“Everyone in town knows Scott is crazy about Jessica. He’d do anything for her.” She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a cruel whisper that cut like glass. “If Jessica hadn’t left for Europe and broken his heart, do you really think he would’ve ever listened to his grandfather and married you?”
Her words struck a nerve so deep that I lost all control. Grabbing the glass of juice in front of me, I hurled it at the floor. The sharp sound of shattering glass echoed through the room, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Go away!” I screamed, my voice raw. “Don’t talk to me, don’t crowd around me!”
Tears streamed down my face as I sobbed uncontrollably, my chest heaving with each breath.
“You’re all horrible people! Every single one of you!”
“Scott! Scott, where are you? Come save me!”
'I’m such a fool. I don’t know how to express my emotions.' The thought echoed in my mind as I sat there, my chest tightening with a familiar, overwhelming sense of helplessness. I didn’t know how to stop the spiral once it began. When anxiety crept in, wrapping itself around me like a vice, I had no idea how to handle it.
Right then, Jessica stepped forward and reached for my hand, her voice soothing, almost maternal. “Nadia, what’s wrong? Nadia?” she said softly. “Don’t cry. It’s okay, it’s okay. Everyone’s just teasing you—they don’t mean any harm.”
She crouched down slightly, trying to meet my tear-filled eyes. “It’s fine, Nadia. Don’t be scared. I’m here.”
But her comforting tone couldn’t drown out the murmurs spreading through the hall.
“Is that Scott’s wife? First time seeing her at an event, and she’s already making a scene," a woman commented.
Another one added, “You don’t know? That’s the woman Donald Kennedy forced Scott to marry. They say she had a high fever as a kid, and it left her… not quite right in the head.”
The one right behind Jessica and Nadia even remarked, “Wow, so it’s true. She really is a fool. What on earth was Grandpa thinking? Jessica seems so much better—reasonable, beautiful, kind…”
Their whispers felt like daggers, each one slicing into me, leaving me raw and exposed. But through my tears, I forced myself to look at Jessica.
At that moment, she leaned in close, her lips brushing against my ear. Her tone shifted, her voice low and dripping with venom, meant for only me to hear.