I could hear my own heartbeat.
Loud. Uneven. Wrong.
It filled my ears so much that for a second, I almost didn't hear the maid speaking. Almost didn't register the words coming out of her mouth.
"She pushed me… I didn't even do anything. She just got angry and….."
My fingers curled into the sheets.
Tightly.
Too tightly.
Because something inside me was rising again. Not just anger. Not just fear.
Something deeper.
Something that had been building for days.
Weeks.
"She pushed me," the maid repeated, her voice shaking, eyes glistening like she was the one who had been hurt. "I was so scared… I didn't know what she would do next…"
A sharp laugh almost left my throat, but it came out broken instead.
That was when I realized something.
They had already decided who I was.
Before I even opened my mouth.
Before I even defended myself.
I was already the unstable one.
The problem.
The outsider.
"That's a lie."
My voice didn't come out as loud as I expected.
But it cut through the room anyway.
The maid flinched.
"I'm not lying, sir," she rushed, looking at him, not me. Never me. "She's been acting strange for days. Everyone has noticed it. The way she talks, the way she looks at us… it's not normal."
Not normal.
The words settled into my chest like something heavy and suffocating.
Claire moved closer to me. "Raven, just—"
"No."
This time, my voice came out stronger.
Clearer.
Stronger than I felt.
"No, I'm not doing this anymore."
I pushed myself up from the bed slowly, ignoring the dull ache in my body, ignoring the slight dizziness that followed. My legs felt weak, but I forced them to hold me.
Because I refused to sit there and be talked about like I wasn't human.
"Look at me when you speak," I said, my voice trembling but steady enough to carry.
The maid hesitated.
Then slowly… she looked at me.
And in her eyes, I saw it clearly.
Not just fear.
Something else.
Calculation.
Rehearsal.
That was when it clicked completely.
This wasn't random.
This wasn't fear.
This was planned.
"You're lying," I said again, quieter now, but sharper. "And you know you're lying."
Her lips parted, but no words came out immediately.
Good.
For once, she didn't have a script.
"You think I don't see it?" I continued, my voice rising slightly, my chest tightening. "The way all of you look at me. The whispers. The little conversations that stop the moment I walk in."
The room went still.
I turned slowly.
My eyes found him.
Cyprian.
Standing there like he always did.
Unshaken.
Untouched.
Like nothing in this room could ever reach him.
And something inside me twisted painfully.
"You want to know what happened yesterday?" I asked, my voice softer now, but heavier. "Fine. Let's talk about yesterday."
Claire's fingers brushed against my arm, a silent warning.
I ignored it.
"I walked into your office."
The words dropped into the room like something fragile and dangerous at the same time.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Even the maid looked confused now.
But I wasn't looking at her anymore.
I was looking at him.
"You want to question me," I said, my voice slowly breaking under the weight of it, "like I'm the one who's unstable… like I'm the one who's imagining things…"
My throat tightened.
My vision blurred slightly.
"Tell them," I whispered. "Tell them what I saw."
Silence.
Not even a shift.
Not even a breath.
Just silence.
And that silence…
It broke something inside me.
"You don't get to do that," I said, louder now, my voice cracking. "You don't get to stand there and act like nothing happened when I know what I saw."
My chest rose and fell rapidly.
"I'm not crazy," I added, the words tumbling out now, messy and desperate. "I'm not imagining things. This house….these people...this is not normal. Something is wrong here."
No one interrupted me.
No one dared to.
"This is a setup," I said again, more firmly this time, even though my hands were shaking. "All of it. The whispers, the accusations, whatever you claim you found in my room… I didn't put anything there."
The maid shifted uncomfortably.
Claire nodded slightly beside me.
But Cyprian…
He moved.
One step.
Slow.
Measured.
And the air changed instantly.
My breath caught.
"Are you finished?" he asked.
His voice was quiet.
Too quiet.
It made my stomach twist.
"No," I said immediately, even though my voice wavered. "I'm not finished."
"Good."
The word landed like a warning.
And then he took another step closer.
And something in his expression shifted.
Not outwardly.
Not enough for anyone else to notice.
But I saw it.
I felt it.
"You want the truth?" he said.
My heart started pounding again.
Louder.
Faster.
Something about his tone felt… wrong.
Cold.
Calculated.
Dangerous in a way I hadn't seen before.
"Then let's talk about yours."
A chill ran down my spine.
I shook my head slightly. "Don't…"
"Club Eclipse."
The name alone was enough.
It hit me harder than anything else in that room.
My stomach dropped.
My breath caught.
"No…"
But he didn't stop.
Of course he didn't.
"You worked there," he continued, his voice calm, almost detached. "Didn't you?"
My chest tightened painfully.
"Cyprian, stop," Claire said, her voice sharp now.
He ignored her.
"You served drinks," he went on, his gaze locked on mine, unrelenting. "Smiled at men who thought they could have you."
My hands started shaking.
Not from fear this time.
From something else.
Something hotter.
More dangerous.
"Stop," I said again, louder.
"You entertained them," he continued, his voice dropping lower, more deliberate. "Let them look at you like you were something they could buy."
"STOP!"
The scream tore out of me before I could control it.
Tears blurred my vision instantly.
My chest felt tight, like I couldn't breathe properly.
"You don't get to stand there and act innocent," he said, his tone harder now. "Not when I know exactly what kind of place you came from."
Something inside me snapped.
Not cracked.
Not bent.
Snapped.
Before I could think…
Before I could stop myself…
My hand moved.
And the sound rang out.
Sharp.
Loud.
Unmistakable.
The impact stung my palm instantly.
But I barely felt it.
Because everything else drowned it out.
The silence.
The shock.
The way the entire room froze.
Even me.
My chest heaved violently as I stared at him, my hand slowly lowering, my entire body shaking.
Cyprian didn't move.
Not at first.
His head had barely shifted from the force.
But the mark on his face…
It was there.
Faint.
Burning.
Real.
Slowly… very slowly… he turned his head back toward me.
And when our eyes met…
I felt it.
That shift.
That dangerous, terrifying shift.
Not anger.
Something worse.
Something controlled.
Something that made my stomach drop.
But I didn't back down.
Not this time.
Tears streamed down my face, my voice trembling but steady enough to hold.
"You don't get to shame me for surviving," I said.
The words came out broken.
But real.
"I did what I had to do," I continued, my voice cracking as my hand pressed against my stomach. "I worked. I endured. I stayed alive."
My breathing was uneven now.
Messy.
Raw.
"And I didn't let them touch me," I added, quieter now, but sharper. "Not like that. Not the way you're trying to make it sound."
That hit.
I saw it.
Even through everything…
It hit.
"But you?" I shook my head slowly, tears falling harder. "You stand there and judge me while you…."
My voice broke completely.
I couldn't even finish it.
Because the image came back again.
Him.
With her.
That moment.
That betrayal.
"You break people," I whispered. "And then you call it protection."
Silence.
Heavy.
Unforgiving.
"I hate you," I said, barely above a whisper.
And I meant it.
I meant every single word.
I stepped back.
Then another step.
My chest tight.
My body trembling.
And then I turned.
And ran.
I didn't look back.
Didn't stop.
Didn't care who called my name or who tried to follow.
I just ran.
Because if I stayed…
I would shatter completely.
Behind me, I could still feel it.
His presence.
His silence.
His control.
And somehow…
That hurt more than anything he said.