Love In Disguise: Rebirth of the Heiress
Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Chapter 57

"Why should I?" I asked, trying my best not to grin at her facade slipping.

I raised my left eyebrow, watching her every movement. My feet were set in a stance, in case she wanted to go crazy on me.

I could see the anger in her brown eyes.

The hatred emitting from her.

Jessica was shaking with anger at the door. I folded my arms across my chest, a mocking smile spreading across my face, after trying to keep it at bay, as I leaned against the edge of the desk.

"What’s the matter, Jessica? You look a little... unsettled," I said, my tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Unsettled?" she snapped, her voice trembling as she forced a smile. "You’re the one trespassing, Kiara. You shouldn’t even be here. Even if we are friends, you don’t get to work around my home, especially through doors that are meant to be locked."

I shrugged, maintaining my smirk. "Maybe, but it’s hard to ignore such an... obsessive setup. Photos, cameras, files... Is there anyone you haven’t been stalking? You’re practically building shrines in here. I’m starting to think you’re a little too invested."

Her face flushed, her hands balling into fists. "Don’t call me that," she hissed.

"Obsessed?" I raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence. "If the shoe fits..."

Her mask of control cracked further, her eyes blazing with barely contained fury. "You have no idea what you’re talking about."

"Oh, don’t I?" I shot back, tilting my head. "It’s a little disturbing, honestly. And Lola—what did she do to deserve all of this? What’s your grudge against her?"

Jessica’s face went pale for a moment before it contorted in anger. "Just... shut up. Get out of here, Kiara."

"Why, Jessica? Why Lola?" I pressed, stepping forward as her defenses started to crumble. "What did she do to you? Or is she just another victim in your little games?"

Jessica’s breathing grew uneven, and for a moment, I thought she might actually try to attack me. She took a step forward, her hand raised, but before she could do anything, I reacted, grabbing her wrist and twisting it away.

"Don’t," I warned, my voice low, steady. She froze, and for the first time, genuine fear flickered in her eyes.

Her face softened suddenly, her anger melting into desperation. "Please, Kiara... don’t tell anyone. I... I’ll delete everything, okay? I swear. I’ll get rid of it all."

I held her gaze, my expression unyielding. "You’re ruining people’s lives, Jessica. This isn’t just some harmless game."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at me, her lip quivering. "But we’re... we’re best friends, Kiara. We’ve been friends since forever. Please, don’t do this to me."

"Friends?" I repeated, feigning a moment of hesitation. I allowed my expression to soften, just a bit. "Fine. We are friends. And friends don’t betray each other."

She smiled a bit, nodding, "Yes. Thank you..."

"Don’t thank me yet... you’d better delete everything. I don’t want to see a single trace of it anywhere."

Jessica nodded, tears slipping down her cheeks as relief washed over her face. "Thank you, Kiara. Thank you so much. I’m so sorry. I just... I didn’t mean for things to get this far."

I watched her carefully, my eyes narrowing. "Then tell me why, Jessica. Why are you doing this? Why ruin innocent people’s lives?"

She took a shaky breath, looking away as if the confession was physically painful. "It wasn’t supposed to be like this," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I... I didn’t mean for things to go this far."

"So you have said but you haven’t given me a why, Jessica?" I pressed, crossing my arms. "Why Lola? Why Gabriel? What’s the use of all this? What could she have possibly done to deserve this? You also know Gabriel is my boyfriend so why the nudes."

Jessica swallowed hard, her gaze falling to the floor. "It’s... it’s not just Lola, okay? It’s everyone. I’ve worked so hard to get where I am. Do you know what it’s like, always being second to someone? Always being the friend, the sidekick, the one who gets the scraps?"

I raised an eyebrow. "So, you ruin people’s lives because you’re insecure?"

"It’s not insecurity!" she snapped, her voice rising. "It’s... it’s survival. People like Lola, they’re all competition. Threats. If I don’t do something, if I don’t keep them in line, they’ll take everything from me. They’ll ruin me, Kiara. Don’t you see?"

I scoffed, shaking my head. "You’re projecting. Lola was never a threat to you. Neither was I. We trusted you, Jessica. You didn’t just betray strangers. You betrayed your friends."

She flinched, her face crumpling as fresh tears fell. "I... I didn’t want to hurt you. I never meant to. But you... you had everything, Kiara. You were rich, you were beautiful, everyone loved you. And I was... I was just there, in the background. Always in the background."

"So, what? You decided to tear down everyone around you?" I shot back.

"You’re not some victim here, Jessica. You’re the one hurting people."

She let out a choked sob, clutching her hands together as if trying to hold herself together. "I just... I wanted to matter. I wanted people to look at me the way they looked at you. But no one ever does. I’m invisible, Kiara. I’ve always been invisible."

I shook my head, disgusted. "That’s not an excuse, Jessica. You can’t justify hurting innocent people just because you’re insecure."

She looked up at me, desperation and shame warring in her eyes. "Please, Kiara... please don’t tell anyone. I’ll delete everything. I’ll make it right. Just... don’t ruin me. Not like this."

I sighed, feigning a thoughtful look as I stared down at her. "Fine. I won’t tell anyone... for now. But if I see one more thing—one more photo, one more rumor—you won’t have to worry about your reputation. I’ll make sure you have nothing left to lose."

She nodded frantically, relief flooding her expression as she wiped at her eyes. "Thank you. Thank you, Kiara. I swear, I’ll delete everything."

I watched her for a long moment, making sure the fear had set in. Then I turned, glancing back at her one last time. "Get help, Jessica. This... obsession of yours? It’s not healthy. And I won’t be around to clean up after you again."

She nodded, still crying, her hands trembling as she clutched her phone. "I... I’ll get help," she whispered, her voice small and broken.

I didn’t respond, just turned and walked out of the room, leaving her there to grapple with her guilt and desperation.

She didn’t see the smirk that stretched on my lips.

The time would come, this...this would come in great handy. Kill two birds with one stone.

Beautiful.

Oh I am sure she was thinking how good and gullible I was.

How innocent Kiara is.

I grinned, as I opened the door, stepping out.

Too bad for Jessica, gullible, innocent, naive Kiara was dead.