THE BILLIONAIRE'S LADY REVENGER

(ARIA'S POV)

"The Donovan house, a behemoth mansion standing on the top of a hill, its sheer size invoking awe and fear in all who see it. Millions have admired it for ages, and now, it is a special occasion where all can enter this picturesque mansion, the one in a million celebratory banquet!"

Hah?

What a load of bull. I almost vomited from last night's dinner after reading the introduction to Vivienne's celebration. What a picturesque mansion, it's just a big empty house with little to no artistic concept, just sheer extravagance where everyone is not given time to speak, to put it bluntly, a ridiculous empty shark where the mistress and her daughter parade like the owner of the house while the legal daughter has to wash the....DISHES! YUP!

Washing the dishes, a chore I never will have taught, I will do for others in my entire life, but here I am, reality hitting me faster than a high-speed train."

"The family head is coming over to the main house for lunch. Is everything ready?" I vaguely hear the whisper of the head maid as she saunters around, giving orders to the dozens of maids under her command.

Dad!

Nothing else mattered to me but that one word, without as much as a second thought, I threw the dirty porcelain in my hands into the sink and rushed out, only to collide with the head maid.

"Hey, watch it, where do you... are you.....ohm! It's you, Miss Aria." Ivory's eyes glanced at me with unhidden contempt.

"Ohm, so you do know that I am your superior?" My eyes stared back at Ivory, the hatred not less than hers. This damned head maid, ever since my mother died, she has made my life miserable, some rumors said that she always was on a lookout for my mom's death so that she could get my father but unfortunately, even with my mother dead, my dad still never glanced half a meter in her direction, opting for a stranger instead.

Actually, I must say, unreasonable crash out on her part, hating on innocent me instead of the intruder and her daughter. "Miss, you are joking, I have always regarded you as my superior, why would I disdain you? However, miss, you should know, there are other people whose standing far surpasses yours. I have no choice but to obey them. I hope you understand!" Ivory's smile was so perfect that if I had not lived with her for years, I might have actually believed her bullshit.

"Whatever! Where is my father?" That was the only thing I actually wanted to know right now. It's been more than 6 years since I last set eyes on my father. In fact, the only reason I came back to the shithole after I ran away from it was just to meet him, my only relative left in this world.

"Well, I am afraid that is not possible." Ivory's smile faded faster than an opera shot.

"What did you mean by that?" I asked, nicely, not puzzled since I half expected a reply like that, but because I never expected her to be so blunt.

"Remember I told you something about others' authority surpassing yours? Well, your stepmother, Amanda, wants you nowhere in the main section of the building. She feels you will be..." Ivory leans closer to my ears and whispers; a burden like your dead mother"

Slap!

I swear, I did not know when my hands hit her face twice, if I had known, I would have clenched my fists so that she would lose at least 4 of her stupid, dumb teeth fillings. Well, not satisfied with my work, I shoved her to the floor and made my way to the main section.

Ever since I came back, I have tolerated all manner of nonsense, cooking, washing the dishes, cleaning up the garbage, all so that I could finally meet my dad and now....Amanda must have gone nuts, until I hear my father say that he does not want me, I will not take this behavior anymore!

(Amanda's POV)

OHH, you are here, I trust you have done all the dishes. I know from Aria's face she has not, but what can I do? Seeing her scream and complain is still one of my favorite shows to watch.

"Really? Amanda, all this while you have been making me work like a slave and a horse, all for what? So, just for your amusement, is it fun?"

"No, Aria, a slave and a horse work much harder than you do, plus they don't talk back to their masters, please get it right."

"So, to what do I owe this exceedingly rare visit if you did not report your work progress to me?"

"I am attending this banquet and I am going to see my father, you have gotten in our way for a long time, I was stupid before and actually left him all alone with you, I am never going to do that anymore."

You are still stupid now. I wish to tell her to her face, but that will take away the fun. Nothing is better than for Aria to feel her stupidity down to her bones.

"Well, honey, of course you are attending the banquet, you were my first guest....a waiter to serve drinks is still a guest, right?"

"Amanda, you... What now? Stop shouting my name. I don't know why kids from the streets have no manners at all. You already got your wish to be a guest, and as for your father, I don't know how often I will break the news to you, but your father does not want you."

"Should I call him and ask for you, maybe you will believe me then?" I whipped out my phone and dialed my husband's number to prove to this tramp that she has no place in this house; she had long thrown it away.

"Dear, your daughter Aria wants to speak to you... Beep!" The phone hung up instantly without even a word.

"See!" I pointed the phone at Aria, who looked as pale as a ghost.

Poor little creature!

(ARIA'S POV)

I felt like I was doused with cold water, the beeping sound of the phone echoing through my heart. What exactly did I do wrong? Why does my father hate me so much? Why did he hang up?

NO!

My dad has not even spoken yet; maybe he had something to say, but he couldn't because Amanda was near me, or maybe his connection is bad. At this point, I knew I was just trying to make up excuses, but what can I do? It hurts to get rejected by people you don't know, how much more, your only relative in this world?

I must hear from him, I must speak to him face to face and actually listen to him say he does not want me, or else I will not believe it, and that means.....I HAVE TO GO TO THE BANQUET!

BUT AS A WAITER!

(ARIA'S POV)

(Nighttime, Cleave Hotel)

I cannot believe that I am actually serving drinks. I dropped the tray on the counter with a frustrated groan. This was already my twentieth serving, but Ivory still showed no signs of swapping me out like she did the others. I did not pick a fight, though. I was way too tired to give her another slap to the face.

Just as I was sitting by the snack stand, waiting for my tray to be handed over, my sweet sister Vivienne came with her friends.

"Ohm, Vivienne, is this the Aria?" a girl standing beside Vivienne said, her nose almost flying into the air.

"Well," Vivienne, a melon seed-faced girl with cute black eyes, a slender and petite body that seemed to break from just a touch, with her sticky and magnetic voice and her gentle character, Vivienne was the literal definition of an angel, but in my language, she is just a top-tier green lotus bitch.

"Sister, why are you doing this? I thought you had forgiven me and my mother. Why are you doing this to me?" Vivienne held my hands and burst into tears, shocking everyone and me, especially me, who did not have a single clue what she was talking about.

"What forgiveness? When did Amanda and I ever discuss such a term?" I was still in shock at Vivienne's weird behaviour when a sharp pain shot through my hand, which she held, my skin almost tearing apart; pained, I pulled my hand away slightly, but Vivienne suddenly fell backwards towards the floor.

"Eh"

"What in the k-drama is this?" I stared at Vivienne stupidly, internally asking myself when my father would show up so I could leave the show, but a force turned my head sideways.

"You heartless wench, who do you think you are? You pushed Vivienne down so hard, are you trying to kill her?" a loud voice almost ruptured my eardrums as a tall, handsome guy towered in front of me.

I had wanted to respond with a slap, but my eyes froze when I saw the face of the person, Kim!

If there is anything like a childhood friend, I guess mine will be Kim, since I was born, Kim had been my friend, hell no, we were even born on the same day and in May and June respectively, once, our mothers even joked that we were going to make a good couple.

He was my first ever friend, brother, lover, crush and fantasy until... my mother died and everything went boom! Kim never came by again to the house, no calls, no text, no messages, he even changed schools, and now, after more than a decade of cutting contact, he slaps me for a girl he barely even knows!

"Aria, I have been hearing all about you from Vivienne, but I always trusted you, but now, I see you for what you truly are, a shameless and ungrateful, unforgiving monster."

"Vivienne, honey, are you okay?" Amanda rushed towards us, her face mixed with worry and pain. "Aria, if you wanted to hit someone, I have told you numerous times to hit me instead. Why would you target my poor daughter, who has done nothing but be kind to you?" Amanda began her round of sorrowful acting, making me almost go mad.

The most frustrating thing was not even the acting skills; it was the fact that everyone was actually believing them.

"I know Aria that I had married your father just a week after my best friend, your mother died but that was for your own good, I wanted to take care of you, I wanted to be by the side of my friend's last offspring in this world, I wanted to fight for you,, I admit, I was insensitive, I never taught how a six year old would have handled that news, I am so sorry, can't you understand me?"

(ABBY'S POV)

What the hell? The tequila shot that entered my mouth almost came back right out as I heard Amanda, Martin's wife, say.

"Is she a woman for real? You shamelessly married your best friend's husband a week after her death, her burial and mourning days have not even been concluded. You gave birth two months after your wedding and kicked the so-called child you swore to take care of to a community hospital and nursery immediately after your marriage, what a liar.

Respect!

What a good joke!

Why did you not respect her memories and her marriage? You have to be part of the family to care for her daughter; are caretakers and nannies a joke to you?

I scoffed at the absurdity of the women crying pitifully, and for the first time, genuinely thanked my best friend for dragging me here to be a shield. How else would I have gotten such entertainment?

Speaking of which, where the heck is Damien?

(ARIA'S P OV)

"Is my father even going to be here? He is not, right?" My voice was not loud, but since I was the object of focus, everyone pretty much heard me.

Their reactions?

They all laughed out loud, looking at me in contempt, my heart finally sank as I took in all their faces, half of them I knew as strangers, the other half I knew as friends but now, no one was by my side, for the first time in my 20 years of life, I knew that I was alone.

Of course, the realization was not funny, tears coated my eyes and threatened to fall, and broke the one promise I made to myself, never to cry in front of my enemy!

"Stupid bitch," the girl standing beside Vivienne took one of the drinks from a nearby tray and raised it at me. I closed my eyes, waiting for the cold and sticky wine, but after, some time, nothing happened, but I did hear a scream. I opened my eyes, but all I could see was a tall back blocking me, while the girl next to Vivienne was shrieking like a madwoman.

"Leave, there is no place for you here." His magnetic and dewy voice rang in my ears even though he was not even facing me.

I didn't bother thanking him; most favours are better expressed in action than words.

"My name is Aria, what's yours?"

"Damien." After some time, he replied. With a smug glance at Vivienne, I nodded and dropped the trays on the counter. "Amanda, never again." And walked out.

However, a strange feeling came over me as I walked past Damien.

"Would I ever see him again?"

(Amanda's pov)

Ahhh!

That bitch!

My smile faded as I saw the last of the guests out. My perfectly good plan to introduce my daughter to more wealth and prominence had fallen through thanks to that b**ch that has refused to die like her mother.

"At least, Damien did not make any comment to me, that's good news, Aria is not that significant to him." I lightly flicked my bracelet to comfort myself.

To me, the most important person was Damien,the others were just brown nosers, whether they looked at me with disdainful gazes, what do I care?

If my daughter marries Damien, they would all crawl to me like the worms they are, grovelling and begging for the scraps that fall off my table.

Thinking of the certain future, my lips split apart into a grin, I can already feel the time when a vast amount of wealth and power will be mine, by then, who will dare bring up the matters of the past!

I will forever get rid of the shame of snatching another woman's husband but before that,my hands clenched into fists as a surging anger emanated in my heart... Aria needs to die!!!

Crash!

A loud smashing sound echoed through the hallway, the direction of the sound couldn't be more familiar to me.

Vivienne's room!

(Vivienne's pov)

Damn! Damn! Damn!

My hands just kept smashing and tearing things, my room already a shadow of what it was before, littered with torn clothes and broken picture frames. It still was not enough...Not enough!

"Aria, I want you to die, I want you to freaking die,just die like your mother,how hard is it?" I cursed out as I threw another picture frame but the crashing sound was not heard,instead a force pulled me sideways and delivered a slap to me.

"Mom,"I mouthed out, my eyes widened in disbelief as I held my cheek that stung badly.

"Stupid, loud, crude and unrefined" my mother pushed me away in disgust. "How many times have I told you to control your temper? If Martin was the one who came in now, do I need to remind you what the consequences will be?"

"Mom, it's Aria, I cannot breathe well as long as she is alive, she....she is my doomed nemesis, look what happened? As soon as she arrived, Damien was immediately swayed by her. Mom, Damien is my life,I ...I cannot lose him, especially not to a bitch like Aria, no...never " tears began to fall freely from my eyes as I crashed onto the bed.

"I cannot breathe until she dies too, don't worry, she will not leave to see the next full moon." My mom comforted me in a low voice.

"Next full moon, that's three days from now,mother,do you have a plan?" I excitedly rushed to my mother and grabbed her hands.

"She loves her mom so much that she wants to know what killed her,does she not? Very well, I gladly sent the truth to her along with her death. I solemnly pray that both her and her bastard mother reunite and journey to hell together." A terrifying smile creeped up my mother's face.

The smile was absolutely cruel, as if a demon awoke from slumber,but along with its terrifying effect was a refreshing feeling to me.

She's back!

My demon for a mother!

Aria,I hope you are ready, please don't die too fast though, you need to suffer first before you die a malicious death.

(Aria's pov)

"Aria, come for a drink?" A weird message popped up from my phone.

"Who?" I texted back, ever since my fall from glory,no one has ever reached out to me, in fact, my contacts did not even exceed fifteen.

Truly, a broke person has no friends but a multitude of enemies.

"A friend!" The person replied back.

"Crazy." I texted back before blocking the number.

I am already pissed off as it is and a scammer is actually pulling such a dirty prank on me, the nerve.

"All scammers should seriously be tossed into a pit." I cursed under my breath, exhaling turbid air.

The weather was a bit warm but that was not enough to calm the chill in my heart. As much as I want to deny it, I am truly helpless,my dad is off the radar, Amanda is too powerful now, Vivienne has a lot of staunch supporters who are already enough to make my life hell, at this point, I may not even be able to get a job in the state anymore,as for revenge, that will be a mere fantasy.

"What do I do? How can I turn this around?" I mouthed to myself again.

"Stop whispering to yourself?" A voice whispered straight into my ears.

"Ahhh! I immediately jumped forward but a car was furiously approaching me , the bright lights stung me deep in my eyes and I could almost see death with his sickle grinning at me.

"Get out of the way, scaredly-cat," Abby pulled me away from the road like a ragdoll.

"Hah!" I could barely breathe as I steadied myself against the light pole. "Who....who are you?" I asked hoarsely, glaring at the man who nearly caused my death.

"Me?" Abby chuckled, his hands running through his hair as he looked at me sheepishly. "I am your friend."

"My friend?"I repeated,my voice already back to normal.

Sensing my doubt, Abby confidently pulled out his phone to send me a message but a big red mark appeared as if mocking him.

"Hey, why did you block me? I am your friend?" Abby glared at me, as if seriously hurt.

"You are the scammer?"my words leave my mouth, faster than I thought.

"Scam...scammer! No....how could you, how could your brain come up with such a concept? How?" Abby was almost going crazy, even the smile at the corner of his lips had long since faded.

"Sorry, but what am I supposed to think? You barge into someone's dm and start addressing yourself as a friend,only scammers do that?"

Abby paused for half a second before grinning widely at me like a Chihuahua. "You seem to have a good grasp of scammers, maybe you have been scammed one or twice, well, dear,worry no more,I am Abby, your loyal friend who wants nothing but a piece of your heart."Abby gave me a royal salute after he was done with his introduction.

One...two...three....the silence that enveloped the both of us, was both amusing and awkward to the extreme.

"Yea!!!" I shouted with almost zero energy to cheer the weirdo called Abby up.

Even his name sounds weird!

"Well, let's go drink to our friendship, may it last forever!" Abby pulled me happily towards a lie profile but luxurious car.

And just like that, I got myself a good friend or my worst nightmare, I had no clue but what I did know was that I need that drink!

My babies, I am coming for you!