The music swelled, filling the room with a melancholic beauty. Anastasia's fingers danced across the ivory keys, weaving a tapestry of sound that mirrored the complex emotions swirling within her. Serena sat by the window, her gaze fixed on the distant horizon, a contemplative expression on her face. The silence between them was not awkward, but rather a shared understanding, a silent acknowledgement of the shifting dynamics between them.
As Anastasia finished playing, a notification popped up on her System interface.
Mission Complete: Secure Alliance – Marcani Family Harmony
Reward: 50,000 Soul Points and unlocks the "Charm & Influence" passive skill, increasing charisma and persuasive abilities by 15%.
"Congratulations, Host! You did it!" Casper chirped excitedly.
"And look! Your Charm & Influence skill is now active! Also here now you have fiftyfour cards which can read one fortune."
Anastasia eyes blinked as she smiled to herself. An hour later Serena opened her eyes she frowned did she doze off? Anastasia smiled at Serena.
"Sis, you are awake," Anastasia said in a serene manner.
"Sis what do you think of my music?"
"Keep practicing," Serena said as she walked off. Anastasia shrugged her shoulder honestly she did not try that hard but it didn't matter it seems like the female lead hated her less now so it's good enough for her!
Anastasia walked back to her room waved her hand as the holographic system showed up and the beautiful golden black cards came in her hands. Anastasia is able to read one fortune is like seeing the future she can see what one has day in the past that lead them where they are today of course she won't it unless one ask her to help them.
It was too early for Anastasia she was crawled under her covers when her phone kept on ringing she reached over and she frowned she felt like she was about to beat up someone at this point.
"Anastasia! What's all of this! Fake and real daughter online it's trending like crazy! Don't play dumb on me! How dare an adopted daughter like you want to marry into the Yuni Family! My mum is already over there talking to your mum about breaking off the engagement!" The male voice shouted. Anastasia hanged up.
Anastasia shot upright in bed, the luxurious sheets tangled around her legs. The sheer volume of the notifications on her phone was overwhelming, a digital tsunami threatening to drown her in a sea of accusations and speculation.
"What lunatic..." she muttered, slamming the phone down on the bedside table. The male voice's frantic rant still echoed in her ears.
Trending? Fake and real daughter? What was happening?
Her mind raced, piecing together the fragments of information. RostovonDon City...the wealthy social circle...the Yuni Family... This was escalating far faster than she'd anticipated.
She frantically opened Telegram, her fingers flying across the screen as she navigated to the trending topics. The reality that greeted her was even more chaotic than she'd imagined.
The Telegram feed was a maelstrom of opinions, accusations, and fabricated narratives. Images of Anastasia and Serena were plastered across the screen, accompanied by inflammatory captions and hashtags.
Anastasiaexposed: A series of leaked documents purportedly revealing Anastasia's adoption papers and questioning her legitimacy as a Marcani heir.
SerenaMarcani: The true heiress: Articles praising Serena's beauty, intelligence, and rightful place as the head of the Marcani family.
Marcanifamily: Fake and real heiress swapped at birth: Conspiracy theories claiming that Anastasia was deliberately placed within the Marcani family to usurp Serena's position.
The comments sections were even more venomous, filled with hateful remarks and personal attacks directed at Anastasia.
"She's a gold digger!" one comment read.
"Trying to steal Serena's fiancé!"
Anastasia was indifferent toward the comments she just shook her head well it's good it is out there. She had bunch of texts from her friends texted her none stop worried about her. These are cannon fodder characters who are friends with the villainous herself so pretty they stick up to Anastasia no matter what.
The scene in the Marcani mansion was thick with tension, a palpable sense of chaos and betrayal hanging in the air. Anastasia watched her mother, Catherine, pacing frantically, her face flushed with anger and worry. The image of the tea cup shattering against the fireplace served as a stark visual representation of the turmoil within the family.
"Mum what is going on?" Anastasia asked gently, reaching out to soothe her mother's frayed nerves. The gesture was instinctive, a comforting habit she'd developed over years of navigating Catherine's volatile moods.
Catherine's response was immediate and sharp.
"The Yuni just called! They're canceling the engagement and want to marry Serena instead!" Her voice trembled with a mixture of anger and disbelief.
Anastasia sighed inwardly. This was just another layer of drama in what felt like an endless series of plot twists.
Anastasia's calm demeanor seemed to have a calming effect on her mother. Catherine took a deep breath, attempting to regain control of her emotions.
"Go and get Serena! I will give her a piece of my mind!" she declared, her voice regaining some of its usual authority.
Anastasia gently steered her mother back towards the plush velvet sofa.
"Mum, take a deep breath, why would Serena do this? She has no benefit from this," she reasoned, carefully choosing her words.
"You are the one in trouble and she is taking your fiancé," Catherine retorted, a flicker of suspicion in her eyes.
"It's only natural she'd want to capitalize on this opportunity."
Anastasia shook her head slowly.
"Mum, the trending news is true; it's not like it's lying," she pointed out calmly.
"Besides, Serena just got here. She wouldn't have had time to orchestrate something like this," Anastasia continued, leaning against her mother with a gentle, reassuring smile.
"Mum, have you asked the PR team to take it down? But it's still everywhere. Serena wouldn't do that would she?"
Catherine paused, her expression softening slightly as she considered Anastasia's words.
"You're right! Serena couldn't have done that!" she exclaimed, a glimmer of hope returning to her eyes.
"Mum, actually," Anastasia added thoughtfully,
"There was another person in the room who knew about me being the adopted daughter... cousin Sofia."
The name hung in the air like a poisoned dart. Catherine's face hardened immediately.
"Sofia! Her and her mum are so fucking annoying! Her mum is nothing but a mistress while she's an illegitimate daughter! You gave her the cold shoulder yesterday, and now she's paying it back!" Catherine spat out the words with venomous intensity.
"I'm going to go and look for her," Catherine declared, her jaw set with determination.
"Mum! Don't go!" Anastasia protested, instinctively sensing that confronting Sofia directly would only escalate the situation.
"I mean let's wait for Papa to come back, let's discuss this together," Anastasia suggested, trying to steer the conversation towards a more rational course.
"Plus, big brother Victor is also returning so we need to talk as a family right? Maybe Sofia slipped up." She paused, a thoughtful expression crossing her face.
"Oh gosh, mum, she even gave me skincare products."
Catherine's eyes narrowed.