--Nevaeh POV--
"Why the hell are they in my country?"
I scoffed, reading through the newspaper on the article where Angelina and her husband were seen stepping out of their private jet onto Italian turf.
"She married a German mogul, so why is she coming back to Italy?" I whispered to myself. Day by day, she's growing more and more insufferable.
But it was okay now, because she can't have Donovan anymore, not when I'm pregnant with his child. I sat back on my chair, my hand resting on my still-flat stomach. Once I start showing, I'll have to start wearing the clothes I buy since Angelina didn't leave behind any maternity wear.
When she hears that I'm pregnant, I'm sure it'll knock her down a few pegs.
Talking about my pregnancy though, I didn't see anything about it written on the newspapers? Even after I went out of my way to tell the newspaper company, did they find Angelina coming to Italy more interesting than me being pregnant with the future Duke?
What does she have that I don't? It's a question that I fear will never leave my mind.
Even the damn title of the article was infuriating, could they have been anymore condescending? The Angel of Italy returns home with her German husband, how silly.
I couldn't even properly understand what the article said since I don't know Italian, but I was certain it wasn't anything good, just compliments being thrown her way, what a waste of paper.
"What are you doing?" My husband asked as he walked into the room, going to sit at the head of the dining table as he always did, sipping on his glass of water as he waited for the maid to give him his breakfast. I remember that maid, I used to work under her when I was new here. But now look, she's the one working for me.
"We've got some guests," I stated, handing him the newspaper as he looked at it, confused at first until it changed to surprise.
"Angelina's in Rome," I hated how happy he sounded.
"Yes, but I don't know why, she's got nothing left here," I scoffed, annoyed.
"She's Italian. Born and raised, her family are all here as well as her roots, including the graves of all her ancestors," He said, giving me an odd look as he spoke.
"Don't mock me," I grumbled, snatching the paper out of his hands as I handed it to another maid to dispose of. I didn't need him looking at her picture in front of me, he's already refusing to throw out all their pictures together from when they were still married.
Why am I the only one holding onto his marriage? I thought that once he learnt I was pregnant, he'd fall back in love with me, but that doesn't seem to be the case. In fact, he's grown more distant to me now than before, he can't stand to be in the same room as me anymore, let alone sleep in the same bed as me.
What's something that will keep him away from Angelina? Something that will keep her away from him? There's got to be something, there always is.
And then I realised, there was.
It was so obvious that I must have been crazy to not have seen it before.
"We should invite her over," I announced.
"What!?" He choked on his tea, coughing and spluttering as I waited for him to get a grip.
"Both Angelina and her husband, we should invite them to our home for a small, intimate gathering. It'll be fun," I smiled at him as he raised a brow, not believing me.
"Are you okay?" He decided to say.
"Never been better." I nodded.
"They must be tired from their long trip. Being here, in a place she's familiar with should help her unwind, wouldn't you agree?" I bit back my smirk as I stared at him, knowing exactly what he was thinking. He wanted to see her. In this house which was once theirs together, a place that holds many memories for both of them.
He thinks he'll be able to win her back, and I admire him for his optimism, but I'm well aware that it's useless.
I'll have to show Angelina how much this place has changed. She's no longer the Duchess here, I've completely replaced her. And once she sees that, she'll get it through her head that I won. Because villains never win, and she's the villain.
And Donovan is sure to see that soon too, he belongs to me now, not her.
"Okay, let's do it," He nodded with a shrug of his shoulders, gesturing for Clyde to come forward as the butler listened without another word, already knowing exactly what to do.
"I will send an invitation out immediately. When will you like to hold the gathering?" He asked as I took a moment to think about it. Not immediately or they'll say no, but not too late or it'll all look planned.
"Tomorrow, we'll invite them over for brunch, how does that sound?" I said.
"Fine with me," My husband spoke before going back to his meal.
And I went to prepare for tomorrow.
I needed it all to be perfect, I needed her to see that I was the main character that everyone loved, and she's just the villain that didn't know her place.
And I was certain she'd see that by the time I was finished planning.
The day rolled by at the same leisurely pace it always does until tomorrow became today, and I woke up in an empty bed as I had gotten used to, but instead of thinking about it as I always did, I grinned, jumping out of bed with a spring to my step.
"Don't mess anything up," I threatened the maid as she helped zip me up for the brunch.
"Of course, your grace," How I loved hearing that. Your Grace, a title perfectly suited for me, a Cinderella whose story is about to get its happy ending.
Hearing a knock on my bedroom door, I turned to see Clyde standing there with his hands placed behind his back where they always stayed.
"Your guests have arrived. The Duke has already greeted them, and they're in the tearoom," He spoke in a monotone voice before nodding at me and leaving as I quickly ushered for the maid to hurry up in finishing in decorating me.
I was quick to leave my room, catching my breath as I reached the tearoom, brushing my maxi dress down before walking in with a welcoming smile on my face.
"Hello, I'm so glad you could make it," I greeted, going to sit around the table beside Donovan as Angelina sat opposite me, a half empty cup of tea in front of her as she nodded her head at my words.
"Thank you for your invitation. It was a bit unexpected, but we're glad we could make it," She spoke in a perfect tune of voice as she smiled a radiant smile, lighting up the whole room when she did that. And this is what I hated about her.
"You didn't poison the tea or anything, did you?" Her husband spoke as he observed the liquid in the porcelain teacup, I wasn't sure if he was being serious or joking.
"I know you don't like me, but even I have my limits," Donovan glared at him, and the man chuckled in return.
"It was a joke. Goodness, how uptight do you have to be to not get that," And he went back to sipping his tea, looking like a model that walked right out of a photoshoot.
I gulped back the jealousy as I stared at them both as Angelina scolded him for his crude humour, and he chuckled at her scolding, kissing her knuckles as an apology. They were so cute, it was disgusting. A perfect married couple where both of them were as equally as beautiful as the other, even I could see how in love they were.
"What made you accept our invitation?" I asked.
"It would be rude to decline without a proper reason," She said.
"So, why did you come to Italy? Did you forget something?" I moved onto my next question without much thought as I caught her pausing for a second, confused by the question.
"Do I need a reason to want to visit my home country? While my husband, friends, and in-laws are all in Berlin, my ancestral home is here in Rome, my mother and father are here." She said, taking a moment to sip her tea before placing the cup on the platter and tilting her head back up to meet my gaze.
I hated her.
I hated her so much there wasn't a word that could contain what I felt for her.
She had a presence that demanded attention. No matter where you were situated, once Angelina entered the room, everyone would turn to look without question. And she spoke in such an eloquent way that not even Royalty could compare, and I hated it. I hated how perfect she was despite her many flaws.
"On the contrary, I could throw that question right back at you. How many times have you visited your family in America ever since you got married?" I froze at the question, not having expected her to throw it out like that without warning.
"My home is in both Italy and Rome. But other than Donovan, what else have you got here in Rome? You used to always talk about how difficult it was for you to support your family, but where are they now?" She cocked her head to the side.
I gulped, there was no way I would let her find out that I abandoned them.
I didn't need that good for nothing family anymore. They only gave birth to me for me to work my socks off to look after them, but no more. They claimed to have loved me, but I know better, they just wanted my money,
But they can't have it.
As Duchess, I need to throw away all the degrading aspects of myself, and that included my so-called family.
"Why are you here?" I asked, changing the subject.
"I was waiting for that question," She smirked, going into her bag to pull a large brown envelope out before sliding it over the table to Donovan who opened it, reading through its contents as his eyes widened in shock.
"This is..."
"What is it?" I asked, nervous.
"A lawsuit... I told you, I'm going to get my company back,"
And I realised that no matter how much I tried to get rid of her, she'd always keep crawling back. I could impersonate her to perfection, but then she'd go and reveal another side to her that would take me time to catch up to.
This woman is the villain of my story, and I'm going to ruin her no matter what.
...