I was a pushover, but I was born with a cursed tongue.
When I came of age, my foster parents tried to sell me to a wealthy, ailing old man.
Trembling, I whispered, Mom, Dad, don’t you fear what goes around comes around for this?
That very night, a torrential downpour triggered a mudslide, instantly swallowing the entire trafficking village.
Later, I went to the city, selling flowers and offering good wishes. One rainy night, a rich jerk stumbled out of a bar and roughly grabbed me.
I stammered, “Don’t touch me! You might hurt your hand…”
The next second, he shrieked, letting go as his wrist instantly dislocated.
Then, a man with gentle eyes softly took my sleeve.
“Your words are powerful. Come home with me?”
That night, he bought all my flowers, and I, in a daze, followed him home.
Six months later, we were married.
My parents claimed they were coming to visit, but on my wedding day, they locked me in a room.
My twin sister, Serena, was wearing my custom wedding gown, replacing me to marry Julian Blackwood.
The wedding ceremony outside was lively, and I screamed for ages, but no one heard me.
I huddled in the corner, sniffling, softly muttering like the pushover I was:
“The real bride is right here. How can this wedding even happen…?”
The words had barely left my lips when,
CRASH—
Just as the ceremony reached its peak, the front door, frame and lock, shattered and collapsed.
The heavy reinforced door crashed down, eliciting gasps from the crowd:
“What a disaster on our wedding day! Why did the door just fall down?”
“The bride’s been hit! Quick, help her!”
The festive atmosphere outside instantly evaporated, replaced by a cacophony of clanging and crashing.
Footsteps, screams, and the sounds of heavy objects being dragged mixed together, shattering the wedding mood.
At the same time, Serena’s sharp voice pierced through the chaos:
“My wedding shoes! These are Italian haute couture heels! Get this door off me!”
Inside, I softly mumbled:
“Those were custom-made for me by Julian. I haven’t even worn them yet…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine if you don’t wear them. Haute couture quality isn’t always great anyway. What if the heel breaks?”
The next second, a yelp of pain erupted from outside.
Followed by Serena’s tearful curses:
“The heel broke?! This damn shoe is trying to make me fall! What terrible quality!”
Everyone scrambled to help the “bride” sit down.
I huddled by the toilet, blinking my stinging eyes, looking at my wrinkled pajamas, and bitterly whispered:
“That bespoke wedding dress was expensive too, Julian had a renowned designer make it for me.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Hand-stitched. What if some clumsy embroiderer left a needle in it?”
The words had barely left my lips when,
“AAHHH—!!!”
A more piercing scream tore through the air from outside. Serena shrieked in pain:
“Something’s pricking me!”
She stood up to look, only to find a needle from the gown deeply embedded in her thigh.
Crimson blood welled up, staining the jewels on the dress.
The wedding planner by her side sounded shaky:
“Miss Serena… today, isn’t it a bit… unlucky?”
Serena whirled around, glaring at her, gritting her teeth. “So what? No matter how unlucky, I will get married! Today, I will become Mrs. Blackwood!”
Julian hadn’t arrived yet, and everyone was dispatched by Serena to clean up the chaotic scene and the front door.
And I, inside,
Heard footsteps approaching, and the bathroom door lock clicked open.
Serena walked in, her gown stained in one spot, her face ashen.
But she was wearing my bespoke wedding dress, adorned with all the jewelry Julian had prepared for me, looking down at me haughtily.
She walked up to me, bent down, and said smugly:
“Scarlett, you’re destined to be my stepping stone in life, you know that?”
“Back then, it was me who pushed you, pushing you out of the corner so the traffickers noticed you first. Otherwise, they would’ve taken me too. Thanks for taking the fall for me.”
“Now, even the rich husband you were supposed to marry, is about to be mine.”
She smiled, a triumphant, twisted grin.
“The twins’ luck, it’s all on my side, hahaha.”
After she finished, she raised her hand and viciously slapped me across the face.
Warning me not to try any tricks later, saying the master bedroom’s en-suite bathroom was soundproof, and screaming my head off wouldn’t help.
My face stung, but I just cried weakly:
“Don’t hit me, Serena. Your hands are so precious, what if you hurt them?”
She sneered, “I’ll hit you anyway!”
She raised her hand to strike me again.
“Ah!”
She yanked her hand back abruptly, the web of skin between her thumb and forefinger sliced open by a sharp diamond on the cuff, blood welling up.
She gasped in pain, pointing at me and cursing:
“You bitch! How dare you cursed tongue me, you vile thing!”
She cursed, reaching out to hit me again,
But the wedding planner rushed to the bedroom door, urging:
“Is the bride ready? Come out quickly, the groom is here!”
Serena shot me a venomous glare:
“Stay put!”
Then she slammed the door shut, and the lock clicked again.
I heard the sounds of immediate revelry outside.
Mr. and Mrs. Reed chuckled flatteringly:
“Oh, Mr. Blackwood, you’re here!”
“Scarlett is getting ready in the bedroom, she’s just a little shy, you know, first time getting married!”
Serena adjusted her dress and opened the door, stepping out.
Julian’s eyes lit up. He reached out and gently stroked her hair, his deep voice laced with a smile:
“Still shy, are we?”
He thought it was his Scarlett.
Serena mimicked my usual timid and pushover tone, speaking in a soft, demure voice:
“Julian, let’s hurry. It wouldn’t be good to miss the ceremony’s start.”
She urged Julian to quickly get through the formalities.
Once they returned to the Blackwood estate, I would have virtually no chance of ever seeing Julian again.
In the days that followed, she’d slowly dispose of me, then she’d have no worries, able to sit securely as Mrs. Blackwood for life.
Inside, I heard Julian arrive. I shuffled over to the door crack, calling for help.
But it was too loud outside,
Still, no one heard my cries.
Instead, I heard Julian’s voice, speaking to Serena.
So gentle and soft.
I remembered the day he brought me home from the rainy night, how he’d spoken to me so softly, as if afraid to scare me.
He dried my hair,
Tapped my nose, saying how I looked like a wet little puppy when I looked up at him.
He said, “Scarlett, come live with me from now on.”
A man so composed, so shrewd, so powerful,
To me, a mere pushover,
He was always so kind, so incredibly patient.
Julian was almost the only person who had ever been good to me in my entire life,
But now I was about to lose him.
I leaned against the cold tiles, crying softly and weakly.
Again and again, I mumbled:
“Julian, I’m here. Your bride is still here. How can this wedding even happen?”
Outside, Mrs. Reed was feeding the “bride” a traditional wedding dish, a symbol of joyful marriage.
But the next second, a sudden commotion erupted.
“There’s a bone in the noodles!”
“Oh my god, what happened? The bride’s choked on a bone!”
No sooner had the fishbone been coughed out,
And the chaos barely subsided, another gasp of alarm.
“Her shoe! The new heel broke again!”
“Careful with the dress!”
Serena, eager to get out of bed and leave, lost her balance when the new heel snapped—
“Riiiiip—!”
The sound of fabric tearing from the bespoke gown was clear and grating.
Outside, there was one frantic commotion after another.
I listened inside, terrified, softly muttering:
“Oh my god, good thing it’s not me getting married today… this is just too unlucky.”
But then, a wave of resentment washed over me.
Serena’s malicious push when we were kids ruined my life.
Now she was trying to replace me, to steal my future stable and happy life.
That woman, she was utterly rotten!
Thinking of this evil person getting her comeuppance, I felt her misfortunes were nothing compared to what she deserved.
When my foster parents beat me, made me sleep in pigpens and cow sheds, and then sold me,
She was safe and sound, enjoying life in the big city.
At this thought, I softly spoke into the air:
“Since it’s already like this, then… could it get even worse?”
The instant the words left my lips,
BANG—!
A loud crash echoed from the bedroom. The large wall clock above the bed inexplicably clattered down.
Followed by Serena’s bloodcurdling scream.
The clock had smashed into her,
Scattering her jewelry everywhere, and her forehead immediately started bleeding.
At the same time,
CRACKLE! POP! a deafening series of sounds,
Hundreds of balloons decorating the room, all burst simultaneously!
The bedroom instantly erupted into pandemonium.
“N- no, Scarlett! Scarlett’s forehead is bleeding!”
“Get the first aid kit!”
“Why did that wall clock just fall down out of nowhere?!”
“Why did all the balloons pop?!”
Serena’s cries were sharp and aggrieved, piercing through the door and stinging everyone’s eardrums.
In the midst of the chaos, Julian’s voice was clear and steady:
“It seems everything is going wrong today. If it’s truly this bad, let’s postpone the wedding.”
“No!”
Serena shrieked, interrupting him almost immediately, her voice distorted by pain and panic.
“It can’t be postponed! Julian, this wedding has to happen today! It has to!”
She forced herself to maintain composure, her words unnaturally fast:
“W-would you mind waiting for me in the living room for a bit? I just need to freshen up, fix my makeup, I’ll be right out.”
She then urgently called out to the door:
“Dad! Mom! Come in and help me!”
Everyone else left. After they locked the bedroom door, Mr. and Mrs. Reed decisively stormed into the master bathroom.
The bathroom door was kicked open with a BANG!
Serena rushed in first,
Without a word, she raised her hand and slapped me hard.
“Tell me! Was it you?! Was it your cursed mouth cursed tongueing me?!”
She was trembling with rage.
Mr. and Mrs. Reed followed behind her, their eyes no longer holding the slightest remorse from last night.
They glared at me, as if I were the enemy who had ruined their entire family.
I recoiled in terror, weakly calling out, “Mom, Dad,”
Mrs. Reed was scrolling through her phone, checking the security footage.
They had taken down the living room’s camera overnight and installed it here, just to make sure I didn’t try anything.
“It was her! She was hiding in here, muttering and cursing you the whole time!”
Mrs. Reed finished watching the footage, pointing at me with a sharp voice.
“The broken heel, the needle in the dress—this wretched girl said it all!”
Serena finally believed in my “power.”
She hadn’t expected my cursed tongue to be so potent.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and she frantically rummaged through the drawers of the vanity.
“cursed tongue! I’ll make sure you can’t curse anymore! I’ll make sure you can’t speak!”
She pulled out a tube of superglue,
Turned around, and walked toward me with a chilling, triumphant grin.
I screamed and struggled backward, my body pressed against the cold tiles, futilely trying to free my bound hands and feet.
“No, Serena, Mom, Dad, please…”
But at that moment, Julian knocked on the bedroom door:
“Scarlett? Do you need any help?”
Serena jumped, quickly smoothed her dress and hair, then rushed out to deal with Julian.
Before leaving, she rapidly instructed Mr. and Mrs. Reed:
“Hurry! Glue her mouth shut! Don’t let her make another sound!”
After Serena left,
I looked at my parents, quickly pleading:
“Mom, Dad, please let me go! I’m your daughter too, don’t you have any feelings for me?”
Mr. Reed forcefully pressed my shoulder, his eyes cold:
“We never raised you, so what feelings could we have?!”
Mrs. Reed sneered even more harshly:
“Serena’s happiness is more important than anything! As long as she’s well, you can die for all I care!”
My heart instantly felt like a gaping hole had been torn through it.
So, the family affection I had longed for was so vile.
No guilt for the daughter they’d lost for twenty years, only a desire to make her a sacrifice for another daughter’s happiness.
Outside, Julian stood in the bedroom, looking down at Serena.
His tone was slightly grave:
“Scarlett, your behavior today is very strange, do you know that?”
Serena froze, then immediately adopted a wronged tone:
“No, Julian, I’m just nervous about getting married! I just want to marry you so badly!”
She looked up at him, her eyes pleading and vulnerable.
But in that instant, Julian’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
In the bathroom, Mr. Reed pried open my mouth.
Mrs. Reed had already twisted open the superglue cap, and the acrid smell of the adhesive assailed me.
I struggled desperately.
The superglue was at my lips, about to be squeezed out.
I couldn’t think of anything else. I recoiled, slamming my head against the toilet behind me.
A muffled THUD.
Outside, Julian immediately turned his head toward the bathroom:
“What was that sound?”
↓ ↓ Download the Novel Master app, Search 【 301125 】reads the whole book. ↓ ↓
NovelShort
