Chapter 248:
“What’s her problem?” Thea asked, watching Eloise shake. “She looks like she’s about to faint.”
Katie shrugged, lips curled into a mocking grin. “Guess we hit a sore spot. She’s terrified we’ll let something slip. What a pathetic little coward.”
Stepping in close, Thea lowered her voice, her eyes sharp with contempt. “I’d love to know how a mute even manages to slip into a party like this.”
Heart pounding, Eloise made a desperate attempt to retreat, but Thea’s hand clamped around her wrist in a bruising grip.
“Not so fast,” Thea remarked, her tone dripping with menace. “Maybe I’ll let you go—after you get down and lick away that spilled wine.”
Eloise shook her head frantically, her throat straining as she let out raw, strangled sounds—helpless, desperate, not quite a scream.
“You’re not leaving until you lick away every drop,” Thea sneered, flashing a sly smile. “Or maybe I’ll just let everyone know a mute like you showed up hoping to snag some guy’s attention.”
Terror widened Eloise’s eyes. As she tried to yank herself free, her nails raked Thea’s arm by accident.
“Ah!” Thea shrieked, her face contorted in outrage as she shoved Eloise hard. Eloise hit the floor with a thud, her elbow slamming against the polished tiles. Pain streaked up her arm, but she clamped her jaw shut, refusing to let a sound slip out. Every nerve screamed for her to cry out, but silence was her oldest defense—a survival reflex hammered into her by years of torment. She’d learned long ago that the smallest whimper invited even crueler punishment, the slightest protest only egged her bullies on.
“Thea! Are you okay?” Katie rushed to Thea’s side, seizing her arm. “She scratched you. Look, you’re bleeding!”
𝓜𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓾𝓹𝓭𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓼 𝓲𝓷 𝓰𝓪𝓵𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵𝓼.𝓬𝓸𝓶
Thea’s glare turned murderous as she inspected the thin scratches on her skin. With a cold, venomous stare, she shot daggers at Eloise. “You fucking bitch!” she spat, her voice shaking with fury. “Who do you think you are, putting your hands on me?”
Katie bristled, her voice rising with righteous indignation. “She’s nothing but garbage. Someone needs to put her in her place.”
Then, as Katie’s gaze fell on the faint mark stamped across Eloise’s forehead, her anger twisted into vicious glee. Her mocking laugh bubbled out, sharp and triumphant. “And here I thought she was some kind of beauty. Turns out she’s just a freak.”
Katie’s biting words jolted Thea, drawing her attention to the faint mark on Eloise’s delicate face—a flaw Thea instantly seized upon. A crooked smirk twisted Thea’s lips. “No wonder you keep those heavy bangs. Afraid to show everyone that hideous mark?”
The jeers hit Eloise like a tidal wave, dredging up every cruel memory she’d tried so desperately to bury. Fingers trembling, she tugged her bangs lower, desperate to shield the mark, her palm pressed flat against her brow in panic. Mocking laughter swirled around her, each taunt stabbing into her skull like icy needles until pain exploded behind her eyes.
Eloise’s face contorted in misery, her body curling in on itself as she clung to her forehead, eyes squeezed shut against the agony.
Seeing Eloise crumpled on the floor, clutching her forehead in pain, Thea’s heart thumped with twisted satisfaction, her gaze alight with dark pleasure. “You disgusting freak. Think you can just bump into me and get away with it?” she hissed, her voice sharp as a knife. “You’re about to learn what real pain feels like.”
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