Ruined By My Brother's Best Friend (by Silverwriter) novel Chapter 238

ARABELLA’S POV

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For the past few years, I’d genuinely thought each day couldn’t get worse, and that it wasn’t possible to be more shocked than I already was.

But that proved to be a lie because each passing day surprised me even more than the last, and seeing Viktoriya shocked me so much that I almost lost my footing and fell down the stairs.

Several eyes snapped in my direction, all pinning me with either subtle glares, curious looks, or just plain disdain. There was a pair of eyes I could feel on my skin the most, one I’d stared into just a few minutes ago while he touched me without restraint, but I refused to look in his direction.

Slowly, I finished walking down the stairs, coming to a stop with my legs frozen just a few feet away from the dining table.

“Who invited her?” Alexei’s voice thundered through the dining room.

I flinched, the question laced with evident displeasure biting into my skin.

“I did.” Alvise answered, eerily calm.

I finally looked in his direction, taking my time as I studied him.

He sat at the head of the table, his jaw set hard and his eyes narrowed, like the thought of something was bothering him.

Was it me?

“Why would you invite someone I’ve already made clear I do not want in this house to the dinner table?” Alexei gritted out, looking at his son.

The awkwardness at the dinner table was higher than any I’d ever seen before.

It was like no one could properly breathe or say anything unless one of the two men approved it.

“Because I wanted to, Alexei.” Alvise coldly emphasized. “Do you have any other useless questions?”

A game. That was what the dynamic between Alvise and his father gave off.

For whatever reason, Alvise was the most powerful, therefore the head of the family, but Alexei obviously hated that. He despised the thought to the extent that he’d made it a mission to seem in control, like he was the only one worth giving any form of respect to.

“I want her out. Now.” Alexei ordered, snapping me out of my weirdly engaging thoughts.

I guessed it was an order to the guards around the table because they all looked at Alvise, probably waiting for permission.

Ignoring his father’s clear order, Alvise said calmly, “Sit.”

I looked around the table, noticing that the only empty chair was the one between his sister and Viktoriya.

T12 Mon Sep 14

Ruined By My Brother’s Best Friend

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I didn’t want to sit next to her, but the stoic look on Alvise’s face told me that his patience was running low, so I hesitantly walked over and sat on the chair.

The table was large, with some unfamiliar faces sitting amongst us, their eyes glued on me curiously, but I refused to look up and meet anyone’s gaze.

“Hi.”

I turned to my right to see Rozaliya offering me a small smile.

“Hi.” I said nervously, surprised that she was even talking to me.

I dropped my gaze after that, specifically looking to my left to see the state of Viktoriya’s body.

One of her legs was wrapped in a huge bandage, and both her hands were almost in the same condition while beside her chair were crutches to help her walk.

My brows drew together, and a little bit of relief flitted through my chest.

She survived being run over… I didn’t kill her.

“You can’t seem to leave my sister alone, can you?” Viktoriya whispered harshly, her eyes blazing with rage as I glanced at her.

Beside her, Tatiana sat innocently, not even attempting to look at me, like she wasn’t the same person who’d ruptured my wound just hours before.

Dragging my eyes away from her, I fixed my attention on Viktoriya and raised my brows.

I just couldn’t believe it.

She was back to licking her sister’s ass, even after she tried to get her killed.

What was going on? I failed to understand it.

Viktoriya almost died… almost. And one would think she would report her sister or, at the very least, stay away from her… but yet here they were, sitting and having dinner together, with one obvious common

enemy.

Me.

Sitting directly across from me was Alexei, and when I raised my head, our gazes clashed.

It was like staring into a pit of fire waiting to consume you.

“Take those eyes away from me.” He gritted, making me flinch.

My eyes darted to his fisted hands on the table and the veins protruding on his forehead.

“Don’t speak to my guest like that.” Alvise warned, his voice taking on a low edge.

Alexei slammed his hand against the table, making his wife jump, her hand clutching her chest. “You have disobeyed me enough because of this nobody! I won’t tolerate any more of it.”

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Ruined By My Brother’s Best Friend

“Mother.” Alvise called, picking up his cutlery.

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yes, son.” His-mother answered, looking from him to her husband, like she was trying to see just how angry each person was.

“Tell that man to behave and not fucking throw a tantrum.” A dark look passed through his eyes. “Or I’ll shoot his mouth right off.”

My ears rang, and I straightened in the chair.

What the hell?

I looked around, trying to see if anyone had a similar reaction to mine.

There was none.

I was the only one who seemed shocked by the threat. That meant it was a normal occurrence.

With each passing second at the table as we all sat quietly, I felt the increasing urge to disappear.

The tension, passive aggression, and performative orderliness were too much for me to handle.

“Eat.”

I looked up and frowned. The command came from Alvise, and immediately, everyone grabbed their cutlery and dug into their food.

I hesitated, eyeing the dishes on the table with contempt because I wouldn’t be surprised if someone had poisoned my food with something.

“Wgat are you waiting for, Arabella?” Alvise asked, his voice cold and stern.

Heart racing, I grabbed the cutlery and served myself the only thing I could recognise on the table, which was the spaghetti and meatballs. Every other dish looked quite unfamiliar, and I didn’t want to be rude by trying something new and not finishing it.

We ate in silence, the only audible sound being the soft click of the cutlery against the plates.

I was full sometime later, and I leaned back with my gaze still lowered because I could feel the harsh glares from Alexei, and it was unsettling.

Everything seemed to be going fine, until Alvise leaned back in his chair and calmly announced, “I’m calling off the engagement.”

112 Mon, Sep 14

Ruined By My Brother’s Best Friend