Chapter 112
Linda let out a small, mocking laugh. “Oh, I knew you wouldn’t admit it. Only a guilty person would deny it like this. Just like a murderer denies the crime they’ve committed.”
I glared at her. “A murderer? Really? Do you hear yourself, Linda? If I’m such a menace, then where are your wounds? Where is the proof that I’ve bullied anyone?”
The more I spoke, the more Linda’s face twisted in indignation, as if I’d somehow managed to hurt her through words alone.
Her expression was pure theater, but Arman’s gaze softened as he looked at her.
I saw the faint glimmer of concern there, and it reminded me all too painfully of how he’d looked at her in my last life–always ready to believe her, to protect her.
Arman’s eyes darkened as he took a step closer to me. “Sophia,” he said, his voice dripping with cold. anger,
“bullying isn’t something we tolerate. You know that. And yet here you are, refusing to admit you were wrong.
He reached for a pair of scissors on the table, his fingers curling around the handle as he turned toward me, his face a mask of disappointment.
“Sometimes, people need to pay the price for their actions.”
The way Arman looked at me sent a wave of revulsion through my entire body.
Here he was, my brother by blood, yet he had never shown even an ounce of genuine care for me.
The only times he acknowledged me as his sister were when he was about to exert control, when he felt the need to ‘teach me a lesson.”
Now, as he approached with scissors gleaming under the light, I could see that cruel glint in his eyes again.
“Will you cut it yourself,” he sneered, holding the scissors out with a mocking look, “or shall I do it for you?”
*My fists clenched tightly by my sides. He knew about my upcoming dance competition – he knew how much it meant to me and yet, here he was, threatening to ruin the very thing that brought me
The Alpha’s Substitute Launes
Chapter 112
joy
Memories from my past life flickered through my mind like harsh, unyielding flashes. He had done exactly this before.
I had pleaded with him, tears streaming down my face, but he’d ignored my cries and ruthlessly cut off my long hair.
That was only the beginning. He’d confined me in his pack’s territory, forcing me to face the wall day and night, isolating me from everyone.
Servants delivered meals and water as if I were nothing but a prisoner. And as I withered away in loneliness, Linda paraded around, attending glamorous events at his side, basking in the life that should have been mine.
She became his charming shadow, the “innocent” girl who captivated everyone while I was left in darkness, stripped of all dignity.
Finally, after months of confinement, I’d escaped. But I’d arrived at the competition in a state of disarray, my hair a jagged mess plastered to my scalp.
When I walked onto the stage, the audience had gasped in shock, some laughing outright.
The judges barely looked at me before telling me to leave.
My own teacher, who had once been so proud, looked away in disappointment.
I’d never felt such a cold, humiliating shame in my life.
From that day on, I’d developed an intense aversion to crowds and stages.
Just standing in front of people made me tremble
And where was Arman through all of this? Smugly indifferent.
Holding Linda close, his gaze icy, he’d sneered, “She was born bad. She brought this on herself.”
A chill ran down my spine as that memory settled like ice in my mind.
No. Not again. Not this time.
In one swift motion, I grabbed the scissors from Arman’s hand, the sharp blades now aimed directly athis throat.
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His eyes widened in shock as he realized I wasn’t the same girl he’d bullied in the past.
“Oh, yes, Arman,” I said, my voice steady as I pressed the cold metal closer. “There’s always a price to pay for doing something wrong. Isn’t that what you taught me?”
For a split second, fear flashed across his face before his expression hardened.
“Sophia,” he said slowly, as if he were speaking to a misbehaving child, “Ethan has spoiled you. I was giving you a chance, but you refuse to take it. Don’t expect me to remember that we’re family.”
I let out a bitter laugh.
–
“Family? The only family you care about is the one that feeds your ego. And Linda here you actually believe everything she says, don’t you? You’re blinded by her lies, and you don’t even care to see it.”
Arman’s jaw tightened. “Watch your mouth. Without me, Sophia, what are you? Nothing.”
Linda, who had been gleefully watching our exchange, took the opportunity to pounce and try to wrestle the scissors away from me.
