Betrayed by Blood: My Second Life as a Queen novel Chapter 339

Tessa stood frozen, a loud ringing filling her ears until the voices around her became entirely muffled.

She looked up in a daze. Everyone in the room was staring at her with strange, judgmental eyes. In that horrible, stretching moment, she felt like nothing more than a clown performing for their amusement.

Unable to hold back any longer, Tessa's fragile control shattered. Huge tears spilled down her cheeks as she screamed at Willow, "You just wanted to watch me humiliate myself, didn't you?!"

Willow paused. In a rare moment of mercy, she replied calmly, "Tessa, fighting for an opportunity isn't embarrassing. What's embarrassing is lashing out at others when you realize the opportunity was already given to someone else. And honestly, did you ever really deserve it? You know exactly how you got all those trophies and certificates."

Tessa's body went completely rigid. She hated Willow more than anything.

When they were kids, Tessa had despised Willow's effortless innocence. No matter how many times Tessa secretly sabotaged her, Willow had always just smiled back, completely oblivious to the malice.

When Tessa claimed she was sickly and demanded Willow's sun-facing bedroom, a seven-year-old Willow had just waved it off with a bright smile. "It's fine! I can sleep anywhere, as long as you feel better."

Later on, Tessa had stolen Willow's brother, ripped off the friendly mask, and viciously mocked her.

That was the year Willow turned eight.

It was as if a switch had flipped in Willow's head. She finally recognized the venom in Tessa's actions, and that bright, forgiving smile disappeared forever.

Tessa vividly remembered the time Willow had asked, her voice filled with genuine confusion, "Why are you so mean to me? Haven't I been good enough to you?"

She had been too good.

And because she had been so flawlessly good, it served as a constant, suffocating reminder to Tessa that she was nothing more than a despicable intruder, a cuckoo bird stealing a nest that didn't belong to her.

As they grew up, the hatred only festered.

She hated Willow's natural talent, hated her rebellious streak, hated how easily people gravitated toward her...

So Tessa fought tooth and nail to steal everything Willow had, desperately trying to claim it all as her own.

She never expected Willow to just turn her back and walk away without a second glance. Now, there was nothing left for Tessa to steal.

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