Adjusting to my new life inside Alpha Gavin’s mansion was harder than I imagined. Avery paraded around like a queen, reclaiming the life she abandoned years ago. I was nothing more than an afterthought, a shadow in the place I once called home. The first few days, she ignored me completely. Then, as if remembering I still existed, she started treating me like a servant.
I had no choice but to endure it. I was already running on borrowed time.
Carrying a tray of food toward the dining hall, I felt a wave of dizziness washing over me. My vision blurred, and the scent of warm pasta soup became nauseating. I forced myself to focus, gripping the tray tighter. Just a few more steps. I could make it. But my body had other plans. My knees buckled, and before I could steady myself, the tray slipped from my hands.
A sharp scream echoed through the kitchen. I gasped as the boiling soup splashed over Avery’s designer dress, staining it red. The bowl shattered against the floor, and the scent of burnt herbs filled the air.
Avery’s shriek made my blood run cold.
“You stupid woman! Look what you’ve done!”
She gripped the edge of the table, her face twisted in pain. Blisters already formed on her forearm where the soup had scalded her skin. Servants rushed in, but no one dared to speak.
I stumbled back, my heart pounding. “I—I didn’t mean to. It was an accident.”
Avery’s eyes blazed with fury. “You did this on purpose!”
Before I could defend myself, heavy footsteps stormed into the room. I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.
“What the hell is going on here?” Gavin’s deep voice rang out.
Avery’s tears came instantly. “She attacked me,” she wailed, pointing a trembling finger at me. “She threw boiling soup at me! Look at my arm!”
I shook my head, trying to find the words. “I didn’t—”
Gavin’s glare burned through me. “Enough.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. He didn’t even ask for my side of the story. He just looked at me with disappointment, as if he had already made up his mind.
“I should have known you’d try to pull something like this,” he said coldly. “You’re not coming to Mavin’s birthday. You don’t deserve to be there.”
My stomach dropped. “Gavin, please—”
But he was already turning away, guiding Avery toward the hallway where a healer waited. My vision blurred, but I refused to cry. Not here. Not in front of them.