Metal pressed against my back. Air whooshed out of me. The hall echoed with the thud. The last thing I heard before darkness swallowed me was Elias’s tiny, trembling voice.
“You deserved it,” he whispered. “Bad!”
The words cut deeper than the fall.
When I came to, the room was dim, heavy, muffled—like I was surfacing from a nightmare.
But it wasn’t over.
Someone was beside me. I tried to speak, but my throat tightened. Then I felt it—hands pressing against my neck.
Seraphine.
Her face loomed above me, twisted with rage. “You should’ve stayed down,” she hissed, grip tightening. “You can’t keep ruining everything. Adrian and I deserve to be happy!”
I gasped, fighting her hands. “Seraphine—stop—”
She pressed harder, nails biting. “If you won’t leave,” she whispered, low and trembling, “then I’ll make you leave. For good.”
Panic surged. I kicked, clawed, struggled with every ounce of strength left. Spots flashed before my eyes.
And then—
“Hey!”
The door burst open.
Seraphine froze, grip loosening just enough for me to gasp for air. A tall man stormed in, dark with shock and anger. In one motion, he pulled her off me, shoving her aside.
“What the hell are you doing?” he bellowed.
Seraphine stumbled, pale. “She—she tried to attack me!”
“Don’t lie,” he said, sharp, commanding. “I saw exactly what you were doing.”
I blinked, trying to focus through the haze. The face was familiar—strong jaw, steady eyes, faint scar near his temple.
“Lucien?” I croaked.
The son of my mother’s best friend—and now Adrian’s rival.
The room was filled with shouting when I walked in. Adrian’s voice cut sharp through the air.
“How could you do this, Vivienne?” he roared. “You sent the police? To arrest Seraphine?”
I clenched my hands, fighting to stay calm. “She tried to kill me, Adrian! What was I supposed to do—thank her?”
Before he could respond, my father’s voice sliced through the chaos. “Enough!” Cold, firm, commanding. He stood by the window, arms crossed, disappointment etched into every line of his face. “Do you realize what you’ve done? This is a scandal, Vivienne. People are already talking. Seraphine is willing to apologize, and you—”
“Apologize?” I whispered, disbelief choking me. “She almost strangled me to death.”
He shot me a look sharp enough to cut. “And yet she’s the reasonable one. Learn from her, Vivienne. Don’t make this worse than it already is.”
I turned to him, chest tight. “Dad, she—”