I almost laughed at the scene before me. Cira, kneeling there, playing the repentant mistress-it was the most transparent manipulation I’d ever witnessed.
*A retreat to advance?*
*Someone coached her well. This isn’t her usual style at all.*
“If you’re going to beg,” I said sweetly, my voice dripping with honeyed poison, “then do it properly. Here’s what I propose: slap yourself one hundred times. Turn your face into ground meat, and then maybe, just maybe, I’ll consider your request.”
Xavien’s head snapped toward me, shock flashing across his face.
I watched as Cira’s emotions warred across her features-outrage quickly giving way to calculation. She thought she’d found her chance to paint me as the villain.
Biting her lip, she closed her eyes dramatically and began slapping herself. The sharp sounds echoed through the crowded pickup area.
“Can’t you do better than that?” I taunted, lifting my chin arrogantly. “Put some strength into it.”
Around us, people watched, whispering and some even recording the spectacle on their phones. Perfect.
“Pathetic. You can’t even slap properly,” I sneered, grabbing her face roughly. “Let me show you how it’s done.”
With four fast, stinging slaps, I struck her across the face, the sharp cracks ringing out like gunshots.
As I raised my hand for the fifth blow, Xavien caught my wrist. “Enough!”
I turned to him, eyes blazing with fury. “Enough? She seduced you, destroyed our marriage, tried to ruin me-and you want to stop after just four slaps? Oh, I see. You should be kneeling too. Get down and let me slap you as well.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Xavien’s voice was tight with anger and disbelief.
“Won’t kneel? Then she’ll take your punishment too.” I looked back at Cira with a wicked smile. “Any objections?”
She shook her head, crawling forward to take my other hand. “Hit me. It’s not Xavien’s fault. I’ll take his punishment.”
I patted her head mockingly. “Good girl.”
In one swift motion, I grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head down, delivering another sharp, stinging slap. Xavien didn’t even have time to intervene.
Cira’s body crumpled to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She didn’t move.
“Cira!” Xavien released my wrist and rushed to catch her limp form in his arms.
“Stop playing dead,” I called out, my voice hardening with each word. “If you dare seduce another woman’s husband, you deserve to be beaten-or stripped naked and paraded through the streets.”
“Celina, that’s enough!” Xavien roared, fury darkening his features as he lifted Cira’s unconscious body.
He strode toward his car with long, urgent strides. “We need to get her to the hospital!”
Beta Henric opened the car door but hesitated, glancing back at me sitting alone in my wheelchair. “But what about your wi-“
The door slammed shut before he could finish his sentence, cutting off his words abruptly.
Beta Henric gave me an apologetic nod before sliding into the driver’s seat and pulling away, leaving me behind.
The crowd around me murmured, a mixture of sympathy and judgment swirling in the air.
But as I watched their car disappear into the traffic, a small, satisfied smile crept onto my lips.
*Everything is going exactly as I planned.*
Sebastian
Just moments ago, Lian had pulled up and immediately noticed Cira standing guard at the entrance and exit. His face was unusually tense, a strange mix of quiet intensity and barely contained anxiety. Something in the air told him that trouble was brewing. Without hesitation, he brought the car to a halt. I didn’t question his sudden stop; instinctively, I gave in to his unspoken concern.
“Alpha Sebastian, shouldn’t we step in and help Celina?” Lian’s voice carried urgency as the privacy divider between us slowly rose.
Beta Sawyer gave a cautious nod, clearly agreeing but with a hint of reservation.
I lifted my eyes, fixing them on both of them with a flat, unreadable expression. “If you want to help her, go ahead. But don’t make it sound like I’m the villain here.”
That was my silent permission. Lian didn’t waste a second-he spun the car around and headed back.
Before we reached Celina, a sleek ward BMW pulled up ahead of us. A woman stepped out, dressed in a striking red Angola business suit paired with a sharp black shirt. Her entire presence screamed confidence and professionalism as she strode purposefully toward Celina.
Something inside me stirred-Soren’s voice echoing in my mind. [Clever. She’s manipulating her enemy’s obsession to her advantage.]
I watched silently as the woman helped Celina into the car, carefully stowed the wheelchair in the back, and then drove off.
We kept our distance, trailing behind.
“Do you think Celina knew Alpha Xavien would just abandon her and arranged for her friend to pick her up beforehand?” Lian’s voice was filled with confusion as he tried to make sense of the unexpected turn.
Beta Sawyer shook his head slowly. “It has to be a coincidence.” Then he paused, reconsidering. “Or maybe… she never planned on going home with Alpha Xavien at all and called her friend earlier.”
Lian nodded thoughtfully. “That sounds more likely.”
Both men glanced at me through the rearview mirror, clearly hoping I’d weigh in but wary of having annoyed me with their guesses.
I closed my eyes, feigning disinterest.
But Soren wasn’t fooled. [You’re not mad because Alpha Xavier left her. You’re mad because she didn’t let you be the one who stayed.]
I kept silent, though those words hit deeper than I wanted to admit.
[You wanted her to ask for your help. Not his. Not hers. Yours.]
My jaw tightened involuntarily.
“That’s not what this is,” I muttered quietly, more to myself than to the voice inside.
[You wanted to be the one she trusted. The one she turned to.]
My throat constricted painfully.
[I admit, I expected it.]
Celina
Chaim
I must have dozed off in Harlow’s car, utterly drained from the airport performance. When I finally stirred, we were nearing my apartment complex.
“Celina, wake up…” Harlow’s urgent tone pulled me fully back to consciousness.
“Hmm? Are we here?” I mumbled, blinking as I saw the security gate ahead. I rolled down the window to flash my face for entry.
As the barrier lifted, Harlow drove through, nervously glancing in the rearview mirror. “That car has been following us the entire time… Wait, how are they getting in too? Do they live here?”
“What?” I turned sharply, suddenly alert. I spotted the familiar Bentley tailing us.
It was strange-why would Alpha Sebastian be following us? I had assumed he’d gone home hours ago.
Harlow’s panic was palpable. “Should we turn around and leave?”
“No need,” I reassured her calmly. “That’s my new boss’s car.”
“…New? Boss?” Harlow’s voice climbed higher with each word.
“It’s a long story. I’ll explain later.”
When we parked and Alpha Sebastian stepped out of his sleek black Bentley, Harlow’s confusion quickly turned to awe.
“That’s Alpha Sebastian-the one who saved you at the charity gala!” she whispered breathlessly. “The video of him shutting everyone up is still all over high society!”
I rolled my eyes at her suspicious expression.
“Calm down. He’s just my new boss.”
Harlow glanced back at Sebastian, clearly impressed. He looked even more commanding in person than the polished figure in the video.
“Just your boss?” she repeated, raising an eyebrow.
I gave her a tired, exasperated look. [When will Harper ever stop being so nosy?]
As Harlow moved between helping me and retrieving the wheelchair from the trunk, Alpha Sebastian and Beta Sawyer were already heading toward the building. Lian held the door open with a courteous smile.
Alpha Sebastian stepped into one of the elevators. There were three others we could have taken, but ignoring my boss felt… rude.
Harlow and I hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do next. Lian solved the dilemma for us.
He rolled my wheelchair straight into Sebastian’s elevator.
And when I say “rolled,” I mean he practically pulled me in-right in front of a pair of long, impeccably tailored legs clad in light gray suit pants.
[Oh goddess.]
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