I suddenly felt a cold sensation wash over my face.

Ella stood before me while holding a bucket of ice water. Her gaze was blazing with pure hatred. "Cynthia Crawford! How could you be so wretched? When did you start seducing Oliver? How could you make him take you as his mistress and even force me to deliver food to you?"

I raised my hand and wiped the water from my face. I said, "It's because he himself has no faith that you're capable of lifting the curse."

Ella violently threw the food container to the ground while yelling, "You'd better stop being so full of yourself, Cynthia! You and I possess witch blood! What makes you think you can do it while I can't?

"You must have secretly seduced Oliver, which is why he wants you as his mistress. You'll never, in your life, rise above my station, Cynthia!"

I offered no retort. Instead, I met her gaze with a placid expression. "Do you truly wish to be rivals with me for the rest of our days, or would you rather let me walk away and focus on being the respectable Madre, Ella?"

Ella glared fiercely at me, then turned and walked away.

It was midnight when, as I was devising a method to get out, the door abruptly unlocked. I grabbed the chance, ran to my best friend's place to recover for a few days, and finally saw the wedding day arrive.

I showed up at the wedding ceremony in a haute couture wedding dress. Oliver's eyes briefly registered astonishment, but he quickly masked it and yanked me over, saying, "Ella is supposed to be the bride today, Cynthia. Why on earth are you dressed in a wedding dress?"

It turned out that Don Bryant, who wanted to be present at both his sons' wedding ceremonies simultaneously, had arranged for them to be held in the same location.

I pulled my hand free from his grip and said, "You should show some restraint, Oliver! I'm not just anyone you can touch whenever you want!"

Upon hearing the commotion, Ella rushed over. Her eyes were brimming with tears as she said, "If you truly desired the pink diamond ring Madre gave me, then I would have gladly ceded it to you, Cynthia. How could you try to steal my husband now?"

In that instant, as a single tear fell, those who had gathered began to whisper amongst themselves.

"I heard that the two of them had been at odds since childhood. I never thought that the younger one would actually attempt to steal the groom. What an utter disgrace!"

"I know, right? I mean, the bride and groom are obviously deeply in love. In addition, she even has a betrothed of her own, so she has no business trying to meddle here!"

Mom positioned herself defensively in front of a sobbing Ella and said, "You abandoned our home for some man and demanded to cut ties with us, which we agreed to. How could you sabotage Ella's wedding now? Do you truly believe that the Bryant family is a force to be trifled with?"

It was then that one of the people nearby suddenly gasped. "I had a feeling something was amiss because Ella was managing all the preparations alone! It turns out that Cynthia actually ran away from home! It's a shame that they spent so much time raising her only for her to behave like that!"

I couldn't help but sneer in response. I was the one who wanted to end our ties on the day we drew lots, but they simply refused to do so. Yet now, to spare Ella any embarrassment, they were quick to agree.

I stared pointedly at them and asked, "Why don't you admit to locking me up in the attic, then? You also forced me to be Oliver's—"

I hadn't even finished saying what I wanted to say when I heard Dad bellowing and aggressively bringing his hand down toward me. I instinctively closed my eyes, but the blow I expected didn't land.

I looked up to find William's hand, its joints prominent and fingers long, locked in a tight vise around Dad's wrist. "Who are you to lay a hand on my woman?"