My Enemy’s Daughter

AMÉLIA LEAL

” You Didn’t you see the pictures on the gossip sites?” Aurora’s mocking voice reverberates through the wide space of the room and reaches me, making me turn my face towards her, noticing for the first time since I entered the house her presence next to her husband.

” Aurora…” Peter intervenes, holding the woman’s arm, but looking at me.

I look between them, confused by my stepsister’s words and the strange scene that is still playing out.

“What should I have seen?” I speak, not directing my speech to anyone in particular, but wanting a plausible answer.

“Oh, please.” Aurora says, breaking free of her husband’s grip and throwing both arms up in a dramatic, theatrical gesture, then adopting her typical superior expression. “Your bitch mother betrayed my father and now the entire planet, you know. This happened. he growls, looking in the direction where my parents are.

My brain takes time to process the information, but everything falls into place when I observe them better. Augusto Leal is kneeling at my mother’s feet, like in one of those foreign films full of drama that I tend to watch from time to time and it is the most bizarre situation I have ever witnessed in my entire life, firstly because the great Mr. Leal is not one to apologize, second, he is on his knees and begging. My eyes widen and it all makes sense.

He found out!

“Get up, Augustus!” Stop this acting. Mom snaps, looking embarrassed and irritated at the same time.

“I love you, Anna. We can start over, give us that chance.” Dad asks, sounding sincere in his words.

I’m mesmerized by the scene, avoiding even blinking.

“I can’t believe this…” Aurora murmurs, looking in the same direction as me. Her face is twisted into a frown of disbelief and annoyance, but I also notice the confusion in her pale irises.

” I better go, Augustus. I’m not giving any interviews, don’t worry. I just need some time.”

“Not! You’re meeting that guy and I can’t accept that, we’re still married and I have an image to preserve. If you leave the house after these rumours, my rivals will come all over me.” He stands up, his expression changing to something wild, angry.

Mom recoils, just as surprised and scared by Dad’s change in behavior as I am.

“What photos are these?” I look at Aurora.

She snorts, pacing back and forth in low heels and a tight dress that highlights her baby bump, which is bigger than the last time we saw each other, her shape has gained more curves too and her face is rounded, making her even prettier.

“What pictures, Aurora?” I rephrase the question, holding my stepsister’s blue eyes.

Peter stands beside her, trying to get her to stop in her tracks and calm down, I can see the spark of concern in his eyes every time he looks at his wife and I know he is remembering her in a hospital bed, running the risk of losing her son, just like the last time she took part in an argument in this house.

I don’t blame him, I’m thinking the same thing.

“These photos.” Dad holds the phone up to my face and a picture of Mom with a man appears, along with sensational text and headline.

Mom is on her back, being kissed and caressed by a man with long brown hair, her face is hidden due to her position, but it is possible to see the man’s profile. I lower my eyes to the text and slowly read the headline, words full of innuendo and offensive make up the text, I clench my hands into fists and set my jaw.

Vultures.

Birds of Prey.

How did they get these photos?

“My name is in the mud, Amelia. I’m the fucking governor of this state and I’m playing a joke on my constituents! ” Dad explodes, roaring the words and showing an anger that was hidden until then.

I turn my eyes to Dona Anna Maria, she has slumped shoulders and a defeated expression that hurts my soul, I remember our argument yesterday and the feeling of guilt hits me, she is my mother after all.

“Mommy.” I say, walking over to her. Her eyes meet mine and there’s regret in them, shame and something else I can’t place.

“I’m sorry, daughter.” she says, touching my face.

I shake my head, denying her apology.

“You shouldn’t apologize, they owe you that.” I speak, referring to the journalists of the gossip site.

She hugs me and I return the gesture, squeezing her tightly against me.

“Where were you?” Ask softly and frown, strange your question.

“At Henrico , you called the farm asking me to come.” I say, pulling my face away from her shoulder to face her.

She looks confused by my speech, knitting her eyebrows together.

” I didn’t call there, I spent the night trying to track my car and I couldn’t. You left your cell phone at home too, I was about to call the police when my phone went crazy with so many calls from journalists, that’s when I saw the photos and the confusion was already established.”He speaks.

she didn’t call.

Now I’m the one who’s confused.

“If you didn’t call, then…” I think aloud, stopping to look at each member of my family, finally realizing what happened.

It was a setup.

Idiot.

Idiot.

Idiot.

He’s the only person I’ve told about Mom’s betrayal, he’s also the only person I can think of who would be happy for this information to leak out so he could directly target my father and get his damned revenge, humiliating the whole world. my family.

But… How did he get the pictures so fast?

Of course! by the way he reacted, he should have already been aware of the extramarital relationship that Mom was having and had possession of those photos, so he didn’t present such a surprise. He manipulated me with his appeasing words, encouraging me to forgive my mother because she should have been planning to leak the photos, everything was part of her plan, the theater, the kisses. He tricked me right.

My chest tightens, the shame at letting myself be deceived by someone who so openly declares his hatred for my family is overwhelming.

” I’m sorry.” I whisper, looking at the floor.

The fault is mine.

“What are you talking about?” Aurora’s voice makes me wake up and look towards her, her eyes are sharp, suspicious and study me intently.

I open my mouth to speak, but I can’t.

“The photos are true, I found someone from my past and I’m separating from your father.” Mom declares, gaining everyone’s attention again.

An agonizing silence sets in, making everyone’s breathing the only audible sounds, and I try not to look in Dad’s direction.

“That doesn’t surprise me. You were Dad’s lover when my mom was alive, now she’s cheated on him with someone else. Being a whore without character is what you are.” Aurora attacks, ripping all the patience out of my body.

I advance towards her, not thinking straight and shout, very close to her face: ” Shut the damn mouth, I will not allow you to talk to my mother like that. She finished raising you, gave affection and always strived to please you, swallow your arrogance and be more grateful.

Aurora snorts, giving me the same death glare I’m dealing her with.

“I don’t owe your mother or you anything, I never asked you to do anything for me. Because of her my mother died of heartbreak, for me, let her go away with her lover and never come back.” He arrives.

Peter yells, taking up the space between his wife and me. “Amelia, please.” He asks, begging me with his eyes for me to be the first to give in.

She is pregnant, his eyes say.

I breathe in, giving my sister one last look, and pull away, returning to Mom’s side.

“Don’t worry, Aurora. I’m leaving right now.” Mom says, grabbing my hand and turning toward the stairs.

I don’t question her, following her in precise steps.

“You can not go.” Dad speaks again.

“Augusto…” Mom turns her back to face him.

“There are journalists out there, Anna. Give me some time so I can pack things up.

Mom shakes her head.

“There’s nothing to fix, you better than anyone know that our marriage has not been going well for a long time, separation is our only choice.”

” I disagree, we can regain the feeling you think you lost. Forget everything, let’s start over.” Dad tries, using a soft, almost seductive voice.

Mom sighs, taking the hand not holding mine to wipe away a stray tear.

“Don’t make this difficult, Augustus.”

“I won’t make it easy for you, Anna. I don’t usually lose.” Dad’s menacing voice puts me on alert.

“I never expected it to be.” The woman who gave me life speaks, in a confident and challenging tone.

I watch Dad narrow his eyes and change his expression once more, opting for a softer, friendlier, almost kind look.

Strange the change in his behavior.

“Give me at least a week so I can approach our split with the media more smoothly, I’m not asking too much of you. Think about my career and how much I fought to get to where I am.” Papa embodies the great Augusto Leal and uses his CEO tone, cold and calculating.

Mom sighs, looking at the man who’s been married for eighteen years and nodding, surprising everyone in the room.

“A week.” Murmurs.

My progenitor smiles widely, a dark glint in his eyes.

“That’s all I need. Do not speak or confirm anything with the media until then, I will ask you not to meet with this guy until the end of this week too.” He asks and she nods.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Strange the coldness and contentment in Dad’s speech, he doesn’t even seem like the same man who was huffing and screaming minutes ago.

Something is wrong.

Augusto Leal doesn’t like to lose.

“That goes for you too.” He directs a glance at me, then at Aurora and Peter. “No word of what happened by the end of this week.”

Everyone confirms it, except Aurora, but I doubt that she would dare to contradict Dad in any case.

“I’ll sort out the ruckus outside.” Dad says, pulling his cell phone out of his suit and heading to his office.

” Let’s go.” Mom says directly to me, nodding toward the stairs.

I nod and we start walking up the steps, leaving my stepsister and her husband behind.

“Nice shirt, little sister.” Aurora teases, hinting to me that she knows who the blouse belongs to.

My body tenses, remembering what I let him do last night. Your mouth, your tongue and your hands marking me. I clench my fists, forcing myself not to cry. He used me, but he will never touch me again.

A bloody traitor!

Damn liar.

He leaked the pictures and acted for me, but I know it was him.

I will not forgive you, Henrico Zattani. I am not going.