I will ruin you

3rd P.O.V.

Papers were flying around the room, and Mr. Cartier was seething with anger over the report detailing the downfall of his company since Apollo's resignation.

He was desperate to do whatever it took to win back his son and bring him back to the company to boost sales.

The situation was particularly challenging because Mr. Cartier's company was outdated and struggling to stay afloat. The scattered papers covered the floor as a visual representation of his frustration and disappointment.

In his rage, he called for his assistant to fetch him a cup of coffee and urgently contact his wife. He needed her support and presence at that moment.

Harold, one of the individuals Mr. Cartier had entrusted with the company's operations, had been a letdown. Despite his frequent travels, including visits to the rural city where Beatrix resided, all Harold seemed to care about was possessing her.

He hoped that by achieving this, he could claim victory over Apollo in at least one aspect.

Mr. Cartier despised Harold's actions and considered him one of the first candidates for dismissal from the company.

However, he recognized the value of Seb and Michael, his nieces, in maintaining the sales and preventing a drastic decline.

Aydan entered the office, bringing a cup of coffee with flavored creamer, knowing it was Mr. Cartier's favorite.

Sensing the intense atmosphere, Aydan suggested, "Sir, perhaps it would be beneficial for you to take a break and leave town temporarily. It might help alleviate some of the anger you constantly bring into the office."

When Aydan finally spoke, Mr. Cartier looked at him and had a chance to smile, momentarily breaking free from his troubled thoughts.

"Why are you late?" he asked, trying to regain control of the situation.

Aydan took a seat beside him, locking eyes with Mr. Cartier.

"If you truly want to win back your son, you have to accept the fact that he has his own life, including a son of his own. You have a decision to make: either accept his life or continue pretending that you have accepted his son," Aydan explained.

Mr. Cartier blew out a breath, unable to find the right words to respond. His mind was still preoccupied with thoughts of his eldest son and how he fit into the equation.

If Apollo was the key to reviving their company, Mr. Cartier had to start accepting the life his son had built outside their home and away from the family. But how could he do that?

In the end, he chose to act as he usually did when in the presence of his employees. Aydan was not exempt from his usual demeanor.

Mr. Cartier calmly asked his son to leave his office, not wanting to vent his anger towards Aydan but hoping it would help clear his own mind.

However, Aydan never listened to Mr. Cartier the first time he asked. He always found a way to get scolded, perhaps as a way to prevent his father from overthinking too much. Aydan had witnessed how stressed his father could become.

As Mr. Cartier grew more frustrated, he pushed away Aydan with his bare hands. Aydan, who had been laughing and teasing him, seemed to find amusement in his father's annoyance.

Jade, his wife, suddenly came in.

Noticing this, Mr. Cartier's emotions started to rise. He blamed Jade, his wife, for their declining financial situation. She seemed to do nothing to help the company grow and was not supporting her husband in any way.

Little did Mr. Cartier know, Jade was cheating on him, taking advantage of the rainy days, while he was trying to save their company to ensure their family could continue living comfortably in their vast mansion.

"I needed money for my shopping! Why haven't you been answering my calls? I've been trying to reach you for ages!" Jade exclaimed, fuming with anger.

She was causing sin again, as usual.

Mr. Cartier tried to explain everything to his wife, but she didn't seem to understand the first time he explained it.

Mr. Cartier pushed Jade out of his company with his bare hands while murmuring, "I feel like this family has brought so much bad luck into my life."

Suddenly, before he could even gather his thoughts, his mother appeared before him.

"I wanted to meet my grandson," she said.

Mr. Cartier pushed away Jade's hands, realizing that things were spiraling out of control.

He wondered why they were all coming one by one.

"Mom! You're the last person I expected to come here!" Mr. Cartier exclaimed, his anger mounting. However, there was still a lingering sense of guilt because he had been neglectful.

"Well, this is really something. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me. I was planning to go where Beatrix lives. I'm sure you don't even know that they are getting married today."

Mr. Cartier's brows furrowed, but he had a plan after hearing that.

He smirked.

"Yes, Mom, I would like to join you and go to their house."

As he spoke, he looked away. His confidence began to rise.

"I will ruin their marriage, just like how they ruined my life.”

—

Rix's P.O.V.

"Hello!" Jade exclaimed.

Jade was running towards me, reaching out to hug me.

She had grown so much that I could hardly recognize her.

I rushed towards her, welcoming her with open arms.

She's so cute! When was the last time I saw her? Time flies so fast.

I remembered the times when I used to take her to the hospital with Andrei and play random games that I didn't really understand. Letting them play together was one of the best things I could do.

"Where have you been all these years? I missed you. Why did you suddenly disappear without even saying goodbye to me? Am I really your sister or not?" she pouted her lips as she spoke. It seemed like she wasn't really angry, but there was a hint of irritation in her expression.

Maybe, she’s sad to be away from me.

To ease her grouch her upon me, I hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead.

"Soon enough, you will understand why I did that. But for now, I just wanted you to understand me in your own way. I just want you to trust me and know that you will understand me in the near future."

She seemed to be contemplating whether to nod her head or not.

Eventually, she replied, "I don't really know what you've done to me to instantly make me listen to you. But fine, even if you don't give me the full description or explanation, I already understand you. Given the fact that your husband is my brother, my most grumpy brother, Apollo."

I smiled at her and messed up her hair.

She really knows how to mend a broken heart.

Back then, when Andrei was still alive. I wondered if this was her solution to win Andrei's heart.

Andrei is so difficult to be friends with because he is introverted and doesn't like being around a lot of people or strangers, or even people he just met.

But Jade can do anything. She manages to talk to Andrei and tame his heart.

Apollo looked at us and rushed toward the two of us.

This is our wedding day.

I invited Grandma and Jade, and I even told them to bring Jayra with them, but Jayra didn't want to come because she had classes. Jayra also didn't want to come from afar because she wanted to rest.

Before that, I even sent them a set of makeup, dresses, and rules on what they should do on the wedding day.

"I miss you, Grandma. It's been so long since I last saw you!" exclaimed Apollo, hugging his grandma as if he was about to squeeze her.

"What about me, Kuya? Don't you miss me too?" Jade pouted her lips.

"Of course, I miss you. You're my baby girl, remember?"

All of us finally hugged Jade with smiles.

"Why did you suddenly leave the company after deciding to find Beatrix? It's been 4 years since you left Dad with his company alone," Jade asked.

Grandma interjected, "And also, he didn't have any money the day he left our house. So how did he manage to live alone when you still didn’t accept him into your life?"

I was like, what? So all this time Apollo didn't have money...

"How did you know that I didn't accept Apollo into my life the first time I came to Grandma?" I asked.

Grandma smiled and replied, "Honestly, I've been there, and I know how you think, Beatrix. I knew you wouldn't let everything slide the moment you decided to leave. You're the kind of person who sticks to her word."

I just melted and hugged Grandma.

Even though I don't have parents right now, whenever Grandma is around, my heart always melts as if I were talking to my parents.

She made me feel alive again, making me feel whole.

"Grandma," I whimpered.

We had little talks and shared stories with each other, especially about Grandpa. She had so much experience, after all, and it had been 4 years.

After Grandma and Jade saw Donny, they started acting like a kid because they found Donny really cute.

Donny takes after his father, that's why.

Okay, I think it's time to start the wedding.

The pastor has already arrived, and during the rehearsal of the wedding ceremony, we were told that the moment the pastor arrived, it was our sign to get ready for our positions.

I informed Grandma and Jade about this, and then the ceremony began.

Jade was supposed to be my flower girl, but Apollo didn't want it to happen because Jade was too busy to even practice being a flower girl.

So we decided to appoint Yuna, my best friend’s daughter, as the flower girl instead.

Speaking of Yuna, I suddenly remembered her parents.

Are they still arguing about me, even though I'm already getting ready to get married?

I don't understand if it's Charis or Harley, but I think they both need to grow up and understand that not everything should be a reason to fight or argue. It’s weird that considering how old they were, fighting is still their bonding.

If they continue to act immature and only think about themselves, not even considering their child. Maybe it wasn't Yuna they were living for.

I will feel sad for Yuna.

She was too young to feel witness her parents always arguing over petty things.

A few minutes after my mind went astray, it was time to get back into reality.

The ceremony has started, and I'm starting to feel like crying.

All of the bridesmaids walked down the aisle while I was waiting at the end of the line, waiting for their march to finish.

And when it was my turn, there was a sudden flash of a projector that struck my eyes.

The projector has taken all the attention that was supposedly getting by me and Apollo because we are the main subject of the ceremony.

Suddenly, they walked toward me, and someone spoke from the speaker that I didn't even know when and where it came from.

"If you are watching this video, I want you to know that you brought this upon yourself, and I am not the reason why you have to be exposed.”

My wedding is set in the garden near the shore, and everything that my guests were all enjoying has been set up by me and Charis alone.

So, I don't really understand how those strangers managed to get access to the computer and had the time to project that video in front of my guests.

But I won’t deny that I am starting to feel nervous as the night goes on.

I have a feeling that something is about to happen, something I cannot stop.

First of all, I don't want to traumatize my child with what is about to happen, but I am uncertain about what is the exact content of the video until I finish watching, so I don't know how to protect his mental health.

After a few minutes, they successfully set up the projector and showed a vulgar video of me.

Those videos were edited and showed how many people I was involved with when I was working in the club, when I met Apollo, and after Apollo and I split up.

He was doing a voice-over, revealing that I was not just a contracted wife of Apollo, the voice-over also says that Apollo also saved me from a world full of sleazy people.

My neighbors are looking at me with disgust as if I haven't treated them fairly, even though there is a lot to say and judge against them.

Regardless of what happens, the only thing I care about the most is my child.

My little Donny is being the laughingstock of my guests, getting mocked like they were perfect. No, they weren’t saying words.

They were just looking at Donny as if they already judged him in their mind.

I know that. Probably, they were thinking he wasn’t Apollo’s.

Apollo shouted, "Stop this! Who's trying to play this? Who's trying to ruin my wife's image?"

And in the blink of an eye, Harold appeared before me.

He was the one in charge of the mic, saying the most insulting remarks towards me.

How…

How could he do this to me?

Is there anything that I did to him that makes him so angry with me?

In the first place, I should be the one to be angry at him. He almost raped me inside my own house.

I can feel tears streaming down my face. My make is getting smudge! Gosh.

I don't really understand what is wrong with my life. I feel like everything I do is always accompanied by bad luck as if I was born to live a miserable life surrounded by miserable people.

Apollo stepped forward, taking the microphone from Harold.

It was a long and intense struggle, but in the end, he managed to wrestle the microphone from Harold despite the obstacles in between.

"To everyone in this world, whoever believed in the video that was spread by my cousin, you're right," Apollo declared.

I took a deep breath, relieved that Apollo was not lying in front of everyone just to save my image.

It was the best thing he could do for me because I didn't want to cover up my identity again just to protect myself from everyone's judgment.

It's really hard to pretend to be someone I'm not.

Apollo explained to everyone that I wasn't just trying to deceive his father for money, but that it was the nature of my job.

"She was just a victim of my reckless decisions in life. I dragged her into my miserable life, causing a lot of pain in her heart. I should be the one living a miserable life, not her. She has suffered enough," Apollo confessed.

"Enough of what?" someone interrupted.

It was Mr. Cartier, Apollo's father.

"She hasn't suffered enough. She consumed all of your being so you would choose her over us, your real family. She was the reason why we are all separated from one another—"

Grandma punched him in the face.

Mr. Cartier's face immediately softened at the sight of his own mother.

How odd, though...

"How could you ruin your own son's wedding? That's why I have doubts about asking you to come!" Grandma spat.

Now she looked at Harold. "And you! You were raised by the maid alone, that's why your attitude is similar to theirs—opportunistic! You're like a bug!"

It seemed like Grandma was on the verge of losing her breath due to the intensity of her yell.

Despite the chaotic situation that had just unfolded today, all I could do was smile through my tears streaming down my face.

This is the least I could do.

I was stuck in the middle of the aisle, wearing my wedding dress, holding my wedding flower.

I didn't know that this would be the most memorable part of my life. In the near future, even if life gets a little better for me and my family, I know this memory won't fade away.

"Now, continue the ceremony. My grandson is dying to eat the food!" Grandma said.

I just smiled from ear to ear.

How could she do this to me?

All I can say is, life isn't bitter.

Life teaches things more than once. Sometimes it will kick you in the face, but still, it depends on how you perceive life.

It always depends on the mindset you hold inside your head.

---

Grandma and Jade entered my hut.

Charis was already here, fixing my makeup on the face that had been ruined because of the tears I had let out a while ago.

I haven't even been announced as a married woman yet, but the tears I've shed are already too much.

Damn...

"So maybe your wedding will have no choice but to continue. You will have no choice but to face the future of being my grandson's wife. You will have to deal with the resort of Cartier family's issues. But don't worry, because I will always protect you. Always," said Grandma as she proceeded to kiss me on my forehead.

I caressed Grandma's hands.

Jade came near me to hug me as well.

"Ate... I can't believe you will become my legal sister! I actually had no idea that this could happen..."

I kissed her forehead and hugged her.

"This time, no one is allowed to get in between."