyes burning with a singular, murderous intent.

"You bitch!" I snarled, my voice a guttural growl. "You will pay for this!"

The bottle swung, not connecting, but smashing on the floor at Anika's feet. Glass shards flew, sending guests scattering, screaming. Anika shrieked, a high-pitched, piercing sound, and threw herself even tighter into Haywood' s embrace, trembling theatrically.

"Haywood! She's trying to kill me!" she wailed, burying her face in his chest.

Haywood' s eyes, now blazing with fury, met mine. "Get out, Celina! Get out now!" he roared, protectively shielding Anika. "You're a sick, deranged woman!"

"I'm not deranged!" I screamed back, tears of pure rage finally flowing. "I have proof! Proof that she manipulated you, proof that she orchestrated all of this! I'll expose her! I'll expose both of you!" I held up my phone, the tiny red light of the recorder still blinking.

The whispers in the crowd changed. A few hesitant murmurs. "Did you see her face? She seemed genuinely upset..." "What if it is fake?" But before any doubt could truly take root, a terrifying rumble filled the ballroom. The crystal chandeliers above us swayed violently, their myriad facets clinking ominously.

"What's happening?" someone shrieked. Panic erupted. Guests ran, screaming, pushing, scrambling for the exits.

Haywood, still clutching Anika, shoved me away with a brutal force. "Get away from her, you lunatic!" he yelled, his eyes only on Anika. He pushed her towards the nearest exit, protecting her with his body.

I stumbled, falling to my knees as the shaking intensified. Above me, the largest chandelier, a glittering monstrosity of glass and metal, ripped free from the ceiling. A deafening crash. Then, darkness.

Pain. Blinding, searing pain exploded in my head, down my back, through my legs. My vision swam, speckled with black. I tasted blood, metallic and hot. I tried to move, but my body wouldn' t obey. Crushed. I was crushed beneath the fallen chandelier, its heavy metal frame pinning me to the floor.

My breath came in ragged, shallow gasps. My limbs felt numb, yet every nerve ending screamed. I could hear Haywood's voice, distant, frantic. "Anika! Anika, where are you? Are you hurt?"

"Haywood... I'm here. Just a scratch. But... Celina..." Anika' s voice, a sweet, feigned concern.

I heard Haywood approaching, his footsteps heavy. He knelt beside me, his silhouette framed by the emergency lights. "Haywood," I whispered, my voice barely audible, "Help me. Please. I can't... I can't move." My vision was blurring, the edges of the room closing in.

He looked down at me, his eyes cold, devoid of the panic he'd shown for Anika. "See, Celina? This is what happens when you defy me. When you cause trouble." He didn't offer a hand. He didn't even try to lift the debris.

"My leg... I think it's broken," I whimpered, a fresh wave of pain washing over me.

Suddenly, a team of paramedics burst into the room. Haywood immediately stood up, pulling a whimpering Anika forward. "My fiancée! She's injured! A minor concussion, perhaps! Get her out of here, quickly!"

The paramedics looked at me, then at Anika, then back to me, clearly seeing the severity of my injuries. One knelt beside me, his face grim. "Sir, this woman is critically injured. She needs immediate attention."

Haywood waved him off, his voice sharp. "She's fine. Attend to my fiancée! Her family is influential. There will be consequences if she's not treated immediately!"

The paramedic hesitated, then, under Haywood's intimidating glare, he and another colleague reluctantly helped Anika onto a stretcher. As they wheeled her past me, Anika gave me a smug, triumphant look, a small smile playing on her lips.

My vision was fading. The last thing I saw, as darkness enveloped me, was Haywood's cold, indifferent gaze, watching them take Anika away, completely ignoring me, left to die beneath the wreckage. A profound sense of despair, of utter abandonment, washed over me.

-

I woke up again in a hospital bed, the familiar antiseptic smell, the white walls. This time, I was alone. No Haywood. No Anika. Just the dull ache in my body and the deeper, more profound ache in my soul. My leg was in a cast, my head bandaged.

The door creaked open. Anika. She floated in, her steps light, a silk robe wrapped around her. Her eyes sparkled with malicious glee. "Well, well, well," she purred, her voice dripping with venom. "Look what the cat dragged in. Still alive, I see. What a shame."

I stared at her, my face a blank mask. My heart didn't even quicken. There was nothing left in me for her to hurt.

"Still silent, Celina? Cat got your tongue? Or is it that your beloved Haywood has finally seen the truth?" She chuckled, a cruel, mocking sound. "He didn't even visit you. Not once. He's too busy doting on me. You know, he thinks you're a pathetic, desperate fool. And honestly, I agree."

I finally spoke, my voice a dry rustle. "You're just a replacement, Anika. A cheap imitation. He doesn't love you. He loves your dead sister. And you're just a poor substitute."

Her perfectly composed face shattered. Her eyes blazed with a raw, ugly fury. "How dare you! You filthy tramp! You have nothing! No family! No career! No one loves you! That's why you threw yourself at Keith, isn't it? Desperate for a man, any man, to give you attention!"

She ripped the small, silver locket from her neck, the one she had stolen from me. "This cheap piece of junk! It's worthless! Just like you!" She hurled it against the wall, the delicate silver shattering into a dozen pieces. "It's ugly! Just like your mother's taste!"

A gasp tore from my throat. My mother's locket. My last connection to her. Broken. I struggled to sit up, ignoring the searing pain in my leg, scrambling off the bed, my bandaged head throbbing. I fell to my knees amidst the shards of glass and fragments of silver, tears streaming down my face. I scrabbled at the pieces, trying to gather them, to make them whole again. Impossible.

Anika laughed, a harsh, triumphant sound. "Look at you! Pathetic! Crying over a worthless piece of metal! Just like you cried over that pathetic excuse for a mother!"

Something snapped. A cold, furious energy surged through me, replacing the pain, the despair. I straightened up, my eyes blazing, and without a second thought, I swung my hand, my palm connecting with her cheek with a resounding smack.

The force of the blow sent her sprawling. Her eyes, wide with shock, stared at me, then filled with a venomous hatred. "You bitch! You hit me! I'll tell Haywood! He'll make you pay! You'll regret this!"

"Go ahead," I spat, my voice low and dangerous. "Tell him. Tell him everything. I don't care anymore."

Just then, the door burst open. Haywood stood there, his eyes scanning the chaotic scene: Anika on the floor, clutching her reddened cheek, me on my knees amidst the shattered remnants of my mother's locket, my own face streaked with tears and fury. He looked between us, his gaze cold, calculating.