Chapter Eighty-Nine
"I won’t ask again, Matilda." Asli’s tone was suddenly calm and there, she and everyone in there knew she was this close to doing wrong.
"It’s from school." Matilda finally revealed. Silence danced for a quick second. Most of the n sighed in relief.
"Are you wearing sothing under the hoodie?" Ruth asked, her voice being the only soft one in the room. Matilda nodded.
"Take off the cardigan then." Asli needed to confirm sothing. How badly they tortured her. This had happened before and she asked one of her n to warn them. When did it start all over again? Why did she not tell anyone?
She did, taking off the cardigan as she was instructed.
The thick fabric slid from her shoulders, revealing the damage beneath.
Scars. Bruises. So fresh, so faded. So were thin and sharp, the kind left by a belt or a whip. Others were darker, deeper as if she had been kicked, struck, and left to suffer without care.
The room fell into a suffocating silence.
Asli’s stomach clenched as she took in the sight, her rage simring beneath her composed exterior. This wasn’t just bullying. This was deliberate. It was intentional. She couldn’t stay calm.
Her fingers curled into fists. How could students— re teenagers do this to one of their own? To soone she called and cared for as her sister?
Cole exhaled sharply beside her, his own fury barely contained. "How long has this been going on?" He questioned.
Asli could tell how much he was blaming himself for not watching over her properly. He was instructed to take care of her outside this Villa and he spoiled her, giving her the freedom she always wanted and asked for. If only he did not give her space. But how could he know, when the victim always covered them with thick cardigans and coats?
Her gaze flickered back to Matilda’s injuries. The ugly bruising along her ribs.
"How far did they go?" She asked.
"Just the beatings. Cole always sent to school and picked up. They thought I was rich and when they later realized they couldn’t get what they wanted from , they wanted to steal and bring it to them, and when I always co to school empty handed..."
"Get in the car," Asli ordered as she fixed her hair in a bun. She didn’t think one day in her career, she’d be beating little girls... or boys if there were any involved.
At the sa ti, Cole had also said sothing along the lines, "Give their nas." It had ant he was going to look for them and punish them. Matilda understood what he had ant and she trembled for them.
Matilda let out a cry. "No Godmother..."
"I told you to stop calling that!" The girl had been calling her that since she was little but not as often after she turned fourteen. "If you thought of as one, you would have told your mates were beating you up." Her sentences were hardly audible as if each one had to crawl out.
She took a deep breath and paused, her throat constricting. ’I... have...’ Her voice cracked; the sound was unforgiving like glass cracking under pressure. Matilda was under her care. If she couldn’t protect even her then she did not deserve her title.
"Let handle this," Asli told Cole, who watched her defeatedly.
"You’ll ruin her," the little girl feared as Asli neared the car.
"I hope you told the bully the sa thing. Get in the car!" she scread as if it were her fault she got bullied. It wasn’t but it was when she decided to cover it up and stay in silence.
"We were just playing." She tried to even lie to her.
"Just playing? How many blows did you land on them? It looks like you took all the hits." Asli wasn’t against fights, in fact, she was an advocate for it.
However, among all the children she knew, Matilda was likely the only one to be picked on. She had thought she made it clear when it happened the last ti. It clearly looked like sobody did not get the ssage.
No matter who the person was, no one touched her people and went away with it. She did not care whether Matilda’s bullies were below eighteen, she would break the hands that touched her.
The little girl trembled throughout their drive. She did not wish for Matilda to be ruthless and cold like she was. The girl had so much life ahead of her and she did not want anyone ruining any turn of it. She was going to make sure of that... permanently.
And just as if she knew, the group was waiting by the gate for her. When Matilda got out of the car, they approached her. Asli got down after her and the school children scoffed at them.
"You brought your older sister this ti around." They teased and Matilda’s eyes warned them while in fear of what Asli would do to them but they did not seem to care.
They greeted Asli like good children and one hugged Matilda as if they were good friends.
This was probably why Cole did not notice anything wrong with them. If she hadn’t known the bitter truth, she would have thought they were her friends.
Then, she walked behind them, tracing the path they disappeared into.
She followed the hushed murmurs quietly, hearing their taunting laughter. And then, she heard the words one uttered— it was sharp, cruel, and laced with amusent.
"Are you dumb or what? You still didn’t bring the alcohol. Is it that you enjoy the beating, or are you just happy we call you rich?" The crowd laughed after that was said.
A shuffle of movent. Then the rustling of clothes filled the air. "How much did you bring to school today."
"Stop it." Matilda’s voice was firm, but they ignored her.
"See who got a mouth to finally speak! Do you think just because you ca with your sister, today’s treatnt would be any different? She ca with an even bigger car." One sneered.
"She drives around in a luxurious Cadillac Escalade, so it’s clear she’s got a pretty hefty bank account." another chid in.
Matilda’s tone was very hush, "Trust , you wouldn’t want to do this."
Then, there was silence. As if she knew what was going to happen, Asli moved.
Fast.
Before the girl’s hand could touch Matilda’s skin, Asli’s fingers locked around the girl’s wrist, gripping it with enough force to make her freeze. The laughter died instantly. The environnt, once filled with whispers and cruel amusent, was now thick with tension.
Asli stepped forward; her step was slow, and deliberate with her presence alone shifting the air. Eyes flickered between her and the girl, their breaths held in anticipation.
The girl who had spoken earlier, stood taller, and smug. She was used to being the one in control, Asli could tell as she blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting interference.
The girl’s spine snapped even straighter when she noticed Asli was not intimidated by her height, her lips curled in disdain.
Her sharp inhale was barely concealed before she scoffed. "How dare you?" The words dripped with entitlent, wanting to know who exactly Asli was... like she couldn’t believe anyone could ever stop her.
Asli’s voice was quiet, almost too calm. "So you are responsible for the scars on her body, isn’t it?" She ignored the girl’s question.
The girl swallowed, trying to yank her wrist away, but Asli didn’t let go. Instead, she tightened her grip, just enough for the fear to register.
A quiet shuffle rippled through the group, feet sliding hesitantly against the floor. Their shoulders tensed, and their glances darted between each other. Without a word, they edged away, widening the space as if distancing themselves from whatever Asli was about to do to their leader.
Matilda, still clutching her cardigan tightly around herself, stared at Asli, her expression a mix of pleas and sothing else.
Relief.
The girl in Asli’s grasp tried to mask her unease with a sneer. "Who the hell do you think you are?" she spat.
Asli tilted her head, her grip still firm, and her gaze unwavering. "Soone who doesn’t tolerate nonsense."
The girl’s breath hitched. The fear was settling in now, trickling past her bravado.
Good.
Asli leaned in just a fraction, lowering her voice to sothing only the girl could hear.
"You like beating your classmates. You enjoy watching them bleed, don’t you?" Her lips barely moved. "Let’s see how much fun it is when you’re the one bleeding."
"Do you know who my father is?" The bully spoke proudly, trying to mask the way Asli’s gaze unsettled her.
Asli didn’t even blink. Instead, her lips curled into sothing that barely resembled a smile. It was sharp, cold, and dangerous.
"I can help you look for him," she murmured, tilting her head slightly. "But I do better hiding bodies than finding them."
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