REBORN My Second Life I Became The Villianess (Nyxara) novel Chapter 76

After the last plates were returned to the kitchen, and the dining room finally emptied out. Vincenzo stood up, clapping a hand on Carlton's shoulder and steering him toward the patio doors to talk about local zoning.

Elena smoothly guided Caroline out toward the cool night air of the garden, pretending to admire the late-summer flowers while keeping her away from the action. Grandfather and Grandmother excused themselves to the sitting room to escape the noise.

That left Nysa sitting right where she was in the living room, completely cornered. Bianca and Ella had moved in fast, flanking her with matching, razor-sharp grins and dropping endless, casual digs about her fading social status and empty life.

I stayed quiet for a minute, watching Nysa start to sweat under the pressure. Then I stood up, offering a polite, innocent little smile.

"Excuse me for just a second," I murmured. "I need to use the washroom."

I slipped down the quiet hallway toward the guest bath, pulling my phone out of my pocket as soon as I was out of sight. I opened our encrypted chat app and sent a quick message to Eli.

Send an anonymous text to Caroline and Nysa in twenty minutes. Exactly twenty minutes. The message has to say: "I know your secret. I know who Nyxara really is."

Eli’s reply came back a second later. Say less. Timed for twenty minutes.

I locked the phone, tossed it back into my pocket, and smoothed down the front of my dress. Time to get back to the show.

When I walked back into the living room, Nysa was staring straight at Dario like she wanted to tear him apart with her bare hands. He was sitting on the sofa, completely unbothered, looking like he couldn't care less about the mess in front of him.

I walked right over, sliding onto the cushion next to him and pressing my shoulder against his arm. I turned my head, looking across the room at Nysa with a sickeningly sweet expression.

"So, Nysa," I said, letting a light, breezy tone carry over the coffee table. "How have you even been lately?"

She scoffed, letting out a harsh, bitter sound. Her face twisted into a furious glare as she snapped, "How the hell do you think I've been when you stole my engagement and my fiancé?" she asked.

Ella and Bianca stopped dead in their tracks, freezing right beside the coffee table. The air in the room dropped ten degrees, the heavy silence stretching out until you could practically hear the grandfather clock ticking down the seconds in the hallway. Bianca turned her head slowly, leveling a cold, unimpressed stare at the woman sitting across from her.

Ella let out a small, disgusted huff, shaking her head. "Must you be so foul-mouthed in a civilized home?" Ella asked.

I sighed, leaning back against the plush cushions and letting out a quiet breath that played up the innocent, exhausted victim routine. I kept my voice soft, almost pitying. "Sister, I am sorry you feel that way, but it was handed to me by our father and Mr. and Mrs. Valenti. Even Dario prefers me."

Nysa jumped straight out of her seat, her chair scraping loudly against the hardwood floor. Her face flushed a violent, mottled red, and her hands curled into tight fists at her sides as she lost whatever fragile grip she had left on her composure.

Before she could spit out another unhinged rant, Dario spoke. His voice was dead flat, dropping into a tone so cold and lethal it even sent a sharp shiver down my own spine. "Sit down."

Nysa froze, her chest heaving as she stared at him in sheer disbelief. The sheer indifference in his eyes cut deeper than any insult could have.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify