They Took My Ticket, I Destroyed Their Lives Chapter 08
Jayden pointed at the screen, his voice dripping with dolore, acting like a man who had been stabbed in the back.
“This is it! This is Kira and her… ‘Padrone’! She’s nothing but a kept woman!”
“During Thanksgiving, she was out in public acting ‘intimate’ with this man—the proof is right here!”
“Her sugar daddy even called in a private bird for her. Her luxury lifestyle, the flashy cars—it’s all dirty money!”
He turned to me, his eyes full of disprezzo and accusation: “Kira! I thought you were just a little vain, but I never thought you’d turn into a ‘puttana’! You’re a disgrace!”
“You think you earned this award? You bought it with your ‘Padrone’s’ influence!”
Vivian started her sceneggiatà right on cue, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief as if her heart was breaking for my fallen soul.
The room went into a frenzy.
Every eye in the place was a spotlight on me, waiting to see me “perdere la faccia” and crawl away in shame.
Standing there in the center of the stage, I didn’t shake. I didn’t turn pale. Instead, I let out a short, cold laugh that cut through the noise.
I picked up the mic, my voice steady as a “soldato”:
“You finished with your story?”
The whole place froze, Jayden and Vivian included. They expected me to beg or cry, not to stand there like a “capo” watching a comedy act.
Jayden’s face twitched; I’d broken his rhythm. But he doubled down, his voice cracking: “Kira! The proof is on the screen! You gonna tell us that isn’t you?”
“The photo is me. I’m not denying it.” I said, my tone almost hoarse.
“And the gentleman next to me? Yeah, he provided the private bird. He gives me whatever ‘pocket money’ I want. And our relationship… it’s as close as it gets.”
The crowd erupted in “veleno.” The whispers turned into a roar of disgust.
“She admitted it? Just like that?”
“Senza vergogna… how can she even show her face?”
“Beautiful face, but a rotten heart.”
Jayden and Vivian looked like they’d just hit the lottery. They actually thought I was confessing to a crime.
“Dean! Board members! You heard her! She confessed!” Jayden was practically jumping out of his skin, pointing a shaking finger at me. “A student with no ‘onore’ like this needs to be stripped of her awards! Expel her! Set an example!”
Vivian dropped the act for a second to twist the knife: “Kira, how could you… we might be ‘poveracci,’ but we have our pride… how could you do this to Jayden…”
The faculty members were huddled up, looking like they were ready to throw me to the wolves.
But then, the air in the room changed.
“Since when did giving my daughter a ride home and some ‘grana’ become a matter for a school tribunal?”
A heavy, authoritative voice boomed from the side entrance, silencing the chiacchiere instantly.
Everyone’s head snapped toward the door. The Dean, who usually acts like he owns the place, was walking in looking like a nervous messaggero next to a man in a sharp, dark suit.
My father walked in with the presenza of a man who owns the city. His eyes were like cold steel as they swept over Jayden and the ghost—white Vivian.
The Dean didn’t wait. He grabbed a mic, his voice shaking with pure rabbia: “Marcus Rosetti is the Chairman of the Board. He took time out of his schedule.”
to see our students’ success today.”
He turned his fire on Jayden and Vivian: “But what do we see? A ‘tradimento’! A calculated, malicious ‘infamità’ against Mr. Rosetti and his daughter, Kira!”
“F – Father and daughter?”
Those words hit the room like a “lupara” blast, leaving everyone stunned.
“Dad,” I said into the mic, my voice sounding like a small girl who’d finally seen her “famiglia” arrive.
My father stepped onto the stage and rested a hand on my head. He looked out at the silent crowd, his gaze landing on the shivering Jayden.
“I came here to see how my daughter lives,” he said, the irony thick as blood. “I didn’t expect it to be so… ‘interessante’.”
The silence was absolute.
Jayden looked like he’d seen a ghost; he couldn’t even stand straight. Vivian looked like she’d been drained of every drop of blood.
The Dean was livid: “Jayden! Vivian! You’ve brought ‘vergogna’ to this school!”
“You took a family photo and turned it into a ‘calunnia’! This is a violation of everything we stand for! You have no ‘rispetto’!”
“Mr. Rosetti built the new library! He founded the Rosetti Family Scholarship!” his voice echoed through the hall. “He comes to see his own flesh and blood, and you spit on his name? You haven’t just hurt Kira; you’ve declared war on this institution!”
Every word was a slap to their faces. “The crowd’s ‘simpatia’ flipped instantly — now they looked at Jayden and Vivian like they were ‘scarafaggi’.”