Chapter 1

Joana

Have I told you today that I hate my family?

I stand there looking at myself in the mirror of a bridal store.... Yes, that's exactly what you

are reading, bridal stores. Now the question is: are you, Joana, going to get married?

Kind of ironic, isn't it, that I thought that one day I would get married, have children and be

happy forever?!

This Prince Charming story no longer stuck with me. Once I thought that

I had found my better half. But I ended up meeting an idiot who

As soon as he met my sister, he simply stopped liking me and started hitting on her.

Now I ask: what do you think my parents said? That's right... nothing!

Nothing!

I was really pissed off. I might not be Miss Universe, but I was very

better than my sister.

But no, his mother's son said he had fallen in love with her and that they would soon

marry. Saying that I cried, I begged, yes, I did all of this, was of no use.

Then, on October 5th, my ex was finally going to marry my sister.

—Joana, my daughter, you need to lose weight — he said

my mother, Dona Isabel, a beautiful woman but at the same time futile.

My sister Cláudia was the Miss Universe type, just the way Leonardo loved her.

— Why do you insist that I go to a wedding that was supposed to be mine? — I question and she just looks at me with that fresh face and says:

— It's time for you to stop thinking you were betrayed.

— Do you think I wasn't betrayed by him and my sister? I ask, shocked by her cynicism.

— Blame me, Joana de Alencar! — she comments and

to be continued. — You know very well that Leonardo is very sorry about having dated you.

Hey? Like this? That son of a bitch thinks he's the last cookie in the package.

I take a deep breath, trying to be the good daughter I wasn't. My mother has already made this very clear.

-Enough! I don't want to participate in this joke anymore! — I practically scream.

—Watch your manners, Joana. Yes, you will participate in this wedding. Yourself

She said she didn't love him anymore.

—Are you saying what I think I heard?

— My daughter, your sister has always been in love with Leonardo. It was just a matter of meeting.

— Really, I need to get out of here. I need to have a beer to see if I can

calm down.

— I believe, Joana! Isn't that a man's drink? — Dona Isabel asks me, horrified.

- And? We women also have this drink and I want one, otherwise,

I don't answer for myself. — I finish by going to

heading to the dressing room to take off that damn green dress that, to me, was

a dress the color of vomit.

I take it off quickly and put my clothes back on. I was wearing nice jeans

tight, with a robe that my mother said made me look like a pregnant woman.

Look at my worried face. He was

I didn't care what she thought of me. It was time for me to torture myself for

things my mother said.

—Where do you think you're going? — she questions.

- What do you think? I have more to do than sit here and listen to nonsense from

Madam as always — I reply.

— Joana, look at your manners, you have to behave. I am your mother and I deserve respect. — Dona Isabel and her dramas.

— Mom, I never wanted to participate in this joke. At the very least, I should have been drunk to have accepted this madness — I confess with anger at myself, wanting to remember how I accepted it.

I leave her side and go get my things. I had more to do than

listening to shit from a crazy mother.

—Come back here, Joana! — she shouts, attracting the eyes of the store's salespeople.

— Mom, I'm already running late, for God's sake — I ask.

— OK, OK! But you'll have to tell your sister that you're going to lose weight

get into the bridesmaid dress.

I look at her in disbelief, trying to understand the shit that just came out of her mouth.

— Mom, I'm not going to lose weight because of you! — I almost scream.

— You have to lose weight for your sister's wedding — she argues.

—For the last time, I'm not going to the fucking wedding. I wish you both all the best and

have a great day. — I left without looking back.

Thank God I didn't live with them anymore. This was not for lack of encouragement. Ever

they wanted to exploit me. I could be in need, God forbid, but never go back to my parents' house again.

I turn the corner and I don't know what really happened, I just know that I was pushed and

I end up on top of the car, and, with the impact of the crash, I fall to the ground.

The last thing I remember before closing my eyes was seeing a man

beautiful, it made my heart race. When you look at me with admiration and at the same time

Scared time, I surrender to the darkness without knowing who that beautiful man was

who helped me.