Her Divorce, His Downfall (Sophia and Damian) novel Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Vivian POV

I hear her before I see her.

Soft, broken sounds echoing down the narrow alley behind the academy. SHe wasn’t expelled.

Which was a pain fo rme.

She was hiccupping heavy breaths, the kind that scrape against your throat when you’ve cried too long and too hard. Karina is crouched near the brick wall, arms wrapped around herself like she’s trying to hold the pieces in. Her face is blotchy, red, swollen. Mascara smeared beneath her eyes.

Gods. What a mess.

She texted me, asked to meet. Maybe I pitied her.

She startles when she notices me, scrambling to her feet like a startled animal.

“Vivian,” she says quickly, voice shaking. “Gods why did you do that at the Midterm accoundments! I-I didn’t mean for it to happen like that. You said you said it would be fine. You said they’d never notice!”

I tilt my head, studying her, letting my expression soften just enough. “Notice what?”

Her mouth opens and closes. Tears spill again. “What? No. Don’t do that. You know what I mean. The test. Ellie. You told me ”

“Oh,” I interrupt gently. “You mean your actions? I never said to do it, honestly I thought it was a distasteful idea.”

I step closer, my heels clicking softly against the stone. Karina shrinks back a fraction, and I almost laugh.

“You tricked me,” she whispers, anger bleeding through the fear. “Everyone thinks this is my fault, but it was you. You wanted her gone! You told me the idea to get her gone!”

I sigh, slow and patient, like I’m dealing with a child. “Karina… you really don’t know when to stop talking, do you? All I said was you could, it was a joke. It’s no my fault you too it so far.”

Her hands curl into fists. “What you did was wrong. You’re two-faced. You smile and pretend to be nice, but you

I move faster than she expects.

One moment there’s space between us, the next I’m close enough that she has to tilt her head back to look at me. I keep my voice low. Calm. Almost kind.

“Let me make something very clear,” I say. “You weren’t punished because of me. You were punished because you failed.”

Her eyes widen.

“You were sloppy,” I continue softly. “Careless. You let her win. And you honestly thought Dominic would look at you after that?” I click my tongue. “Sweetheart, you never had a chance with that horrid idea.”

Her breath shudders. “You used me.”

I smile. Not wide. Not cruel.

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I lifted a hand to my chest before I could stop myself, fingers pressing against my shirt as a faint ache pulsed beneath my ribs.

Ellie.

Her jaw clenched in stubborn concentration, ink-smudged fingers, the way she looked at me like she’d rather bite than bend. The memory of her scent flickered through me. I swallowed hard.

Why her?

Why now?

I forced my attention back to the table, to the voices still talking.

“This family would strengthen the eastern border-”

“She’s already been trained in diplomatic etiquette-”

“She understands submission and command-”

The bond tugged again.

Harder.

My fingers curled around the edge of the folder.

I shouldn’t be thinking about Ellie. I couldn’t afford to think about her. She wasn’t a good political choice. She wasn’t convenient. She wasn’t supposed to matter anymore.

And yet –

I picked up one of the photos, holding it between my fingers as my parents watched closely.

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