Once Rejected, Now Rising Chapter 02

Once Rejected, Now Rising Chapter 02

Rinaldo’s voice cut through me sharply, signaling the guards.

A man entered immediately, syringe in hand, and plunged it into my neck.

The icy liquid coursed through me.

I tried to struggle, but my limbs lost all strength.

When I woke again, I was in the basement of our house.

Rinaldo stood over me. “When you’ve thought it through, you can go upstairs. Azura will be your sister. She’ll move in with us.”

I tugged at my lips. “Move in… with us? Or with you?”

“Or… you’ve already been intertwined with her, haven’t you?”

Rinaldo’s expression darkened. “You’re utterly unreasonable.”

I lunged at him, aiming to bite his ear.

Just as I reached him, the collar around my neck jolted violently. A surge of electricity shot through my body.

I collapsed to the floor, limbs convulsing uncontrollably.

“This is your first and last warning. Obey me. Don’t scare Azura. Otherwise…”

He paused, coldly. “I won’t hesitate to return you to prison. You remember how it felt there.”

Footsteps echoed as he ascended, closing the door behind him.

The basement sank back into darkness and silence.

Lying on the cold floor, I curled my lips.

Man? Father? I wanted neither.

He didn’t know. During those years in prison, I had met someone.

Azura had dragged me to her parties, saying, “Meet more people. Don’t rot at home all the time.”

At the parties, people gathered around her, laughing at her stories.

About her father, a legal powerhouse who adored her.

About her lover, a Ferraro family Mafia Don and promising mayor, who treated her like a queen.

Turns out, the day I was locked in prison, they flew together to see the aurora.

In those early days, I was tormented beyond breath, sneaking a chance to call Rinaldo, only to hear the cold automated voice, “The number you’ve dialed is temporarily unavailable.”

Azura’s sweet, boastful voice drifted over, “My dad treats my mom so well. Did you see the diamond ring on her hand? He bought it for her. It’s huge!”

I gripped my cup so tightly my knuckles whitened.

I thought of my mother. She had spent her entire life toiling for the family, yet she hadn’t even owned the simplest copper ring.

Struck by a cerebral hemorrhage, she was gone. Within a month, my father married this woman, and bought her a giant diamond.

I shot up, flinging my drink onto Azura.

“You’re all thieves! Robbers! Your mother stole someone else’s husband, and you steal too!”

I stepped closer. “Azura, you’re a murderer! Your hands are stained with my daughter’s blood! You’ll pay for this!”

Azura went pale.

She stepped back, tears filling her eyes, her voice trembling into a whimper, “Nerissa, are you sick again? Have you lost your mind? You’ve been obsessed with my husband, so why are you blaming me?”

Before her words finished, Rinaldo had stormed up from behind.

He swept the trembling Azura into his arms, patting her back, cooing, “Are you okay? Did she scare you?”

Azura buried her head in his chest, sniffling.

From his suit pocket, he pulled out a marriage certificate and slammed it in my face.

The hard edges scraped my cheek.

The document fell open to their wedding photos.

“Look carefully, Nerissa. Azura is my lawful wife. You’re the one who’s obsessed, rambling like a madwoman.”

I stared at the certificate, the red ink stabbing at my eyes.

While I was locked in prison, lying in icy water, confined in a cage, they had already completed their marriage.