Chapter 3

I saw them through the half-closed door, their forms intertwined in the dim light of the study. Corina' s laughter, light and airy, floated out. Jake' s deep voice, a murmur of endearments. My world, already fractured, shattered into a million pieces.

It was a nightmare, but I was wide awake. The air in my lungs felt thick, like mud. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic bird trapped in a cage. My vision blurred, not from tears, but from a sudden, dizzying rage.

I threw open the door. The sound echoed through the silent house. They sprung apart, like guilty children caught stealing cookies. Corina shrieked, scrambling to cover herself. Jake' s face was a mask of shock, then quickly, anger.

"What do you think you're doing?" I shrieked, my voice raw and broken. I lunged at Jake, my hands flying, claws extended. I scratched his face, his neck, anything I could reach. The desire to inflict pain, to make him hurt as much as I did, was overwhelming.

He grabbed my wrists, twisting them, his grip like iron. "Chandler, stop it!" he growled, his eyes blazing. He shoved me away. I stumbled backward, hitting the sharp edge of a mahogany desk. A searing pain shot through my hip.

Corina, now huddled behind Jake, peeked out, her eyes wide with feigned terror. "Jake, darling, she's gone mad!" she whimpered. "She's hurting you!"

"Mad?" I laughed, a harsh, humorless sound that tore at my throat. "I'm mad? You two, doing this in my house? He was my fiancé! And you... you're my sister!"

Corina' s face hardened. "He was never truly yours, Chandler. He loved me. He always has. You just got him first because I wasn't here." Her voice, once so sweet, was laced with venom.

"You manipulative bitch!" I screamed, my mind unraveling. "I hope you both burn in hell! I hope you suffer! I hope you die!" The words spewed from me, venomous and uncontrolled.

Jake' s lip curled into a sneer. "You need help, Chandler. Serious help. You're losing it. Maybe a doctor could talk some sense into you." The coldness in his voice was like a physical blow.

Just then, Eunice and Alon rushed in, drawn by the commotion. Eunice took one look at the scene, her face contorted in disgust. "Chandler! What on earth is going on here? Stop this immediately!" she commanded, her voice sharp and authoritative.

"She's gone crazy, Mother!" Corina sobbed, clinging to Jake. "She attacked us! She said terrible things!"

Alon stared at me, his eyes filled with disappointment. "Chandler, calm down. This isn't you."

"This isn't me?" I choked, pointing a trembling finger at Jake and Corina. "They betrayed me! They're having an affair!"

Eunice gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "That's enough! Corina is your sister! How could you accuse her of such a thing? You're distraught, dear. You're imagining things."

They ganged up on me, their words a barrage of accusations and dismissals. I was the hysterical one, the madwoman, the liar. I was an outsider, always had been. They were the family. They were united. And I was alone.

I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was drowning, suffocating under their collective judgment. They looked at me with pity, with disdain, with fear. I was the problem. I was the crazy one.

I fled the house, running aimlessly through the night. I ended up outside Jake' s military quarters, screaming his name, begging him to come out, to explain, to deny it all. He appeared at the gate, his face illuminated by the harsh streetlights. "Go home, Chandler," he said, his voice flat. "If you don't stop this, I'll have to get a restraining order."

I tried to expose them. I contacted tabloids, desperate to tell my story. But the Robbins family had vast resources, powerful connections. My desperate cries were silenced, twisted, turned against me. I was painted as a scorned, unstable woman, obsessed and delusional.

One morning, I stood outside the Robbins Industries building, a crude banner slung across my shoulders. "JAKE PEREZ, CHEATER AND LIAR! CORINA ROBBINS, HOMEWRECKER!" I screamed, my voice raw, my throat burning. I wanted to ruin them, just as they had ruined me.

Robbins' security guards, men who had known me since childhood, descended on me. They dragged me away, kicking and screaming, back to the mansion. Eunice met me at the door, her face a mask of cold fury. She slapped me across the face, hard enough to sting.

"You ungrateful wretch!" she spat. "You have taken everything from Corina! Twenty years of her life! You will not ruin what little she has left!"

They locked me in the dusty, cold basement. Days blurred into nights. They starved me, denied me sleep. They broke me, physically and mentally. My spirit, once so defiant, withered under their relentless cruelty.

Then, one day, Jake appeared in the basement doorway. He was in his dress uniform, looking sharp, immaculate. He held a document in his hand. "The marriage report has been approved, Chandler," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Corina and I are getting married this weekend."

My vision swam. My heart stopped. This was it. The final blow.

He looked at me, a flicker of something in his eyes, something I couldn' t quite decipher. "I told them I'd marry you if you just stopped fighting," he said, a strange, hollow tone in his voice. "I told them I'd take care of you."

He offered me a hand, but it felt like a trap, a poisoned chalice. My mind raced, trying to understand. Marry me? After all this? It didn't make sense. It was a reprieve, but one that felt far more terrifying than any punishment.