Ficorpio
Chapter 1
The boarding announcement sounded for the third time, but your fingertip still rested on the destination printed across your ticket.
Paris.
Tomorrow was supposed to have been your wedding day.
Your wedding to Adrian Sterling, the most sought-after heir among the Kingsbridge elite. The press had already dubbed it the wedding of the century, and for the past two weeks, your names had dominated every business page and society column in the city.
Now you were the biggest joke in Kingsbridge.
“Chloe, stop waiting. They’re about to close the gate.”
Nathan Bennett stood beside you, exhaustion impossible to hide from his voice. He slid a cup of warm milk across the table.
“Get some rest once you’re there. Mom and Dad didn’t have a choice.”
No choice?
You curved your lips, but the smile never reached your eyes.
Of course they had no choice.
The night before your wedding, your best friend, Celeste Vale, had drugged Adrian.
After their disastrous night together, Celeste’s older brother, Victor Vale, had arrived at the Sterling residence with an entourage. Armed with his military establishment connections, he had demanded that Adrian take responsibility for “ruining” his sister.
Adrian had said nothing.
He might have been the golden heir of the Kingsbridge elite, but even he couldn’t withstand pressure from the military establishment. Especially when, from everyone else’s perspective, he was the one at fault.
And just like that, you, his recognized fiancée, had become an inconvenience.
To keep you from crossing paths with Adrian and Celeste, and to salvage what remained of the Bennett family’s reputation, your parents had made their decision overnight.
They were sending you abroad.
Discarding you as if you were a problem to be disposed of.
Celeste’s tearful face. Adrian’s tightly drawn brows as he stood in silence. Victor’s overbearing arrogance.
The images flashed through your mind one after another, each one cutting into your heart with the slow, grinding edge of a blunt knife.
Then several translucent lines of text drifted across the edge of your vision, glowing with a harsh fluorescent light.
[Celeste finally turned her life around! The heroine wins!]
You went rigid.
For a moment, you thought grief had driven you to hallucinate. You squeezed your eyes shut, then opened them again.
The words hadn’t disappeared.
If anything, they had grown clearer, shifting slightly whenever you moved your gaze.
[My poor Celeste! She’s suffered so much! At least she won Adrian through her own efforts. She’s so much better than Chloe Bennett, who has nothing but her family name!]
[The doomed villainess is finally gone! Did she really think she could keep clinging to Adrian? She should know her place. I can’t wait for her to come back in three years, cause trouble, and get publicly humiliated by Celeste!]
Chapter 2
[At least the Bennett and Sterling families have some sense. Ship that embarrassment overseas before she gets in the way of Celeste and Adrian!]
[Can’t wait for tomorrow’s wedding! Celeste is the real future Mrs. Sterling!]
One vicious line after another forced its way into your sight.
The doomed villainess?
You?
Chloe Bennett?
Absurd.
“Chloe? What’s wrong?”
Nathan noticed your expression and reached out to feel your forehead.
“Why are you so pale? Are you sick?”
You jerked your head aside before he could touch you, then forced yourself to your feet. A faint tremor slipped into your voice despite your efforts to suppress it.
“I’m fine.”
The supernatural reader comments immediately flooded your vision again.
[What an act. Villainesses always have to make everything dramatic!]
[Nathan is such a caring brother. Too bad he got stuck with such a selfish sister.]
[Just get on the plane already! No one wants you here!]
You drew a deep breath. Cold air filled your lungs, clearing some of the fog from your mind.
So, in the eyes of these inexplicable spectators, your very existence had been a mistake from the beginning.
But what did that matter?
You had never been the kind of woman who allowed others to decide her fate.
“Nathan, I’m not leaving.”
You turned to face him, a composed smile appearing on your lips.
His brows snapped together. “Chloe, don’t be ridiculous. This isn’t the time for a tantrum. Your ticket is booked, and Mom and Dad—”
“We both know whether they’re doing this for me or because they’re afraid the Bennett family will become an even bigger scandal.”
You cut him off, your voice calm but carrying a force that left no room for argument.
“They send me away, Celeste takes my place without opposition, and the Bennett and Sterling families make a clean break. That’s their idea of handling this with dignity.”
[What the hell? The villainess is refusing to follow the script?]
[What does she think she’s doing? Is she staying to embarrass herself even more?]
[Nathan, stop her! Don’t let her lose her mind!]
The comments streamed past in a frenzy, but you ignored them.
You slowly smoothed your skirt, every movement retaining its accustomed elegance. You looked as though you were preparing to enter a glittering reception, not confront the wreckage of your own life.
“Nathan, I’m not the one who did anything wrong. I’m not the one whose reputation was supposedly ruined, and I’m not the one being forced to marry someone I don’t love.”
You met his eyes, your gaze painfully clear.
“I’m the victim. Why should I run away like the guilty party and surrender everything to the people who betrayed me?”
Nathan stared at you, caught off guard. His mouth opened, but no words came out.
Chapter 3
“Victor could use his military connections to force Adrian’s hand because Adrian gave him the leverage.” A trace of mockery entered your voice. “But the Bennett family has held its place among the capital elite for generations. Since when did we become so easy to intimidate?”
[Wait… she almost has a point.]
[She has no point! She’s just bitter and wants to ruin everything!]
[Warning: villainess on the rampage! Celeste, run!]
“Chloe, this is more complicated than you understand.” Nathan’s voice grew urgent as he tried to reason with you. “Adrian is in a difficult position too. The Vales are putting enormous pressure on him. If this escalates, both the Bennett and Sterling families will suffer. Having you stay away for a while is the best solution.”
“The best solution is to sacrifice me?”
A bleak laugh escaped you.
“Nathan, there is no world in which that is fair.”
You picked up your phone from the seat beside you and woke the screen.
It was blank.
No missed calls. No messages.
The man you had loved for eight years hadn’t offered you a single explanation. At the most humiliating and hopeless moment of your life, even a few words of comfort had apparently been too much for him to give.
The pain in your chest continued to spread, but the love beneath it had already been worn away by one disappointment after another.
The floating comments kept predicting your future. They spoke of how you would return in three years, cause trouble, and suffer humiliating defeat at Celeste’s hands.
You inhaled slowly, forcing down the turmoil inside you. When you looked at Nathan again, your eyes were resolute.
“Tell Mom and Dad I appreciate their concern, but I’ll decide where my life goes from here.”
You took hold of your suitcase. Its wheels clicked sharply over the airport floor.
“As for who will become the greatest joke in Kingsbridge… it’s far too early to tell.”
[She smiled! She’s really turning evil!]
[Why is this suddenly kind of thrilling?]
[Warning! The scripted timeline is changing! Warning!]
Nathan stared at your transformed expression and forgot to stop you.
You had almost reached the departure lounge doors when he finally came to his senses.
“Chloe! Where are you going?”
You didn’t look back.
“Home.”
The glass doors slid open and closed behind you, separating your straight-backed figure from Nathan and the noise beyond.
He stood frozen for several seconds before slowly taking out his phone and calling your parents.
“Dad…” His voice was strained. “Chloe didn’t board the plane.”
Your father’s incredulous shout erupted from the other end of the call.