Arranged Deception

I woke with a start, my heart pounding as my stepmother's voice echoed through the house.

"Amelia! Get down here this instant, or so help me..." Her tone was laced with venom, a sound I knew all too well. I scrambled out of bed and hurried downstairs, forcing myself to keep calm.

"Yes, Mom?" I answered cautiously, trying to keep the peace.

"Oh, don't 'Mom' me. I'm not a mother to a tramp like you," she sneered. "Where were you last night? Sneaking around, I'm sure, with that friend of yours." Her words stung. "I bet you were out, parading yourself around like... like some cheap little-"

"No, I was at Sophia's house," I stammered, trying to explain. "She invited me for a sleepover, and I was home early, I swear-"

Before I could finish, her hand came down hard on my cheek, sending a shock through me. I looked up, blinking back tears at the woman who was once a mother figure to me, someone I'd trusted.

"How dare you go out without my permission? You're grounded. Don't even think about leaving this house." She leaned close, her voice softening into something almost mocking. "If you do, Amelia, you won't like the consequences. Now, get back to your room."

I rushed upstairs, barely holding back my tears. Once in the safety of my room, I let them fall. How had it come to this? She'd once been kind, even caring, someone I'd encouraged my dad to marry. But now...

My real mom had left when I was just a baby, according to my dad. He said she wasn't ready to take care of a child, that she still wanted to live life and have fun.

That's when my stepmom entered the picture. She and my dad started dating when I was 18, and I thought she was lovely. She bought me nice things and treated me with kindness. I even urged my dad to marry her, thinking she would make a great mom. But I was wrong.

As soon as they got married, her attitude towards me changed. She became rude and dismissive, and whenever I tried to talk to my dad about it, he would take her side. He loved her so much that he wouldn't listen to my perspective, and she would manipulate him into thinking I was stubborn and disobedient.

I realized too late that she had married him for his money. My dad was wealthy, and I suspected that was the only reason she was interested in him. Now, I felt like I was losing the only father I had ever known to her manipulations.

"My name is Amelia , and I'm 25 years old, I'm from russia . I recently graduated from university, where I was quite popular. I was known for being the life of the party, and I have a passion for fashion and shopping. However, despite my confident exterior, I've always been intimidated by my stepmother, Lara, who was from the USA.

I bear a striking resemblance to my father viktor petrov ,His 45 years old , having inherited his eyes and nose, among other features. Unfortunately, this hasn't spared me from Lara's wrath, and I've often been shouted at and reduced to tears. Nevertheless, I've always done what I wanted, thanks to the support of my best friend , sophia . We met in high school and have been inseparable ever since. I trust her with my deepest secrets, and she's been a constant source of comfort and encouragement. We share a love for all things beautiful, and I'm grateful to have her by my side."

"I unlocked my phone and opened Instagram, only to be greeted by a flood of over 200 messages! I had gained a sizable following, and I felt obligated to respond to each one, as ignoring them would be impolite. It took me nearly the entire day to reply to all the messages.

As I scrolled through my Instagram feed, I came across a picture of Lisa and V, two K-pop idols, posing together for the brand Celine. Being a fan of K-pop and Korean dramas, as well as Chinese dramas, I couldn't resist commenting on their photo. However, as I scrolled down to read the comments from other fans, I was dismayed to see some really hurtful and mean remarks.

"Hey Amelia what's up?" sophia asked, her voice cheerful as always.

"Hey, girl! I'm so glad you called. I'm having the worst day ever," I replied, sighing.

"What happened? Tell me everything!" sophia demanded, her curiosity piqued.

"Mom grounded me, and it's all because I went to your place without her permission. And to make matters worse, she slapped me when I tried to explain myself," I said, still fuming.

"WHAT?! Oh my god, Amelia , I'm so sorry! That's ridiculous! Your mom can be so unfair sometimes. I'm going to give her a piece of my mind next time I see her," sophia said, her voice rising in anger.

"Girl, I know, right? I was so shocked when she slapped me. And then she had the nerve to act like I was the one who did something wrong," I said, still feeling the sting of my mom's hand.

"Ugh, don't even get me started! Your mom is going to be so surprised when I give her a piece of my mind. She's going to be so angry, and I'm going to curse her out," sophia said, her voice full of determination.

"Girl, please don't do that. I don't want things to escalate," I said, laughing.

"Okay, fine. So, what's the plan? Want to go out and forget about all this drama?" Sophia asked.

"Actually, I can't go out today because I'm grounded, but let's go out tomorrow? My treat!" I suggested.

"Yessss, tomorrow sounds perfect! I'll pick you up at 10 am. And oh, by the way, i saw this guy at the mall today He's so cute! I'm totally crushing on him," sophia said, her voice squealing with excitement.

"Oh girl, you're obsessed with boys! Get a life, stop bringing me into it!" I teased, laughing.

"Shut up Amy ! You re just jealous because you don't have a crush on anyone right now " sophia joked

"After talking to her for an hour, I hung up the phone and felt a bit bored. Since I was grounded, I was stuck in my room, so I decided to find something to do. I searched for a Chinese drama to watch and found "Back from the Brink". I loved it from the very first episode! The story was so interesting, and the characters were easy to relate to.

As I watched, my stomach started to rumble, and I realized I was hungry. I got up and went to the kitchen to make some noodles, my favorite food. I cooked them just right and grabbed a cold drink from the fridge. Then, I went back to my room to keep watching.

I ate my noodles while watching episode 24. The story was so good that I lost track of time. Before I knew it, it was already 9:00 pm! I couldn't believe how fast the time went by.

I was so tired but I had to wash my plate, so I got up and did it. . After washing and putting away my plate, I went back to my room.

I took a bath to relax. The warm water felt good, and I stayed in there for a while. Then, I put on my comfiest pajamas - they had cute cartoon characters on them , I did my skincare routine washing and moisturizing my face.

After that, I went back to bed and kept watching my drama. Three hours went by fast, and my eyes started to feel heavy. The drama was so good, but I was getting sleepy. Eventually, I fell asleep, dreaming about the next episode.

As I fell asleep, I thought about how much I loved Chinese dramas. They were so good at telling stories and making me care about the characters. I wanted to tell Sophia about "Back from the Brink" - I knew she would love it too.

I slept well, dreaming about the drama and what would happen next. I was excited to watch more episodes the next day .