Page 86 of His Beloved Princess
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Thorn,” she greeted eventually, her every word soaked with arrogance and disgust. Yet she didn’t move an inch. There was about threefeet of free space between us, and I found myself wondering if jumping on her and pulling her hair out would be inappropriate. Surely, we would make the headlines in every major newspaper for another month or two.
“It would be much better without meeting you,” I retorted in the same tone she used, and a cocky smirk appeared on her face.
The heavy makeup with red lips made her look older, and the dress didn’t compliment her body shape. She looked tired despite trying to persuade people otherwise. I had a feeling things hadn’t gone as smoothly as she had planned, and my heart fluttered in my chest with satisfaction. This bitch deserved everything that karma and Andreas had in store for her.
“Well, get used to it.” Her lips twitched into something that could be interpreted as a smile, but I didn’t have such a wild imagination. Her caricature demeanor was creepy. “I’m working for Cleos now. I am sure you’re familiar with them.”
She winked at me, stepping closer, and I narrowed my eyes at her. “They are as determined as me to ruin your precious husband.”
She stopped right in front of me, staring directly into my eyes, and I had to gather all my strength and self-control not to punch her in the middle of that nasty, colorful face.
“I would leave as soon as possible if I were you. I can’t guarantee you won’t get caught in the crossfire.”
“Thank you for your advice, Sarah,” I said calmly, squeezing the handle on my purse so hard my knuckles turned white. “But I’m a big girl, and I know how to take care of myself.”
“Good luck, then,” she scoffed, and I lifted an eyebrow at her. She provoked me, but I couldn’t let her drag me into her foolish game. I was too clever for it. However…
“I don’t need luck to kick your skinny ass, bitch,” I snapped, loud enough for her to hear me but quiet enough not to make a public scene because I noticed a few reporters standing by and watching us.
“One wrong move, and you’re done,” I warned in a deadly serious voice, pinning her to the ground with my stern glare. “You’ll be hiding in a sewer toavoid me or any member of my family.” I moved towards her, raising my index finger. She flinched, her eyes widening.
“You’ll be cleaning public bathrooms to repay your debt because you accused my husband of something he never did. And then you’ll be begging people to have mercy on you when you won’t be able to pay your rent because you can’t find a decent job.”
A wide fake smile stretched across my face, and I patted her shoulder, seeing from the corner of my eye two cameras were photographing us.
“I’ll wait for your mistake, Sarah, and then strike. And I guarantee with you—you won’t see me coming until it’s too late.” I retracted my hand from her shoulder, grinning at her like a happy little girl who had just gotten a new doll. “Take care and enjoy your life while you still have some pleasure in it.”
Without waiting for a response from her, I walked past her frozen frame to my car, sitting in the back seat. Zoe joined me after a few seconds, staring at me as if I had grown another head. Daniel pushed the gas pedal and turned on the radio, not paying attention to us. He knew where we were heading.
“What?” I asked when my best friend didn’t stop shooting me worried glances.
“You just threatened a woman on the sidewalk,” she replied, furrowing her eyebrows.
“And? Will you arrest me for it?” I turned to her, not at all interested in the lecture. That moment felt too good to be ruined by my friend’s concerns.
“Electra, you can’t run around threatening to ruin people’s lives,” Zoe stated, shaking her head like I was some lunatic. “She can file a complaint or even sue you for this.”
“She can try,” I remarked, fishing my phone out of my purse. Andreas would get a headache, but I had to tell him. Just in case Sarah did something.
“What has gotten into you, girl?” Zoe stared at me in apparent disbelief, and I sighed exasperatedly. She acted like I was always a good girl who followed the rules. And maybe I was, but that time was over. I was done playing nice to people who wanted to destroy my happiness and hurt my family.
“That bitch fabricated total bullshit and accused my husband of the things he never even thought of,” I snarled, trembling with anger. “She then waited and struck when he was the most vulnerable, unable to defend himself.”
Taking a few moments to gather my thoughts and calm down, I stared out the window, pretending to be engrossed in a monument we were passing. Zoe’s eyes burned holes into the side of my head, yet she remained silent like she expected me to continue. So, I gave her the reason behind my words to Sarah.
“She attacked the wrong man, you know?” I whispered, inhaling a steady breath. “She attacked the man I love the most, which was a mistake. I will crush her for this. Bastian gave me power, and I will smash her like an annoying bug.” I looked at Zoe’s perplexed expression, noticing the shock swirling in her irises. “She won’t ever get away with this. I’ll make sure of it.”
“I feel like I don’t know you,” Zoe whispered after minutes of silence, but I wasn’t surprised by her reaction. I didn’t know myself, and the emotions swirled inside me like a tornado whenever I thought about Sarah wanting to eradicate Bastian and everything he worked for. I couldn’t let that happen.
“You were right. I changed,” I admitted, reading the text that just came through, and I smiled. Instead of scolding me, Andreas praised me for showing Sarah her future. At least I could be sure he would be on my side. He was dead set on making her suffer.
The rest of the ride went in silence. Zoe glanced outside, and I played with my phone, occasionally replying to text messages. Nothing serious happened in the companies or with Bastian’s case, but I still felt the heavy boulder in my stomach.
I wanted that entire situation to disappear so I could focus on my husband and marriage. With Bastian back in the land of living, there was a lot of work ahead of us. I believed we could make a great team and solve our differences in a way we would be happy, but it required a lot of effort and tolerance from both of us. We couldn’t be distracted by intrigues and machinations.
Releasing a deep breath and disturbing the flow of my thoughts, I realized we were close to the hospital. Zoe had a meeting with Rosalind, so I let her in the car in my place, and I hurried to Bastian because his physiotherapy would start at anyminute. However, when I walked into the room, he wasn’t there, and the nurse told me he left to exercise an hour ago.
I left my purse in his room and strode down the hall to the spacious gym. He was there with his trainer, standing between two bars he held for support, and tears welled in my eyes when I saw him slowly taking small steps towards the end. He improved daily, but the doctor said his legs would need more time to recover. Yet here he was, beating the odds with his stubbornness and determination.
