The Princess Lives in a Truman World Chapter 04

The Princess Lives in a Truman World Chapter 04

The symposium went on for a long time, and partway through, I went to the restroom.

When I tried to leave, the door would not open.

No matter how hard I tried, it would not budge, as though someone had locked it from the outside.

“Is anyone out there? Can someone help me?”

I pounded on the door and called for help, but no one answered.

I was preparing to kick it open when it suddenly swung outward.

Aria stood on the other side with several girls behind her, blocking the doorway so I could not leave.

She lifted one hand in a silent signal. One of the girls immediately stepped forward and kicked me to the floor.

Pain tore through my lower abdomen, and I doubled over, clutching my stomach.

Aria picked up a bucket nearby and dumped the dirty water over my head.

It smelled foul and left me half soaked and utterly humiliated.

The girls snickered.

I wiped the water from my face and stared at Aria through dripping lashes.

“Why are you doing this?”

With another kick, Aria sent me crashing into the corner. Barely restrained hatred burned in her eyes as she sneered at me.

“Aren’t you supposed to be the brilliant one? If your grades are so amazing, why weren’t you the one onstage?”

“Sofia, do you really think Mom and Dad are going to bring you home after the scholarship finals? They won’t.”

“I will never let them bring you back, and the livestream is never going to end.”

“You belong in that filthy, lightless apartment for the rest of your life. You can rot there while everyone watches and laughs at you.”

Her face was twisted with malice, and she looked genuinely frightening.

How had the sweet, gentle sister I remembered become this person in only six years?

Still, I had a pretty good idea what had caused it.

“What? Did Mom and Dad tell you they plan to put me in charge of the Family? Is that why a pathetic loser like you is so jealous?”

“You’re afraid I’ll come back and make you pay. You’re terrified I’ll take everything you have and tear your perfect life apart.”

I had struck a nerve.

Aria slapped me across the face, then glanced back at the girls behind her. They immediately closed in around me.

Aria pulled out her phone and began recording.

“Strip her. A body like that deserves an audience.”

“Mom and Dad have already had their fun with you. I can’t let them outdo me.”

She laughed wildly.

I choked back my sobs and forced myself not to cry. The more I cried, the more she would enjoy it.

Sofia Corleone, things will get better.

You have to endure this and keep building your strength. No matter how many times you are dragged through hell, you have to be the one who saves yourself.

It took a long time before Aria finally felt satisfied enough to leave with the others.

I crouched on the floor in my soaked clothes, trembling from the cold.

She was laughing now, but she would not be laughing forever.

That evening, Mom came home for the first time in ages. She was carrying several bags of food.

“Sofia, I won at cards today, so I brought you some treats.”

She emptied the bags onto the table. Many of the snacks were imported.

They had probably come from the estate. Aria must not have wanted them, so Mom had brought them to me as a handout.

Mom stood in front of me as though she had something important to say.

Before I could ask what was wrong, she burst into tears.

“Sofia, I’m so sorry. I have cancer, and I don’t have much time left.”

Did she really have cancer? Was it true?

Had God finally decided to send me some good news?