No matter how many Red Carpets I had attended, I still received the satisfaction of making a dramatic entry. Every eye in the Town Hall was on me. While some praised my choice in fashion and accessories, others gossiped behind me back about my bitchy attitude. And then there were the guys, who eyed me with lust and desire.

My butterfly sleeved gown hugged all of my curves like second skin. Although the dress was floor length, my golden heels prevented the bottom to touch the carpeted hall. All of the accessories shone in the golden lights, illuminating my immediate surroundings.

I smiled a little when my eyes landed on Derek and his parents. They had a huge glow on their face as I made my way towards them. For people who just found out their daughter was murdered, they sure outdid themselves with this grand celebration. Although, it was all going to go tumbling down soon.

As the hosts of the posh event, the McAllister family socialised with everybody present in the crowded room. Maplebirch was a small town, but the people filled the Hall completely.

I walked over to the mini bar set up and let my eyes wander around, knowing all of the options I had. As much as I fancied myself a drink, I was holding back. To confront Derek without messing up, I needed all of my senses with me.

My body became more relaxed as my eyes fell on the friendly couple. Valeria and Blake were exchanging pleasantries with the Mcallister's with their hands intertwined together.

I had seen many people in love and I loved some of them very much and never wished any problem in their relationship, but seeing my best friend next to that man made me forget about all of those perfect couples.

I had never seen the two of them try hard to impress each other or mask their flaws. They were always upfront about who they were and asked the other person to accept them. I guess that's what made their relationship realistic.

I brainstormed for anything and everything I could use to make Blake feel flustered because it was so much fun seeing him suffer. Valerie had pointed out how my bully side came out everytime I saw Blake, but I just could not help it. He was so innocent all the time. The only time when I could not get smug with him was when we went to free Lenny and he was fighting with the goons.

Blake was a very strong minded man. I respected him so much and he had no idea about it. I even managed to hide it from Valerie. When my friend first mistook him to be shy but observant, I pointed out that this was his secondary trait. First being a very chatty and humorous. Blake had a sharp sense of humour. Whenever he said something witty, he always earned a hearty guffaw from me and I was a very difficult person to please.

Once the couple walked over to where I was standing, Valerie ordered a water and chugged it down immediately upon receiving it. She had a very unusual habit of drinking lots of water whenever she was stressed. That was the reason why she was the only one who radiantly glowed during exams and the rest of us looked like the dead.

"You might want to slow your roll," I said. "We don't want you to be in the bathroom, emptying your bladder while the rest of us is in a life or death situation." Yep, the only drawback to her amazing stress buster was this immense need to pee often.

"What makes you think we will be facing a life or death situation?" Blake asked.

"Bri, you promised me that you won't be negative," Valerie reminded me, making me scoff.

"Do you seriously think that suddenly this plan would work like a miracle? Things don't get easy in life Val, they just get more complicated and this is not going to be any exception," I informed them and none of them argued back. Either they saw my point or they did not want to use up all their energy to prove themselves right.

"Oh look," Valerie pointed to where Lola was standing all alone, sipping on her champagne. "I'm gonna go talk to her. Wait here for me."

Once I was alone with Blake, a very mischevious smile appeared on my face. Blake's alarmed eyes gave away that he knew what was going to happen next.

"You know, I don't think if you've noticed it, but Valerie is a lot like Rosalind," I said, surprising him further with a very sincere statement. '

"How so?"

"She always puts other people first. The only difference between the two is that Rosalind did not have to know a person to look after them, she would do anything for anybody. Valerie on the other hand, she would do the same but only for her loved ones."

"Is that so wrong? To look after others?" He questioned, intrigued with where the conversation was going.

"Oh no, there is nothing wrong with looking after others. But it hurts. It's very difficult to be so selfless and ask for nothing in return and yet, subconsciously, people always expect something from the same people and since there is no communication about it, the selfless people end up getting hurt the most."

"But don't you get hurt too? You're always so upfront about your feelings and its a very appreciable trait, but you still get misunderstood and people think you're a very self-centered person and rude. But you're none of those things, are you?"

I took a long pause before answering. I never talked about this with anybody. Valerie and Rosalind just knew and they kept quite about me and I loved them for that. There was nothing I could do but proudly admit it that I was selfish. But the truth was that I wanted everybody around me to know that I cared for them and I would be there for them no matter what the time or the sitaution was.

The one thing I loved my fans was that they never saw me as selfish and I did not have to explain myself in front of them.

I looked at Blake with a very small smile and tilted my head sideways, "So, I guess it doesn't matter in the end whether you're nice or not because you're gonna get hurt anyways."

"That is why you have your friends. They see through you and support you and would never judge you," he replied.

I looked at Valerie who was in the middle of the very deep conversation with Lola and a warm feeling bubbled in my gut. Even when we fought, it was due to my assumptions. She never pointed out anything I was already insecure about. She had already been there for me. Even when we grew apart, we still texted and she did keep on checking up. Now that I had her back, I was not going to let her go. Never.

"You passed the test," I whispered and Blake furrowed his brows.

"What test?"

"Honey, did you really think I would just be fine with you dating my friend? Hell, no. Val is a precious being and as her friend, it is my duty to look out for her. So, here are your results and Blake Smith, you have aced the test," I laughed making him chuckle and nod his head. "I'll try not to give you such a hard time from now on."

"Thank you so much, kind lady. I am honoured," he bowed a little making me roll my eyes.

Valerie soon made her way towards us and informed that Lenny had arrived to the party and was currently feeding Derek the fake plan. I stood up straight and prepared myself for my part. I had never been so anxious in my entire life. I did not have my heart racing so much during my first concert which was in front of five thousand people.

A small ding made me check my phone and I received a text from Lenny who told me I had to go to the room now. I gave Valerie a bear hug and nodded a bit at Blake before leaving. I traipsed across hall, making my way to the little room in the Town Hall where Jordan was already hiding, waiting to record Derek's confession.

He had sneaked in with the caterers and found himself a sweet hiding place. I texted him while walking so that he had time to mentally prepare himself.

Time was moving so differently than before. I could hear the clock ticking loudly as if it were warning me to be careful. I walked inside the dark room and switched on the lights. Since there was nobody here yet, I turned around to spot Jordan but when my vision was unable to locate him, I internally relaxed that he had found himself a good place.

"I just talked with Lenny," Derek's inquisitive voice thundered in the room, making me jump a little. "So, what do I have to do?"

"Before I assign you your role, I need to tell you that I know," I began, maintaining my distance.

"My role?" he laughed. "All of this feels so legit. I mean, we are finding who killed my sister which is a huge deal, but I just can't help but laugh a little."

"It's not funny, Derek. None of this is."

"But isn't it ironic?" He asked, taking slow and steady steps towards me. My stomach churned with feat due to his icy cold demeanor.

"I know what you've done," I stated boldly. Even if things were going south and not according to the way we wanted, I could not be the reason the plan screwed up even more. So, I was going to stand my ground.

"Of course you do," he smirked. "All of you know the truth and I am aware of that. Drop the act, Ria."

I shuddered at the mention of that name and also because Derek had closed the space between us. I could feel his breathe on my neck as he whispered Rosalind's daughter's name in my ear. How could he have changed so much within such a short span of time.

Was that the last I saw of my best friend? Was Derek going to kill me? So many questions rushed to my mind, demanding an answer, but my vocabulary had left me. I was speechless and he enjoyed me squirming with terror under his touch. His grip on my shoulder only tightened.

"Then say it out loud. Tell me what you've done," I demanded.

"I killed Rosalind. I mixed the poison in her juice and made sure she died slowly. Is that what you wanted? Or do you want me to go on?"

"You're sick," I said, trying to get out of his clutches.

"Oh darling, tell me something I don't know."

When I placed my free hand on his, digging my nails into his skin and trying to make a run for it, he jerked me forward and threw me across the floor. My twisted ankle made it almost impossible for me to get up and still escape, but I failed. Instead of walking towards me to hurt me more, Derek stuffed his hands inside his pocked and made his way towards the small closet kind of space and opened the door, revealing Jordan.

Jordan must have heard footsteps approaching him because his fight or flight mode had been activated. Derek thrashed Jordan into the wall behind them with a lot of force. If there would be no music playing outside, all of the guests would have heard the loud thud. Jordan winced in pain, but taking the help of the solid wall behind him, he pushed himself further and succeeded in making Derek fall onto the ground.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on Brianna," he warned. I was in a lot of agony, but along with a firm order, I sensed a little fear in his voice. Was Jordan afraid to lose me?

Once he had made sure that Derek would not get up anytime soon because of all the punches he was met with, he got up and came to my rescue.

"My shoes. Remove my shoes," I told him. He swiftly unbuckled my flats and furrowed his brows to examine the swelling.

"Brianna, it looks really bad. Are you sure you would be able to walk?"

"Yeah, just help me up," I said. He bent down, wrapping one of his arms around my waist and gave me his other hand.

I yelled at the discomfort I received from moving but managed to stand up. Although I could walk, it took me a lot of time to take the next step. I was worried that Jordan would rush me, but he was very patient the entire time. A small flame of hope lit up when I saw that we were getting closer to the door, but the flame died when Derek held Jordan's t-shirt, stopping him from continuing further

Before fighting back, he made sure I had something solid to hold on to and I did. I held the small pole and turned around. Derek was currently winning with his kicks and punches and all Jordan could do was defend himself and not fight back.

But when Derek threw a sucker punch aimed at his face, Jordan ducked and with right hand, grabbed Derek's dominating hand and twisted it. Derek let out a loud yelp in pain and everybody in this room was helpless since nobody could hear our cries.

"Why did you kill your own sister?" Jordan asked between his breaths.

"She had it coming and do you know who I blame? You." He said, locking his icy blue eyes with Jordan's brown ones. Derek was insitigating him. We had no proof still to link Derek to the murders, so if Jordan killed him here today, he would go to jail and would not be able to justify his actions. Not even in court.

Jordan was going to retaliate back with violence, but rolled away and kicked Jordan a few times in the stomach before placing his boots on Jordan's neck, cutting his supply of air. Deciding that I could no longer stand and witness everything silently, I spoke up.

"Stop it!" I choked out. "Leave him alone, please." I was sobbing by now but I did not care. I could not stand here and witness the cruel injustice.

"Why? Can't stand your boo boo getting hurt?" Derek asked, making his way towards me. "You met Jordan a few months ago because of me but you knew Rosalind for a longer period and yet you stood silently when she was struggling? Insulted her when she was just making a choice and judged her for choosing her family over you? Why Brianna? WHY? Did you get hurt because your ego was not getting enough attention?"

I gripped the pole tighter as he got closer to me.

"Answer me, damnit!" He yelled, making me flinch.

"I did what I did. Atleast I did not kill her." The sentence came out with nothing but hatred. I had gritted my teeth, stopping myself from saying more bitter words. I regretted letting my anger get the best of me because Derek walked out of the room and came back with one of the Town Hall's statues.

Jordan tried getting up, but the kicks he had tolerated on his stomach were taking a toll on him psyically. "Derek don't you dare hurt her with that," Jordan yelled. He was desperately trying to stop him but he failed.

I closed my eyes, ready for the stinging pain I would soon suffer from and braced myself. Sometimes, accepting defeat was a mature decision than craving for victory.

A single tear rolled down my cheek as the time made everything slower around me. Before when I thought that the clock was warning me to be careful, I was wrong. It was actually assuring me that it would be there to protect me.

Because after getting hit strongly in the head by the statue, I fell on the ground. All the pain I felt before was all gone as I gladly accepted my fate and slowly lost my conscious.

AHHHA I am so proud of this chapter. We had a Brianna and Blake moment and a Brianna and Jordan moment!!!

So, I'm going to be dividing this time period into three different POV's.

Don't get confused, please.

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