VELVET VENGEANCE: TO RUIN A DYNASTY

(ARIA'S POV)

"The Donovan house, a behemoth mansion standing on the top of a hill, its sheer size invoking awe and fear in all who see it. Millions have admired it for ages, and now, it is a special occasion where all can enter this picturesque mansion, the one in a million celebratory banquet!"

Hah?

What a load of bull. I almost vomited from last night's dinner after reading the introduction to Vivienne's celebration. What a picturesque mansion, it's just a big empty house with little to no artistic concept, just sheer extravagance where everyone is not given time to speak, to put it bluntly, a ridiculous empty shark where the mistress and her daughter parade like the owner of the house while the legal daughter has to wash the....DISHES! YUP!

Washing the dishes, a chore I never will have taught, I will do for others in my entire life, but here I am, reality hitting me faster than a high-speed train."

"The family head is coming over to the main house for lunch. Is everything ready?" I vaguely hear the whisper of the head maid as she saunters around, giving orders to the dozens of maids under her command.

Dad!

Nothing else mattered to me but that one word, without as much as a second thought, I threw the dirty porcelain in my hands into the sink and rushed out, only to collide with the head maid.

"Hey, watch it, where do you... are you.....ohm! It's you, Miss Aria." Ivory's eyes glanced at me with unhidden contempt.

"Ohm, so you do know that I am your superior?" My eyes stared back at Ivory, the hatred not less than hers. This damned head maid, ever since my mother died, she has made my life miserable, some rumors said that she always was on a lookout for my mom's death so that she could get my father but unfortunately, even with my mother dead, my dad still never glanced half a meter in her direction, opting for a stranger instead.

Actually, I must say, unreasonable crash out on her part, hating on innocent me instead of the intruder and her daughter. "Miss, you are joking, I have always regarded you as my superior, why would I disdain you? However, miss, you should know, there are other people whose standing far surpasses yours. I have no choice but to obey them. I hope you understand!" Ivory's smile was so perfect that if I had not lived with her for years, I might have actually believed her bullshit.

"Whatever! Where is my father?" That was the only thing I actually wanted to know right now. It's been more than 6 years since I last set eyes on my father. In fact, the only reason I came back to the shithole after I ran away from it was just to meet him, my only relative left in this world.

"Well, I am afraid that is not possible." Ivory's smile faded faster than an opera shot.

"What did you mean by that?" I asked, nicely, not puzzled since I half expected a reply like that, but because I never expected her to be so blunt.

"Remember I told you something about others' authority surpassing yours? Well, your stepmother, Amanda, wants you nowhere in the main section of the building. She feels you will be..." Ivory leans closer to my ears and whispers; a burden like your dead mother"

Slap!

I swear, I did not know when my hands hit her face twice, if I had known, I would have clenched my fists so that she would lose at least 4 of her stupid, dumb teeth fillings. Well, not satisfied with my work, I shoved her to the floor and made my way to the main section.

Ever since I came back, I have tolerated all manner of nonsense, cooking, washing the dishes, cleaning up the garbage, all so that I could finally meet my dad and now....Amanda must have gone nuts, until I hear my father say that he does not want me, I will not take this behavior anymore!

(Amanda's POV)

OHH, you are here, I trust you have done all the dishes. I know from Aria's face she has not, but what can I do? Seeing her scream and complain is still one of my favorite shows to watch.

"Really? Amanda, all this while you have been making me work like a slave and a horse, all for what? So, just for your amusement, is it fun?"

"No, Aria, a slave and a horse work much harder than you do, plus they don't talk back to their masters, please get it right."

"So, to what do I owe this exceedingly rare visit if you did not report your work progress to me?"

"I am attending this banquet and I am going to see my father, you have gotten in our way for a long time, I was stupid before and actually left him all alone with you, I am never going to do that anymore."

You are still stupid now. I wish to tell her to her face, but that will take away the fun. Nothing is better than for Aria to feel her stupidity down to her bones.

"Well, honey, of course you are attending the banquet, you were my first guest....a waiter to serve drinks is still a guest, right?"

"Amanda, you... What now? Stop shouting my name. I don't know why kids from the streets have no manners at all. You already got your wish to be a guest, and as for your father, I don't know how often I will break the news to you, but your father does not want you."

"Should I call him and ask for you, maybe you will believe me then?" I whipped out my phone and dialed my husband's number to prove to this tramp that she has no place in this house; she had long thrown it away.

"Dear, your daughter Aria wants to speak to you... Beep!" The phone hung up instantly without even a word.

"See!" I pointed the phone at Aria, who looked as pale as a ghost.

Poor little creature!

(ARIA'S POV)

I felt like I was doused with cold water, the beeping sound of the phone echoing through my heart. What exactly did I do wrong? Why does my father hate me so much? Why did he hang up?

NO!

My dad has not even spoken yet; maybe he had something to say, but he couldn't because Amanda was near me, or maybe his connection is bad. At this point, I knew I was just trying to make up excuses, but what can I do? It hurts to get rejected by people you don't know, how much more, your only relative in this world?

I must hear from him, I must speak to him face to face and actually listen to him say he does not want me, or else I will not believe it, and that means.....I HAVE TO GO TO THE BANQUET!

BUT AS A WAITER!