REBORN My Second Life I Became The Villianess (Nyxara) novel Chapter 74

"Nyxara," Carlton answered, sounding slightly surprised to hear from me. "Is everything alright?" he asked.

I softened my voice, keeping my tone gentle for him. "Hi, Dad. Everything is fine. I was just calling to see if you, Nysa, and Mom would like to come over for dinner tonight. I know there has been some tension lately, and I would really love for us all to get past it. I want us to be a proper family."

There was a brief, telling pause on the other end. He was clearly caught off guard by the olive branch, but he loved the idea of looking like the bigger person who brought everyone back together.

"Well," he, cleared his throat, his tone warming up a notch as he puffed out his chest over the line. "That is very mature of you, Nyxara. I think a family dinner would be a step in the right direction. We will be there."

"Wonderful," I smiled into the phone, letting a real note of warmth color my words. "We will see you at seven."

I hung up the phone and tossed it onto the coffee table. The trap was set. All Nysa had to do now was show up, unaware that she was walking straight into a room full of people who couldn’t wait to watch her crack.

I stood up from the sofa and walked toward the kitchen to grab a glass of water, letting the quiet hum of the house settle over me. The evening air was cooling down outside, and the dark blue sky was just starting to dust over with stars. Down the road, Nysa was probably sitting in her room right now, staring at her phone. She was walking right into the web we spun, and she did not even have a clue.

I took a slow sip of the cold water, feeling the chill hit the back of my throat. This was how you dismantled someone. You didn’t need to scream or throw punches, and you certainly didn’t make a scene. You invited them into your home, poured them a drink, and watched as their own toxic obsessions slowly tear them apart from the inside out.

Dario walked up behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist and pressing a light kiss to the side of my neck. "You have a wild look in your eyes right when you pull off stuff like this," he said, speaking softly.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," I replied, leaning back against his chest with a smirk. "I am just being a sweet, hospitable daughter."

"Right. And Nysa is a picture of mental stability," he chuckled, his hand sliding down to rest on my hip. "I am going to check in with Eli to make sure her communication is still locked down before they leave their house?" I said, turning around in his arms to face him. "I want to know the exact minute they get into the car. If she tries to flake out at the last second because she is feeling insecure, I want to know so we can poke her ego and make sure she comes anyway."

"She will come," he said, his eyes meeting mine with absolute certainty. "Her need to prove she is better than you, and her obsession with me will override any common sense she has left. She can’t resist the chance to be in the same room."

"Good," I whispered, reaching up to adjust the collar of his shirt. "Let her show up. Let her sit at our table. By the time dessert gets served, she is going to wish she stayed home."

The grandfather clock in the hallway chimed the hour, ringing out a deep tone that signaled the start of the evening. We had a couple of hours before they pulled through the gates. I needed to change out of my day clothes, check in with the kitchen staff to make sure the menu was set, and get my head right for the performance I had to put on.

Playing the forgiving daughter took a lot of acting, but seeing the look on Nysa's face when she realized she walked right into a trap made every second of it worth the trouble.

I slipped away from Dario and headed up the staircase toward our rooms, my heels clicking softly against the stone steps. The house felt alive around me, buzzing with a quiet energy. Everyone knew what was coming and they were ready for the show.

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