I frowned, but before I could speak, a cold female voice cut through the tension from the entrance.
"Apologize for what? On what grounds should she apologize? Angelina hasn't even apologized for stealing my daughter's heirloom."
My parents, just back from business in Europe, had intended to surprise me. They never expected to walk into a scene like this.
Dimitri might have the audacity to flaunt his power in front of me, but he still maintained a sliver of courtesy for his elders. His smile vanished as he greeted my parents, "Don Costello, Donna Isabella."
My mother took off her sunglasses, her gaze sweeping over him dismissively. "In the Costello family, those who disrespect our daughter are not welcome."
She turned to my father. "Lorenzo, get these uninvited guests out."
...
The day after my birthday, Nico wasted no time announcing online that he was breaking off our engagement. After the news sent shockwaves through our world, he started a live stream on his company's official social media account.
No one in our circle expected a live stream from the man himself right after the news broke. Within minutes, over a million people tuned in as Nico promised to answer all their questions.
Once again, I looked up to see the flood of comments hanging in the air. They always appeared whenever I was about to be humiliated.
"The payback I've been waiting for is finally here! Quick, expose the evil Scarlett's misdeeds and let her be despised by everyone!"
"Yes! Everyone should join our anti-Scarlett association! As long as Scarlett is alive, we will curse her to death!"
I clicked on Nico's live stream, his voice filling the room from my tablet's speakers. He explained in a weary tone, "I apologize to everyone for hiding my engagement. Scarlett and I were never in love."
"I always thought I wouldn't mind a political marriage. However, what Scarlett did has crossed my bottom line."
I snorted. A political marriage, was it?
Frankly, the Costello family agreeing to an alliance with the DeLucas was a favor to them.
Nico quickly launched into an exaggerated account of what happened yesterday. He poetically described how innocent and pitiful Angelina was. She just wanted to wear a beautiful necklace she had never seen before, only to be viciously humiliated by me, who then tried to have her punished in public.
With fire in his eyes, Nico declared, "Angelina is a delicate young woman. If Scarlett dared to treat her that way with Marco and me present, I can't imagine the kind of suffering Angelina has endured behind our backs!"
"It is because of this incident that I have decided to call off my engagement with Scarlett. This time, no matter what tricks she uses to cling to me, I will not compromise!"
Thanks to his bold and righteous words, the comment section exploded with praise, calling him a principled and outstanding young man.
To ensure the live stream had the desired effect, Nico even played a short surveillance clip from my birthday gala. The footage was maliciously edited to vaguely show me ordering the bodyguards to restrain the three of them.
There was even a segment where my heavily distorted voice could be heard shouting, "A mere Soldato's daughter thinks she's worthy of our family's heirloom?"
With this seemingly solid evidence, the online mob went from spectators to active aggressors. They flooded the social media accounts of the Costello family's legitimate businesses, venting their rage in a tirade of malicious comments.
"What's wrong with a Soldato's daughter? She's a hell of a lot better than a disrespectful bitch like you!"
"How can someone like this be in charge of a family business? I bet her attitude poisons the whole company. They'll all look down on us common folk!"
"I demand that the Costello family revoke Scarlett's inheritance rights!"
Nico then stared into the camera, as if speaking directly to me.
"Scarlett, I don't know if you're watching this. If you are, I need you to know: you still owe Angelina an apology!"
Following that, the comments on his live stream and the ones floating before my eyes roared in agreement.
"Apologize, Scarlett!"
