Back Better Than Before

[16] The Past

 Adrianna could taste something bitter in her mouth. It wasn't the type where one would eat something but rather when one thinks of something unpleasant. Maria and Xavier's story had left a bitter taste in her mouth, not because she thought it was fake but because she knew that Maria and Xavier expected her to instantaneously forgive them and start calling them Mom and Dad. Adrianna hadn't done either and the disappointment was visible on their faces as they all sat in the quiet staring at each other.

Should she be a bigger person and forgive the Hernandez family? Adrianna didn't know. Did she want to forgive them right now after just listening to their story? The answer to that was a big fat no. They might have grieved for their lost daughter, might have suffered from the consequences of Xavier's father- she would never ever call him her grandfather- but for how long?

Certainly not as long as her.

And that was why she couldn't forgive them. Because they would never ever understand what she had to go through. While they were here in this huge mansion doting over their only son, not bothering to try and find out if the nurse was saying the truth, Adrianna was working from 3 in the morning to 11 at night everyday, being beat for the littlest mistakes, being forced to stay home alone while they were all out alone enjoying.

She couldn't forget everything that happened to her so quickly. She didn't want to forget anything. She didn't come this far just to forgive everyone she saw.

"If you are waiting for me to suddenly jump up and tell you that I forgive you and we can all live here as a big, happy family, you're going to be disappointed." Adrianna stated, in an almost monotonous voice.

Xavier smiled a sad smile, almost as if he knew she would say that. "We understand. You can't trust us just yet. But, we'll do anything to prove to you that we do care and we do love you, even if you don't believe us just yet."

There it was. This was what Adrianna was waiting for. Maybe it was a bit selfish of her to want to use the Hernandez family for her revenge, but Adrianna didn't want to feel any regrets. Stephen alone could not do what she needed to do. Stephen was rich and powerful, but together with Xavier, Maria, and Adrian, there would be no way that her revenge would not be complete.

Adrianna bit her lip, contemplating on how to tell the Hernandez' what she wanted from them. Finally, she decided to be blunt about it. Go big or go home, right? "I want- no- need to take revenge on the Montclairs for what they did to me. And I'm going to need your help for that."

Adrianna sat back and let them think about it for a few minutes. This wasn't something someone would ask a person to do for them on a daily base. It must have been a few minutes but it felt like hours before someone spoke. That someone was Adrian. "Why do you want revenge on them? Weren't they your family?" He hadn't meant it in a rude way, his tone showed it was more curiosity.

"You don't know what they did to me. I was never family for them." Adrianna said, the anger evident in her voice.

"Then tell us what they did to you so we can help you." Adrian replied without even a moment's hesitation. And Adrianna did. She told them how she found out she was adopted, the chores she had to do from a young age while Jasmine and Nicholas got to do whatever they wanted, she told them about the punishments she got for the smallest mistake, she told them about the scars and bruises she has gotten over the years, she told them about the bullying she faced at school, her request to continue her education and how it was mercilessly denied. She told them everything. Once she started talking, no one could stop her. She expressed the pain and betrayal she felt throughout the years.

"That's why I need my revenge." Adrianna concluded.

When she finished, Maria was crying and the rest of the boys looked like they were going fight someone right now.

"I'm going to go beat those-" Adrian started but Adrianna cut him off.

"NO! That's not how I want my revenge! I want them to feel the pain I felt."

Adrian calmed down a bit with her words. He could not let his anger ruin Adrianna's plans before they were accomplished.

"Don't worry little sister, I'm here for you."

And Adrianna couldn't help neither the warm glow in her stomach or the smile on her face from his words.

***

 Dear readers,

First of all, thank you for all your wonderful comments. They really helped me realize that there were people who wanted to read my story. When I first started writing this story, I honestly wasn't expecting people to actually read this. In fact, I expected to get a maximum of 100 views by the time I finished writing this story. And even when I did start writing, it did not seem that people actually liked it since very few readers actually voted or commented on this. My lack of self-esteem did not help and slowly over time, I started to write less and less. It wasn't until I read the comments from the previous chapter that I saw that people actually liked reading this story.

So I decided to give writing another try, as you guys can see with this new chapter. I'm also surprised that you guys actually like the characters in this story. As some of you pointed out, yes, weak female characters, or weak characters in general can be annoying and that's why I tried to write a story where the female lead fights for herself rather than letting someone else (the male lead) fight for her or just forgiving the culprits. But, I was expecting some of you to hate Adrianna because she is selfish or too angry or something because I have seen/ read it happen before on wattpad. But because so many of you guys have loved Adrianna, I thought I would warn you guys that Adrianna might seem a bit selfish and too focused on her revenge as the story continues. My reason for wanting to make Adrianna like this is simple. No one is perfect. You won't find someone with all the qualities that everyone finds desirable (unless it's a book or movie because those are fiction but I prefer more realistic fiction than actual fiction) so be warned ahead of time.

Also, I saw some of the authors here on Wattpad post sneak peeks before publishing new updates. I was wondering if you guys would like me to do that since I take forever to update?

Let me know :)