Billionaire's Revenge Game

CHAPTER 1 : AURELIA

Aurelia stared at herself in the mirror as her fingers brushed through the light waves of thick brown hair cascading down her shoulders.

Among the many things happening around her, only the tips of her fingers brushing through the strands felt real.

Senses were an illusion, Aurelia was almost entirely numb to the world.

Right behind her was a bed that belonged to her. Two straight legs curled up on it, revealing perfectly round toes. The two legs fell and rose again, making a soft sound every time they hit the mattress.

"You are so lucky." Came an envious mumble from the owner of those straight legs.

Aurelia untangled her fingers from the waves, picking up a brush as if to remove that little sense of reality as well.

Zara flipped over, revealing her face that was somewhat similar to Aurelia's. At the moment one could tell that the difference between their features were distinct but not to the point of being strangers.

Zara had a smile on her face which added another few hefty brownie points to her already gorgeous features. Aurelia took a peak at her younger sister and looked away in shame.

"You haven't even met Cooper, but now you are engaged. If it was me in your place, I would already be announcing it to the world on a loud speaker. Live broadcast and everything!"

Aurelia took extra care of her hair as she lended a patient ear to Zara's rambling.

"Tell me, why aren't you jumping in excitement?!" Zara suddenly flipped over to Aurelia's side. A shock wave of surprise sent a shiver down her back.

The brush dropped from Aurelia's grip. Deep emerald eyes stopped on the brush for a few seconds, then looked up under the cover of thick lashes.

Her pink lips moved to answer, "Mom and dad are doing it for me."

"That's different! They are your parents. Of course, they are excited about you. What about you?" Zara narrowed her sparkling light green eyes. "Are you unhappy with this arranged marriage?"

Aurelia's shoulders tensed, her head shook on its own.

"Then let's not show that sad face in front of others during the engagement party in two days. What will people say if they see you in a daze?" Zara's hands pressed on either side of Aurelia's shoulders.

Long brown hair just like Aurelia's fell over her shoulder like thick waves, almost melting in the shadows. Aurelia looked down at the fallen brush and nodded stiffly.

Zara got the response she wanted. She bent down slightly, putting her face right in front of Aurelia's.

"Then why don't you smile?" She asked, tilting her head ever so slightly.

The stiff corners of pink lips moved mechanically. The rusted mechanism of those lips faced a hard time moving in an unnatural way. Aurelia smiled.

Zara touched both edges of those stiffly curled lips and stretched them to both ends.

"That's more like it. Make sure to smile widely when Cooper and his family come over. We don't want them to know what a loser you are. This is related to our family business. Try to act more natural, got it?"

The unnatural curve stayed on until Zara closed the door on her way out. Aurelia's shoulders slumped when it was just her in the solace of the empty bedroom.

The small bedroom had more personality than the person occupying it.

Aurelia bunched the fistful of wavy brown hair and rolled it up in a low bun to keep it off her face. The face full of makeup was removed in a skillful manner. As she did so, the diamond ring on the ring finger caught the light from the setting sun pouring through the open window.

Emerald green eyes flickered over the blinding orange light before moving the hand to take a good look at the ring. Her long fingers and trimmed nails had an adorning decoration added to their beauty.

She seemed to have gotten engaged today.

It was news that reached her ears in the morning and before she knew it, the ring was already on her finger by the same afternoon.

Aurelia only found the time to come to terms with her own engagement after three whole hours of receiving the ring.

Cooper Dishaw was her fiance. Whose face she was yet to see in person.

That name was almost always included within the first ten pages of the daily financial newspaper and mentioned at least once a week on the news channel her father often paid attention to.

That was about all the information she had on her fiance.

The sparkling diamond lost its shine as soon as the sun drowned under the stars.

Aurelia spent the short evening sitting in front of the vanity mirror. Without much thought, she stood up and put the ring back into its case.

She had to make proper preparations to meet her fiance for the first time. Aurelia pondered over the needed changes she was supposed to make to herself.

As someone who was guided by nearly every little thing in life by an external source, Aurelia had no ideas of her own.

There was no cheat sheet for it. Aurelia was lost for a while.

As Aurelia laid under the thick quilt, she made a mental note to ask mom what was needed to be prepared for her side.

As sleep gradually took over her eyes, the stout bottle of sleeping pills was hit by the wind that slipped in through the gaps of the window and fell from the table. The soft carpet on the floor soaked in the sound as the small pills slowly rolled all over it.

Aurelia did not dream.

She never dreamt. It was an occurrence that was left behind in childhood and never appeared again.

The alarm clock and Aurelia woke at the same time. The moment the small, unaesthetic little thing made a sound, it was ruthlessly shut by a light slap on it's head. Aurelia woke up as if she was not sleeping.

Her eyes were wide open, emerald eyes as dazed as they had been the days before. They moved towards the door habitually. As if on cue, the door opened and in came the housekeeper.

"Madam is expecting you at the dining table in twenty minutes."

The housekeeper announced like she does every morning. Aurelia nodded, made her bed as the housekeeper left the bedroom. The bed was made and Aurelia took exactly ten minutes to shower and get ready.

Descending down the stairs, Aurelia happened to cross paths with Zara. Zara was in her pyjama, yawing as she took one step after another. Aurelia stopped, letting Zara pass by her.

"Oh, you are here," Zara snorted.

Aurelia followed Zara behind to the dining room. The chairs were fixed, Aurelia took a seat.

Two middle-aged individuals were already seated in the seats in the lead. The middle-aged man had turfs of grey hiding between the lush brown and black hair. His long nose was surely not the result of lies that were a standard personality trait of business people.

He was hidden from the rest by a thin layer of an opened newspaper.

Aurelia's eyes fixed on the front page. The headline was always more or less the same. Her wide eyes stayed on the paper for a few seconds too long before they were forcefully averted by her. The picture was as captivating as it could get.

Right next to the middle-aged man was a woman of roughly the same age with an appearance that was clearly maintained with money. The thick hair was an unnatural black, the forehead was stiff with heavy injections and the sternness of the eyes eliminated any chances of' crows' feet.

Zara walked over to their side and gave a half hug to each of them.

"Mom, dad, good morning."

Rachel nodded, her brown eyes full of love and indulgence, "Good morning."

Victor moved the morning newspaper ever so slightly and nodded in response.

Aurelia moved her chair lightly, which coincidentally made a sound. The atmosphere immediately got a couple tons heavier. Zara rolled her eyes and sat opposite to her sister.

"Mom, I am so jealous of Aurelia. You found such a nice guy for her. Why don't you get someone for me as well? Someone as good-looking, smart and successful as Cooper?"

Her words were as sweet as honey. Honey that dropped down the sharp edges of a thorn.

"You will find a better man once you are successful in life. Don't eye other people's things. What have I taught you?" Rachel gave Zara a look.

Many implications were made and many meanings were left unexplained.

Zara scoffed and looked away. Aurelia turned to Rachel and just so happened to meet her eyes. The soft brown eyes were different from the two sisters.

"You are now engaged. Try to be more accommodating towards the man in your life. Don't be selfish."

Aurelia nodded, "Yes, mom."

Rachel's lips curled into a sneer at the address, "Call me Rachel, how many times do I have to say it?"

"Yes."

The form of address was a habit. After all, stepmother's were just that. Stepmothers. They were never moms. Aurelia was yet to get rid of that little problem.

Aurelia devoted herself to the food on the plate after that. The rest of the members of the family enjoyed their breakfast as they usually do. Aurelia helped the house and helped clean the dishes.

After making sure everything was in place and everyone else was either at work, get-together or university, a small, inaudible sigh escaped her tensed body.

With thick hair put up, dressed in leggins and a long tunic which covered up her entire body, her face made up the way it should, Aurelia left the empty house.

The unusually sparkling diamond was the only thing out of place on her body on the day that was no different from the ones before it.

The afternoon sun was about to climb onto the heads of pedestrians.

Emerald eyes were given a shower of sunlight which made them sparkle like jewels. Aurelia looked up at the empty sky. There was not a single intact cloud up there. She kind of disliked the arrival of summer.

On the busy streets outside the luxurious apartment complex, Aurelia hailed a cab to avoid a late slip.

Entering the busy gate, Aurelia's tensed face loosened and her lips had a natural small smile on them.

The gates were opened wide and a tsunami of little children as short as her knees and as tall as her waist rushed around the open space of the campus. Some went around her, some rushed across from her, their small school bags jiggling on their backs.

"Good morning Miss Listan!" A cute, childish voice greeted her from the sea of children.

Aurelia's softened eyes skillfully spotted the source and greeted back warmly, "Good morning, Luke."

Her pleasant greeting brought a brilliant smile to the five-year-old child's face. He waved and rushed towards his friends. Taking his cue, the other children started to wish her as well.

"Good morning Miss Listan!"

"Good morning Sofia."

Aurelia repeated the same greeting a couple of times until she reached the staff room. Her cubicle was the same as the day she joined. Empty and lacking personality. If she happened to be absent from her seat, one would think it didn't have an occupant.

"Good morning teachers and students. Please settle down for the morning assembly!" The loud speakers blasted an old female voice throughout the campus.

The violent shouts and giggles came to an abrupt hold. Aurelia's body tensed again. She stood up along with her colleagues in the same staff room until the end of the morning assembly.

After the mandatory assembly, Aurelia took out a stack of papers from the drawer and started to grade them. She could vaguely hear the whispers of the colleagues around her.

"Is that a real diamond?" Someone whispered.

"Should be. When did she get engaged?"

"Clearly not too long ago. She didn't have that on her finger before the weekend."

"She did not tell us ..."

"Throw that expectation down the shredder."

"Yeah, when does she ever speak to us?"

"She's withdrawn."

"She doesn't like socializing."

"I heard that's the reason she is still just a TA and doesn't take more than three classes. She doesn't even teach a class unless absolutely necessary."

"She is only nineteen, isn't she?"

"So young but so boring. She's not like those young people at all."

"I don't see the point in joining -"

"Shut up! Get to class!"

Aurelia placed an arm over the paper and lowered her head to make her presence low. From a distance, her cubicle appeared empty. It might as well be. She was an unnecessary addition to the school.

The colleagues around the cubicle stopped their whispering when the morning class started.

Aurelia spent four hours in the same cubicle and left as soon as her work hours were over.

The children were already gone as it was a half day. The school campus was the most peaceful and the loneliest when it was empty. Aurelia couldn't wait to get out.

She habitually moved towards the front gate when someone called her back by her name.

Surprise flashed in the wide emerald eyes and disappeared before she turned around. She looked exactly the same as she did in the morning. Not a hair out of place.

"Miss Aurelia, you forgot this!" A colleague rushed towards her with a water bottle. It was an empty glass water bottle with cartoons drawn over it.

Aurelia looked at it expressionlessly, "It's not mine."

The colleague was taken aback, then blushed. It was rare to hear Aurelia talk, so he was surprised by the softness in it. He pressed the water bottle to his back and cleared his throat, "Um, you have a nice voice."

"Thank you."

"Um, you are very pretty as well."

Aurelia blinked, "I know."

The colleague was immediately flustered by her response. He was lost on how to get it from there. By the time he came up with something else, Aurelia lifted her left hand. The colleague blinked rapidly. The diamond was truly dazzling.

"I am engaged."

"Huh?" The colleague sputtered.

"I am announcing it. Please tell the other teaching and non-teaching staff on my behalf."

"Oh.. oh! Okay! Congratulations!"

The colleague ran back to the staff room and Aurelia was on her way back home. It was extremely difficult to get a cab at that time of the day. Since it was a twenty minute walk, Aurelia decided to walk back home.

At the four-way traffic signal, as Aurelia waited for the lights to turn green, the window of a car not far away from her was lowered.

An arm with rolled up sleeves pressed against the open window. A steady stream of smoke ringed out, followed by the overwhelming smell of tobacco. A head tilted sideways, revealing the light tan on the skin of a familiar face. Dark sunglasses reflected the blue tunic worn by the beautiful girl.