Tempted By my Evil Lycan Stepbrother novel Chapter 95

I inhaled deeply, prepared myself for what’s coming next. But I had barely taken a few steps before my mother appeated in front

of me.

She looked irritated more than worried.

“What is going on in there?” she asked in a low voice. “I heard arguments in the powder room.”

I stared at her, almost laughed out. “You eavesdrop? That’s not how queen should act like.”

There’s no laugh on her face. “Whatever it is, fix your attitude. You are not to upset your husband and mother-in-law. Apologize to them as soon as you can.”

I took in a deep breath. I was so sick of my mother acting like I was guilty one without asking for the details.

“You want to know what happened?” I said. “Yilia wants me to help scam people. The jewelry money isn’t for charity at all They want to use it to pay for my wedding. These people are disgusting, Mom. Cancel the wedding before it’s too late. I’m begging you.”

For one second, I almost hoped saying it out loud that clearly would make something shift in her. That maybe, maybe, hearing how ugly it really was would force her to see what she was pushing me into.

Instead, her face tightened with anger.

“Cancel the wedding?” she hissed, her voice rising with anger. “Are you out of your mind? The invitations are already out. The city is full of guests. Do you know how humiliating that would be if I call it off now?”

I felt something sink in me, slow and sick.

“You really don’t care what kind of people they are,” I said quietly. “And you don’t give a damn about your own daughter marrying into hell.”

My mother folded her arms. “I care that you marry into a rich future that you have to ask for nothing. That is what matters AK for taking the charity money…all rich people do that. Nobody really cares about those underfed kids. You know that in your heart.”

Her speech, was so shameless that I almost laughed out loud

“Oh my god…do you even hear yourself? I can’t believe how low have you become!” I gritted.

Her eyes went flat and dangerous.

Then, in that same calm voice she used whenever she wanted to remind me how little power I had, she said, “Your grandmother is living a peaceful life these days. You don’t want to disturb that, do you?”

+15 Bonus

The tage that went through me was so strong it almost blurred my vision.

Yeah, it’s official trow.

I hated her.

Not in the hot, childish way people said they hated someone after a fight. I hated her with a coldness that made my hands shake. Because she’s my own mother and yet she had not raised me for a single day and now she had the audacity to threaten me with the only person who had brought me up.

Again.

I stepped back before I did something stupid and said, “Go to hell.”

Then I turned and walked back into the great hall.

The room was still glittering under the chandeliers when I returned.

Yilia stood near the front platform, one hand lifted elegantly as she displayed a diamond necklace laid over black velvet. Her fake voice floated across the room.

“This piece has been in my husband’s family for generations,” she was saying. “Look at the brilliance. The history. It’s truly one of a kind.”

I rolled my eyes. I wanted to throw it at the wall.

She saw me the next second and smiled as though we had never argued at all.

“Riley, there you are,” she said, waving me over. “Come. Help me introduce the necklace properly.”

I stopped a few feet away and looked at the women gathered around her.

They were all watching me now. Some with curiosity. Some with boredom. Every one of them had no idea where their money would end up. For all they knew, they were still helping the poor.

And I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t stand there and smile and help them steal in the name of starving children.

So when Yilia held the necklace out toward me and said, through her smile, “Go on,” I looked at the guests and told the truth:

“Don’t buy anything here.”

The room went still.

For half a second, even the musicians seemed to falter.

Yilia turned toward me slowly, her face frozen in place.

I kept going before fear could stop me.

“This is not worth it,” Isaid. “These ugly jewelries…. Seriously? You really want to throw money onto these things?”

A shocked murmur ran through the room at once.

Yilia’s face transformed at once. The social smile vanished. In its place came naked fury.

“You disobedient little idiot,” she snapped.

Then, just as quickly, she turned back to the crowd and threw her hands up in dramatic embarrassment.

“Please forgive her,” she said. “She’s impossible to manage. Completely undisciplined.”

The guests looked from her to me and back again, confused and intrigued.

+15 Bonus

Yilla sighed loudly, like some martyr burdened with my existence. “She grew up in the countryside with no guidance at all. No manners. No breeding. We’ve tried everything to fix her up, but apparently, some girls simply can’t be taught.”

With that, the room turned. I felt it happen.

Whispers started up at once, skittering through the crowd like little sharp thrags. People were talking to each other, while giving me pointed looks.

“Isn’t she the one from the Academy? I heard everyone hated her there. Now I can see why.”

“They say even the king didn’t even want to acknowledge her title.”

“Didn’t she fight with her own mother? All the maids in this palace know it.”

“So embarrassing…”

Each sentence hit like another handful of dirt thrown over my head.

I stood there in my silver gown, my face burning, while those women looked at me with a mix of disgust and satisfaction. It was the same old story. The same sneers, the same judgment.

I couldn’t take another second of it.

I turned to leave.

Then Yilia’s voice rose behind me, loud enough for the whole room to hear.

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