Page 70 of Soulless Rivalry

“I need you to find Sam for me.”

ELYSSA

Goingto the premiere of Swan Lake after my best friend had been injured and lost the role of her dreams felt wrong. Especially since she had been replaced by none other than my diabolical cousin.

It had crossed my mind a few times that Viola could have been responsible for what happened to Briar, but I had no proof. Unfortunately.

Next to me, a morose Briar looked up at the stage, where the curtains were still drawn, with sorrow written all over her face. She sat in a wheelchair to facilitate her recovery and I knew from seeing the pills in her bathroom drawer when I was helping her get ready, that she might be on the edge of depression.

Grabbing her hand, I squeezed it but she barely reacted.

People were still taking their seats, guided by various teachers from the art program. It was one of the few events in the school year where family and friends from outside the Academy were invited.

Viola’s mother was here, sitting in the first row, just like us, but thank God she had kept her distance and sat several seats away. She didn’t even bother with acknowledging my presence, only nodding at Mia when she walked past us to take her seat. She was a real bitch, just like her daughter.

I was surprised to see the Benetti family sitting next to her. Luca, his father, and even Atticus were all there. It was my understanding that they did it to show a united front. Atticus was, after all, set to marry Viola in less than a year.

That had been decided last week, and my cousin couldn’t wait to brag about it in front of Mia and me. She thought she’d make her jealous because there still wasn’t anything official regarding her and Luca. Little did she know, Mia would never be jealous of her over it.

The school theater was buzzing with energy, people were laughing and hugging their parents and family they hadn’t seen in a while. Briar said her grandfather wanted to come to support her but she’d refused. She insisted we come and watch as was our original plan, but all her enthusiasm was gone.

Suddenly, the ongoing chatter quieted down, and I frowned, turning around to find out why.

When I saw everyone staring at the entrance, I immediately understood.

The Korolovs were entering the room.

Of course, I knew Konstantin would be there, he’d assured me of it earlier after catching me in an empty classroom for a little make-out session, but I was far from imagining his whole family would be there too.

His parents were leading the way, walking hand in hand along the main alley, not bothering to look at anyone around them. They seemed in their own little world, which I couldn’t help but be envious of. Roman and Devina were next, the latter was looking around at the magnificence of the room like it was her first time here, which could be the case given she was a first-year student. After them were Mikhail and their youngest brother, Alexei, who didn’t attend the Academy yet. He was scowling at his older brother who had just messed up his hair and was grinning like a fool in return. I rolled my eyes at his antics.

Konstantin and his sister Dinara were right behind; she said something that caused a corner of his mouth to twitch which was as good as a deep belly laugh for Konstantin. I couldn’t help butadmire him as he walked. He was always so confident, and that was one thing I’d loved about him even back when I hated him.

Next to me, I heard Mia’s soft gasp, bringing my attention back to her. Her gaze was dead set in the same direction I had been looking at and for a second I thought maybe she’d been staring at Konstantin too.

Uncontrollable jealousy made my stomach churn and for the first time, I wanted to slap her and force her to look elsewhere. But then I saw the hurt in her eyes, the tears welling up, ready to fall and ruin her makeup, and I understood Konstantin wasn’t the one she was looking at.

She had her eyes set behind him.

Specifically, on Dominik, who had an Asian beauty wrapped around his arm as they walked in perfect synchrony. The girl fit right in with the Korolovs: she was beautiful, curvy, and dressed in a perfect black bodycon dress that hugged her figure. Her waist was on the smaller side but she wasn’t skinny by any means. She had thick thighs and round hips, even the slightest bit of a belly. The dress highlighted her curves, but she was already beautiful regardless. Long straight black hair stopped right below her waist, dark red painted her full lips and almond eyes as black as the midnight sky took in the giant, ostentatious room.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out who she was: Dominik Korolov’s fiancée.

I turned back to Mia whose face crumbled down as she took in the new couple. She spun around fast, her eyes back on the stage. I sighed, putting my hand on her shoulder.

“Mia—”

“It’s okay. I’m fine. Just surprised he’d bring her here. It makes it more… official.”

I mean, their engagement had been all over the news for weeks now, you could hardly make it more official.

Deciding against saying anything else, I looked at my phone instead when I felt it vibrate on my lap. A message from Konstantin lit up the screen and I bit my lip to keep the smile from breaking out.

K. You look magnificent tonight.

Ever since we’d started seeing each other, he’d send me unexpected texts like this throughout the day. I had to say, it made me blush and only fueled the fire in my belly where he was concerned.

The Korolov family had taken their seats at the end of the first row, at the opposite end of where my friends and I were. I tried looking in their direction inconspicuously, but when my eyes clashed with his, I couldn’t help the little smile that broke on my face.

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