Greymoor Academy: I Accidentally Bonded With Four Lycan Royals! novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26: 26. Let Me Take Care Of You

"Poor little Maisie who didn’t get chosen by anyone. Poor little Maisie left behind to rot as a maid. Poor, little orphan. It’s the perfect sob story, isn’t it? The perfect excuse to try to steal my life because you just cannot stand to see me happy."

My eyes stung. My throat closed. My fingers curled and ripped into the tiles under me. "Lana," a choked whisper escaped me.

"You couldn’t just let me have it. You couldn’t just be the maid. You couldn’t just lower your head and disappear. You have to take the spotlight, even when you have nothing, even when you are nothing."

She stopped and breathed. "You know, I used to feel guilty. About the way things turned out. About where you ended up. And then I realised Mom and Dad worked themselves to death for both of us. And one of us made something of it." She tilted her head. "I think if they could see us right now, they’d finally understand which one of us was worth the sacrifice. And which one of us should’ve died with them."

The ringing started in my ears.

I couldn’t see clearly. The tears came whether I wanted them to or not, blurring the faces of twenty people who had just heard my dead parents used as a weapon to hurt me.

Pain swelled in my chest, my breathing turning ragged.

I snatched up the tray and fled from the hall.

Somehow, I made it to the corridor before my legs decided they were done holding me up. I staggered to the broom closet, silently shutting the door behind me and huddling into the corner. The darkness pressed in around me as a wretched sob tore from my throat.

I brought my knees up to my chest and buried my face against them, feeling the smear of sauce and whipped cream on my cheek. I pressed the back of my hand against my mouth and screamed silently into my palm.

I’m not sure how long I sat there. But by the time I heard the footsteps, my tears had long dried.

The door creaked and I didn’t look up. I already knew his scent. I hated it. I hated that it felt comforting.

Cole Hayes crouched in front of me, green eyes glinting in the dark. His eyes moved over my face, my uniform, and he pulled out a handkerchief from the front of his navy blue jacket.

And proceeded to try to wipe the gunk from my face.

I smacked his hand away before it reached me. "In case you haven’t noticed, the broom closet is where the wretched maids like me come when they wish to be left alone. Or let me guess." My eyes welled up again. "I can’t have that, either."

He didn’t go away. He stayed crouched in front of me with his arms resting on his knees, too close for the size of the closet. My wolf was responding. Like a complete idiot.

"It doesn’t have to be this bad," he said.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify