Forced to Marry my Sister’s Fiancé

Ten

Amelia's words were dripping with insincerity as she insisted, "No really Georgia, we've missed you so so much. It's been so lonely without you. The house just hasn't been the same."

Georgia's expression remained guarded as she replied, "I can see that the house is still standing, Amelia. It seems like you've all managed just fine without me."

The tension in the room was so thick and palpable it could be cut with a knife. It was quite obvious that Amelia's words were intended to provoke a reaction. Georgia however refused to let her cousin's insincere comments get the best of her.

Isadora interjected, "Well, now that you're back, we can finally be a complete family again. There's so much to catch up on." Did they forget that they had disowned her ten years ago?

Georgia nodded, maintaining her composure. "Yes, it's been a while, hasn't it? I look forward to catching up." It's been ten years without any effort on your part to reach out to your granddaughter, so why the attitude change? What did she want? Georgia wondered.

As the conversations continued, Georgia couldn't help but notice that not one of them had asked her the reason for her return. It was as though they already knew or had their own motives, and she didn't want to bring it up first. Her eyes darted between the various family members, her cerulean gaze assessing their every word and movement.

Anthony still refused to meet her gaze, and her mother and father didn't bother to exchange a single meaningful word with her. Her father stood straight like a statue, a frown frozen on his face as he glowered at her, while her mother stood with that deceptive smile that couldn't hide the hatred in her eyes as she stared. Their attitudes weren't that different from what she was used to, but she still couldn't help the pang of heartache that assaulted her. It's been ten years Father and Mother, surely that has to count for something?

After a few minutes of these meaningful discussions that was filled with thinly veiled jabs and insults, Isadora dismissed everyone, mentioning that they would continue their conversations at dinner, which was only a few hours away. Georgia knew that the dinner would be the battleground where her family's true intentions would be revealed. And she couldn't wait to see what they had in store for her.

Amelia, was assigned to guide Georgia to her new room, but she couldn't resist the opportunity to lay subtle digs and insults, her heart burning in envy and hatred. She wanted to remind Georgia of her place within the family hierarchy. That is..if she could still even be considered family.

"So, Georgia, you're back," Amelia began, her tone condescending. "I hope you've enjoyed your little adventures out there in the real world. Must be quite different from our sheltered life here."

Georgia paused, a frown marring her face before she immediately composed herself, refusing to be baited. "It's been an experience. The real world has a way of teaching you things you'd certainly never learn in these..walls."

Amelia's smile was sly as she continued, "Well, you look different. I see you've had some work done. Cosmetic procedures can do wonders, can't they?"

Georgia gritted her teeth, her patience wearing thin, but she reminded herself to remain composed. "No, Amelia, I haven't had any cosmetic work done. Surely you hadn't expected me to remain the same after ten years?"

Amelia gnashed her teeth in even more jealousy. "Oh do forgive me, I hope you're not offended."

Georgia replied, her voice laced with a touch of amusement, "Offended? Not at all. I've learned to embrace change and grow..unlike someone who remained stagnant."

With a final disdainful look, Amelia abruptly turned and began walking down a corridor, expecting Georgia to follow her. Georgia hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath to steady herself, and then fell into step behind her cousin.

The Valentino Villa was a grand and sprawling mansion, a testament to the wealth and influence of the Valentino family for generations upon generations. As they walked through the opulent halls, Georgia couldn't help but be struck by the sheer extravagance of it all. Every corner of the villa was adorned with priceless art, antique furnishings, and the kind of decor that exuded an air of timeless elegance.

The journey through the mansion felt like a surreal trip down memory lane for Georgia. The familiar scent of polished wood and old books lingered in the air, taking her back to her childhood. The place had remained unchanged, and it was a stark contrast to the world she had experienced outside these walls. She wasn't in any way lacking of money, but yet she never indulged in such luxury since she's left Moore.

They continued their walk through the villa, passing by rooms that held memories of her childhood. The grand dining room, the majestic ballroom, and the expansive drawing room, all meticulously preserved in their opulence. Amelia never missed an opportunity to remind Georgia of her perceived absence from this world and how little she was missed, her comments carrying the weight of years of resentment and envy.

Amelia had never once been fond of Georgia, much like most of her family members. But Amelia took it a personal mission of hers to make Georgia’s life miserable. Being very close in age, one would expect the young cousins to get along pretty well, and that was certainly true for Amelia and Alexia, who were attached at the hip and connected by their shared hatred for Georgia. It didn’t help that while the young girls then were interested in boys, fashion and s*x, georgia wasn’t at all interested in those then.

Amelia and alexia were extremely fond of playing pranks on Georgia that more than often than not got her in serious trouble when it had been no fault of hers. They painted her in front of her parents who never liked her to be this disobedient rowdy girl who was too stubborn to heed instructions. And because amelia and alexia had been allowed to go to actual school and georgia had not had also widened the distance between the three cousins.

Thinking of alexia, Georgia sucked in a slight breath, knowing the conversation was inevitable. It would make it seem like she was still wounded over what happened ten years ago and though she was, she didn’t want them to think they had such influence over her.

“Where is Alexia? I’ve seen everyone around but her. Prolly out shopping..” Georgia mentions casually, while her hands remained tightened in a fist as she plastered a smile on her face.

Amelia completely stiffens at the question, turning her head mechanically to give georgia a wide eyed look, her mouth gaped open, before her eyes narrowed into slits as she glowered menacingly at Georgia.

“That’s low, even for you Georgia.” Amelia’s voice was ice cold as she hissed out, leaving Georgia in incredulity, wondering what the hell she’d said wrong.

“f**k’s sake, this tour is stupid. Your room is the first one after you turn the corner over there, it’s the one next to Great aunt Anna Marie’s statue.” With that, Amelia turned on her heels and left without waiting for another word from Georgia, her heart engulfed in grief as she blinked the tears away. Stupid Georgia she thought, as tactless as ever.

Georgia stood and watched the receding figure of amelia go farther away, still unsure what exactly had happened. But damn, she thought. She knew she and Alexia had never gotten along, but she didn’t think it was a great sin to ask about her now, well good riddance. Not like she had actually wanted to know, just thought to be polite.

Following Amelia’s instructions, she easily located the room, noting the very creepy statue of their supposed Great aunt, before she pushed open the heavy mahogany doors to reveal a huge bedroom. Heck it was the size of the average apartment.

There was a big king sized bed to the far left corner, it was antique with tasteful looking canopies around it. A few ways from the bed was a big enough sitting area, with two one sitters and a two sitter couch arranged around a beautiful marble table. There was a medium sized Tv placed on a Tv stand that matched the marble table. The rest of the room decor was arranged quite nice, the air clean and the room spotless.

It was quite nice, she thought as she stepped inside the hard wooden floors of the room, surveying it some more. She walked towards one of the doors and entered what seemed to be an ensuite bathroom, and it too was big and luxurious, with a damn jacuzzi and everything. The next door led to a huge closet that was more than half the size of the room itself. It was full of clothes..dresses, tops, skirts, pants, jumpsuits, everything, a whole wall was dedicated to shoes of every kind and another to an assortment of jewelries, and another to bags.

“What the hell?” She thought out loud, going towards one of shoes and unsurprisingly it was in her size, she took off a nice fitted dress from the hanger and checked the size, it too was in her perfect fit. What more, they were all brand new, and couldn’t possibly have belonged to either Amelia or Alexia, the former of whom definitely couldn’t have belonged to her. She didn’t know Alexia’s size now, but she suppose they couldn’t possibly be the same.

What was going on, she thought. How could they possibly know of her arrival, and even if they had, the family she knew wouldn’t take the trouble to prepare all of these clothes for her. Was it not hers? No..they wouldn’t take her to this room if it was already occupied, and it was too much of a coincidence that it was all brand new and in her size.

How could they have known she was coming back to Moore? Or did they…perhaps have anything to do with her return?… the thought chilled Georgia to the core, unwilling to believe it true but unable to shake it all the same. What was going on?