Catherine’s POV
The afternoon dragged on. After Gabriel left my room, I was left to think, still confused about how everything got so bad. His last words about trust kept repeating in my mind.
Julian would be coming soon for that ’proper talk’ he promised. And before I faced him, I needed to go and see Lucy like he asked of . But the truth was that I wanted to gauge her state, and find out exactly what she had told Julian. I couldn’t go into a major confrontation blind.
I smoothed down my dress, checked my reflection one last ti; my face was pale, from all the stress and worry. I headed toward her room.
I didn’t bother knocking because I knew there was nothing she could really do about it in the state she was in. I opened the door just enough to slip inside, then closed it quietly behind .
Lucy was propped up in the high bed, with a mound of pillows supporting her back. She was wearing a simple cotton nightgown and from the doorway, I could see the dark, ugly bruises, not just on her face, but a visible mark or two on her neck where the collar of the gown dipped. Kiera and I really did our big thing on her.
The mont her eyes t mine, I noticed that they were blazing with pure hatred. She didn’t like that I had co, exactly what I told Julian.
I tried to ignore the searing look, taking a deliberate step inside, and closing the distance between us slightly. "Hi, Lucy," I said, my voice was carefully neutral, as I tried to make her see I wasn’t her enemy.
She didn’t return the greeting. Her voice rang out weak, scratchy, and fueled by rage. "What the hell do you think you are doing in my room? Get out."
I scoffed. The nerve of this girl! Even in her battered and confined to bed state, she still had her arrogance in check. It was honestly marvelous. I folded my hands across my chest and leaned against the footboard of her bed, settling in like an unwelco guest.
"Don’t waste the little strength you have left in you. I’m only here because Julian asked to co and see you," I simply explained, using his na like a shield.
"I don’t care what Julian asked. I want you out," she repeated, her voice rising slightly, and shaking with effort.
My patience snapped. The exhaustion of the day, the stress of lying to Julian and Gabriel, and now her imdiate, hostile dismissal all boiled over. Who was she to command , now, like this?
I unfolded my arms and took a step closer to the bedside. "You know, you’ve really got so nerve," I said with a dangerously soft voice. "Throwing orders around when you can barely sit up. Bedridden and still full of yourself."
I moved the final distance to the bed, closer than I should have. I bent my face down toward hers, invading her space, forcing her to look directly into my eyes. She flinched, pulling back slightly against the pillows.
"Do you know what this is, Lucy?" I whispered, keeping my tone low and venomous. "This is karma. Karma is such a bitch, isn’t it?"
I paused, letting the word sink in, watching the fear move behind the hatred in her eyes. "Rember how you and Sasha ganged up on ? How you held down, beat , and laughed? Look at you now. You’re the one lying here. And you can’t do a single thing about it."
The mory of that beating fueled my words, giving them a raw, authentic power.
Her eyes beca fierce, holding with a desperate energy. "Enough of your nonsense! Leave my room!" she spat, her tone growing stronger, surprisingly loud despite her injury.
I leaned closer. "You had better lower your voice," I hissed. "Do you think I’m scared of your little outburst? I could hit you right now, Lucy. And you wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing to stop . No one is here to save you."
Whether it was the words or the threatening posture, sothing snapped in her. Her right hand shot up, weak and shaking, she dared to aim it at my face but that was a clumsy, slow attempt. I caught her wrist imdiately, my fingers wrapping around the bone, and squeezing it roughly. It felt really satisfying to have this kind of power over her.
She let out a sharp cry of pain and frustration. "Catherine, let go of . Julian is going to find out about this, I promise." Her eyes darted frantically toward the door, like a caged animal looking for an escape. She was clearly expecting Julian to co rushing in.
I let out a thin, cruel smile and leaned down again. "He won’t and you should stop looking at the door," I whispered, my voice thick with mock pity. "Because your Julian is nowhere around. He’s busy. You’re all alone with , right now."
That was a complete lie, of course. Julian could have been in his room, or even downstairs in the sitting room. But I needed her to believe she was utterly isolated. I needed her to be afraid.
Her lips parted, and a desperate, raspy sound escaped her throat before she could form a coherent word.
I didn’t let her speak. I interrupted her, cutting straight to the core of the issue. I still had her wrist firmly in my grip, preventing her from moving.
"Tell the truth," I demanded. "Did you really tell Julian that you suspected ? That I was the one who assaulted you?"
She didn’t deny it. Instead, she twisted her wrist slightly in my grip, her eyes never leaving mine. The hatred was still there, but now it was filled with a disturbing triumph.
"Why do you want to know?" she retorted with a strained voice. "Are you worried that I can see through you, Catherine? That I know what you’re capable of?"
I felt a genuine, cold smirk pull at my lips. I released her wrist abruptly, letting her arm drop back onto the sheet. I stood up straight, regaining my height advantage.
"Girl, I’m not Julian," I said, shaking my head slowly. "Enough of this obsession you have with . First, you accuse of stealing so stupid gift you got, and now you accuse of beating you half to death."
I took a deliberate step back toward the foot of the bed. "You know, I ca in here because Julian told you needed support. I ca in here to pretend to be a concerned person, but you make it impossible. You are so obsessed with making look like the villain, Lucy, that you are pointing the finger at the wrong person. The person who really did this is still out there, thanks to your constant paranoia."
I watched her face carefully. Did she believe ? Was there a flicker of doubt? No. Her look remained certain and impotently raging.
"I know what I know," she whispered, struggling to keep her breath even. "I know it was you, Catherine and that stupid friend of yours."
"You saw a nightmare, Lucy," I corrected her, my voice now perfectly calm, the anger banked, replaced by chilling control. "You were hurt, you were scared, and your mind went to the one person you hate the most. That’s what happened."
"Liar!"
I flashed a smile at her, deciding to resort to my last idea, since she was refusing to believe . "If you really think I did it, then you should be scared. I could do that to you again, if you keep accusing ."
She looked visibly angry now, fuming all over like she wished she wasn’t so injured, and could beat up. "You are really enjoying this, huh? You should be lucky that I can’t move around, else, I would have made you choke on your words."
"Oh, shut it, Lucy. Instead of acting like a strong bitch, you should be praying that you don’t get attacked again. I’m sure whoever did this to you ain’t done. They are probably waiting for you to recover, so they can disfigure your face the next ti."
"Catherine!"
"Yes baby," I answered in a childish-babyish tone, just so I would infuriate her more. "Don’t worry, I’ll take my leave now. I don’t want to get the viper Queen angry and exhausted."
With that, I turned around and moved toward the door. I had done what I ca for. I didn’t care about what she thought, all I needed was for her to keep her mouth shut.
"Get well soon," I said, injecting the words with a false sincerity that made them sound like a threat. "Or you might have to keep seeing in your room every ti."
I reached the door and slipped out, closing it silently behind .
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