CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE – HATTIE
I am unendingly disappointed at how easy it’s been to ruin my sister’s reputation.
I expected more of a fight. I wanted more of a fight. I wanted to go to Hell and back in my pursuit of my revenge, yet all it took was a few measly words and getting pathetically slapped in the face to undo a good portion of her hard work and show people who she really is.
On one hand, it’s incredible. Jasmine has put years into making herself look like the perfect princess-in-waiting, and I ruined it in a matter of minutes. Even after ‘stealing’ her future, the internet sees me as a victim.
And, in this day and age, that’s all that matters.
What people on the internet think.
Because the internet exists in a vacuum.
Online spaces are a cacophonic mix of caring and not caring, of matters of importance and utter frivolities.
They’re nothing but an echo chamber for people to scream their opinions into the void only to be screamed at right back.
They’re a space people can allow their darkest sides to surface, to say things they’d never say out loud, to engage in conversations they’d never have at the dinner table, and all under the guise of anonymity.
These are all things I can use to my advantage.
Things I am using to my advantage. Things I need.
I need the angry keyboard warriors to pity me, to see me as the victim, to believe I’m the wholly wronged party here.
Just as I need a small pocket of them to fight Jasmine’s corner.
I need some people to believe I’m completely in the wrong, that I’m the worst, that I’ve stolen her entire life without any right to do so, that I’m evil and cruel and the aggressor in this entire situation.
Maybe they’re wrong.
Maybe they’re right.
Maybe they’re in the grey area in between, where morals and reality collide.
They are, of course.
I’m neither the victim nor the aggressor. I’m a complicated mix of both. I’m the wronged party whose life was stolen from her and the vengeful villain determined to take back what’s mine.
I’m not evil, but nor am I a good person.
Even now, the only reason I sit in this palace is because I schemed my way into it. Because I lied about recognising Finn, because I played just coy enough to occupy a part of his mind, because I willingly walked into a place I knew could trap me.
It might have been chance that we met that day in the park and then again in the hotel, but nothing else is. Everything else is by design.
Except the ease with which people have turned on Jasmine Sinclair.
That... I could not have predicted. Not even in my wildest dreams did I think it would be this easy.
I understand that the internet isn’t real life.
What happens in the echoing caves of social media doesn’t translate to actual daily life in the slightest, but social media is a powerful tool all the same.
It doesn’t matter if what you read is true or not, because most of it is opinions rather than facts.
Which is how I’m stuck in the spiral of reading people’s opinions about mine and Jasmine’s relationship. About how she’s wrong. About how I’m wrong.
About my relationship in general with my father and stepmother.
And those... Well, those are almost the best ones.
@urbeautybestie: ok but can we talk about the photos of her dad when she was announced as prince finn’s fiancée? Omg
@asuka_27: @urbeautybestie NGL I don’t think she gets on w her parents, didn’t they keep her a secret??
@looloolime: omg they did, if your daughter suddenly appeared after going missing 20 years ago wouldn’t you scream it from the rooftops??? Idk but I guess it is her stepmum, they prob aren’t close
@banana_20split: @looloolime for sure, my mum said she remembers when she disappeared and was like OMG HOW DID THEY NOT SAY ANYTHING!! I swear she cried for her poor mum, how can her dad be so angry at her
@looloolime: @banana_20split maybe they didn’t know?? If they aren’t close it might make sense, ppl get married without telling their parents all the time and if their relationship is bad I wouldn’t blame her
@strawb_grape_blueb: is she even the same person tho?? Didn’t they bury a girl they said was her? What if she’s just a faker
@sparkythalia: @strawb_grape_blueb do u really think the palace just let some rando get engaged to the heir to the throne lmao
@jennasparkles2004: ok but hitting her seems out of character for jasmine?? Like she’s so sweet, everyone says how nice she is so why would she just hit her sister
@purplegrasscloud: @jennasparkles2004 none of us actually know her tho, I think it’s just an act and tbh those photos and stuff do not make her look good
@jazzybaby: uhhh @purplegrasscloud we weren’t there, we don’t know what harriet said to jasmine, maybe she provoked her
@trexasaurus: @jazzybaby so what if she did?
my sister goes to college w someone close to maddie green and she said jasmine and her friends ruined her bday when they demanded the private room SHE booked at green elephant in st peters.
jasmine made the owner kick her party out. she’s actually a bitch
Oh.
Well.
That’s news to me, but that sounds exactly like something Jasmine would do. Given how she’s scapegoated me so many times, kicking someone out of a private room at a restaurant is child’s play.
I pick up my phone and open my conversation with Valentina. Her last message was sharing a link to a video of a cat—something she does so often that I’m sure watching them is a legitimate hobby for her.
Unfortunately, I’m not here to engage in that particular vice, as enjoyable as it is.
ME: Did you get a chance to reach out to Stella?
VALENTINA: Saw her sister this morning. I was about to call you. Hold on.
I stare at my phone until her name pops up on the screen with an incoming call about thirty seconds later. “Hey.”
“Helloooo,” she sings into my ear. “So. Do I have news for you!”
“I hope so,” I reply, grabbing the remote control to tell Netflix that yes, I am still watching, thank you.
Valentina laughs. “I do. I do. Okay, hold on.”
There’s some rummaging and crackling from her end, and I frown. “What are you doing?”
“Taking off my shoes. I just got home. Ooft.” Thump.
“Okay, I’m good. So, I met Sinead and asked her about the car crash Stella was in with Hugo.
Turns out they’re both in Cyprus right now, but her leg broke so badly that she’s still undergoing some physical therapy.
Your dad paid them a shit ton—and I mean a shit ton, almost three quarters of a million—on top of covering her medical bills. ”
My eyebrows shoot up. “That much? Really?”
“Yeah. He fixed Hugo’s car, too. Anyway, the real news is that both Hugo and Stella knew from the get-go that it was Jasmine who crashed into his car. They recognised her behind the wheel, and Stella was adamant that the driver wasn’t blonde like the media was reporting.”
“Really?”
“Yes. They just never said anything because as far as they were concerned, the driver was never officially named and matter was basically settled. Stella will make a full recovery, and all the financials were sorted. I still would have pushed it, but I think her mother talked her out of it. She’s friends with Rosalyn. ”
“Of course she is.” I sigh as I swing my legs up on the coffee table. “I never made that connection.”
“You wouldn’t. You avoided them at all costs, and I don’t blame you,” she replies.
“Anyway, Sinead said that Stella and Hugo never bought the whole ‘distant relative’ spiel from your dad because of how much he paid out to bury it all. They didn’t even think someone existed, but when you showed up at the ball, they realised you were the so-called scapegoat.
Sinead told me that Stella floated the idea of trying to get in contact with you because she was worried that the media might make the same connection and wrongly blame you, especially with the doctored photos being published at the time. ”
I press my lips together. Sure, that’s pretty likely—it’s exactly the kind of thing Jasmine would do. Not to mention that if she’s going to, she’ll do it quickly given the heat on her right now. If she can name me for that crash...
“Is there a way we can leak it was Jasmine?” I ask, staring up at the ceiling. “Or find the original photos? Send the photoshopped ones to an expert or something?”
“Do you think she’ll actually try it?”
“To name me? Absolutely. Her reputation is in bits right now, and Hugo’s mum is one of the most famous actresses in the country. It’s probably the easiest means she has of attacking me right now.”
“Hmm. I don’t know. The originals might be hard to trace eight months after the event, but I can try.
We might have better luck with someone who can point out the photoshopping on the hair.
You’re right that she’s struggling with her online perception right now.
It makes sense that someone might dig up past incidents she’s connected with.
I’d just be wary that anyone we contact might already work with your family. ”
“I know someone who can help with that if we’re avoiding an expert.” I catch my thumbnail between my teeth and bite down for a second.
“Put them in contact with me,” she says immediately. “I don’t want anything linked directly to you or the palace. If you know someone who can prove the falsification of the photos, I can handle the leaking of it.”
I rest my forearm over my eyes and let out another sigh. “I wish I could just go on the news and do a full exposé of them. Just scream and shout and show everyone who they really are.”
“Well, you could, but you might have to give up that fancy palace of yours.”
I snort. “If only. No. I can’t. Even if I weren’t here and engaged to Finn, I couldn’t.
Unfortunately, people trust my father and Rosalyn, and Jasmine does have enough of a good reputation that I’m fairly sure she’ll come out of this whole debacle not half as injured as she should.
As for me, if I do it, I’ll merely look like the jealous daughter who gets to marry a prince and still not be happy with my lot in life. ”
“I suppose.” Her tone darkens slightly. “If only they knew what we—what you—went through.”
“It doesn’t matter. I can sit on live television and tell everyone what happened out there when we were kids, and there will still be people who insist it’s all lies. Some things are better left unsaid.”
“Mm. You’re right. You know, when you actually succeed in exacting a bit of your revenge, it makes me feel hopeful that I could do the same.”
My stomach does a little flip. This isn’t the first time she’s referenced wanting to follow my path and wrong those who have hurt her, but it’s about all she says.
No details.
No explanation beyond the one she gave me at the ball.
Just… leaves me wondering what she’s been through and reminds me that not even privilege means you’re free from pain.
“When you’re ready, I’ll do whatever I can to help you,” I promise her, sliding down onto my side so I’m lying down. “And if you never are, that’s fine, too.”
“The same goes for you,” Valentina replies. “Sometimes the best revenge is simply living well, and you will most certainly do that as the crown princess and then queen. For what it’s worth, I’m sure that alone has already ruined their lives.”
She has a point.
I know that.
It’s why it’s always been my number one goal.
But I’m too hurt, too damaged, too bitter and angry to stop at just this.
“I know,” I say quietly. “I’m just not done yet, that’s all.”
And I don’t know if I will ever be.