The Villainess Will Live a Good Life

Prologue

Originally posted: Dec 1, 2022 Edited: Apr 30, 2023.

"Nana! Get your rear down here and get ready!" Nana's mother shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

"Ugggh." Nana wished the pillow on her head could drown out her mom's voice. Nana knew her mom would try one more time before coming up with her slipper. Nana decided to chance it. She needed every extra minute of sleep she could get.

Her soft bed wasn't willing to part with her and Nana felt the same. She did the same things on all of her days off: staying up late and reading. And Nana wasn't someone who knew when to quit. She finally ran out of chapters of the story she was reading at 4:15 A.M.

"Nana! I swear to the Lord above! Don't you make me come up there."

'What exactly is she swearing to anyway, and why is she bringing God into this?' Nana wondered in irritation. 

She reached her hand out of the mass of blankets and flailed it around wildly. It took a minute for her to locate her target but she did.  She dragged the phone into the safety of her blanket cocoon. Her bleary eyes cracked just wide enough to check the time. Glowing numbers that read 10:22 A.M. glared at her mockingly. It was too early to get up.

"Nana! Don't you dare make us late to church!" Her mom was reaching the end of her patience.

"Go without me!" Nana tried to shout back. Unfortunately for her, her mom wouldn't let her. It wasn't fair. She was nineteen years old, but her mom forced her to go to church. Sure, Nana didn't have to pay for rent, but she was in college. It wasn't like church would help her contribute to the bills.

Unfortunately for Nana, her mother did come upstairs, slipper in hand. It shouldn't have scared Nana as much as it did. She was an adult, but that slipper made her feel like a child again.

Nana dragged her body out of bed and to the closest. She made sure all of her church clothes were wrinkled. It was an attempt to keep her mom from dragging her along. Her mom valued image and wrinkled church clothes were not acceptable. Sadly it wasn't enough of an effort this time. Her mom only scowled at them.

Once dressed, Nana brushed her teeth and was pushed out the house. Her brother glared at her from his seat in the car. It wasn't Nana's fault that their mom subjected them to the torture that was Sunday sermons. He didn't have to look at her like she was to blame.

Nana climbed into her seat and fell asleep in the car. Her drool smeared on the window where her head rested. When she was shaken awake, she stumbled out the door without cleaning it up. They shuffled inside four minutes before the sermon started.

To Nana's credit, she managed to stay awake until the preaching began. As soon as the pastor started, Nana knocked out while sitting up. She had long since mastered this skill.

Nana woke up briefly whenever the pastor raised his voice and shouted angrily. Nana's mother would argue that he was passionate, but he just sounded enraged to Nana. Her stomach growled, earning another scowl from her mother and a new one from the lady immediately next to her. Rather than feel ashamed about it, Nana just felt irritated from her lack of sleep and nourishment.

She couldn't help but think that her mother was sadistic, masochistic, or both. Why would anyone want to bring their embarrassing child to a public event unless it was a form of punishment for someone?

Since her mom insisted on torturing her like this, she wasn't going to make it easy. The best part about that? Nana didn't have to try hard.

The pastor droned on and on, driving Nana back to slumber. If God had any issues with her sleeping in his house, he never said anything to her. Nana felt a painful jab in her side and found the culprit: her brother.