Chapter 51
A cold laugh escaped my lips, despite the pain searing through me.
“Is this your idea of love, Ryan?” I spat, pulling myself free from his grip just as he moved to strike
again.
With a surge of adrenaline, I forced myself upright, despite the unbearable pain shooting through my ankle.
My fingers found his hair, and without thinking. I yanked him forward, slamming his head hard against the metal railing.
He grunted in surprise, momentarily stunned, and I used the opportunity to push him away.
“Rubbish,” I muttered through gritted teeth, breathless from the effort. My vision blurred from the pain, but I stood tall, glaring down at him.
“Dog, you want to hurt me again? You’re dreaming!” I growled, seething with rage.
Ryan’s head slammed against the iron railing with a sickening thud.
The sharp corner bit into his forehead, and blood instantly poured from the gash, streaming down his face in bright red rivulets.
It dripped onto his clothes, staining them with crimson splashes.
“…Sophia…” he muttered, his voice shaky, eyes wide with surprise.
He couldn’t comprehend how I had suddenly found such strength, but I didn’t care.
Ever since my rebirth, I had pushed myself to train relentlessly.
Both in physical fitness and combat. Ethan had told me more than once that I could become a skilled warrior if I wanted to.
My years of dance training had honed my body, making it flexible and agile.
Every
step I had taken was in preparation for moments like this.
I breathed heavily, the pain from my sprained ankle sharp and constant, but it didn’t matter. I would edure. I had to..
let go of Ryan’s hair and stood over him, looking down at his bleeding, disoriented form.
His face was blurred with pain, his once sharp eyes now clouded with confusion. Slowly, a smile crept onto my lips.
“So, young master,” I said mockingly, “you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for your precious little flower? All this to destroy me and give her a better future?”
Ryan stared up at me, his gaze incredulous, as if he were seeing me for the first time.
He couldn’t believe the change, the power I wielded now. I knelt down and lifted his chin with one finger. forcing him to meet my eyes.
this the warning Arman gave me?” I asked coldly. “Have you two already planned to share her
between you? Pathetic.”
I glanced down at the hem of my dress, noticing it had been stained by his blood.
The light fabric was ruined, soaked with the dark red mess. I sighed in frustration.
A perfectly good skirt, spoiled by his foolishness.
But worse than the ruined skirt was the injury to my leg.
Losing my wolf had weakened me, made me more fragile, but I would push through. I had no
choice.
1
The pain in my ankle was fierce, but I wouldn’t let it stop me. Not tonight.
I had to make it to the party.
I turned to leave, but just as I took a step, I felt a grip on my ankle.
Ryan, barely able to lift his head, clung to me desperately.
“Why where are you going?” he rasped, his voice weak. “You’re injured. You should stay. walking will only make it worse.”
There was a strange tenderness in his voice, like he believed he genuinely cared for me. As if this was his way of showing concern.
I looked down at him, disgusted.
You think I need your help?” I yanked my leg free and stomped on him a few more times for good
measure.
Ryan groaned, his body weak from the fight with Lirian just days ago. With his new head injury, he didn’t stand a chance. He was helpless. Pathetic.
And I had no time to waste.
Leaving him crumpled on the ground, I hurried towards the auditorium, ignoring the throbbing pain in my ankle as the sky darkened above me.
From a distance, I could already hear the soft, melancholic melody of a piano drifting through the air. My stomach twisted.
Linda was playing Debussy’s “Clair de Lune*, just like in my previous life. I knew this piece well. She had chosen it on purpose, a symbol of her innocence and purity. A farce.
There she was, sitting at the white piano in her small silver dress, bathed in the spotlight.
The rest of the stage was cloaked in darkness, but the light shone down on her like a moonlit angel, so delicate and perfect.
Just like she had been back then, when she had cowered in Ryan’s arms, wearing white and pretending to be so fragile. When she had used my suffering to climb to her place of power.
But I knew better. I knew how filthy that moonlight really was.
I took a deep breath and rushed down the narrow aisle between the rows of seats.
