The Beta's Rejected Daughter (Fiona) novel Chapter 14

Chapter 14

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fmhed

My heart twisted. “That’s not a fair way to say it because you left. You ran away!”

“I walked away,” she corrected. “Big difference, and that is because I realised y’all will kill me if that would make Lydia happy.”

The memory of that night hit me like a falling stone–the prosecution hall, Lydia crying, Father shouting, everyone blaming Fiona.

And how I was blind to her evidence.

Not defending her or even looking at her.

“Fiona…” I whispered, guilt burning deep, “I didn’t know-”

“You did know,” she said. “That’s the problem.”

Her voice wasn’t emotional. It was simply honest. “I begged for your help more than once. I tried to talk to you. To Jake. To Lance, the brothers who were supposed to protect me. All of you chose Lydia every time.”

My throat tightened painfully.

She inhaled sharply, holding my gaze.

“Did you even notice my bruises?” she asked. “Did anyone?… I was a slave in my father’s house.”

I looked away as shame rotted through my chest like poison. She stepped back now, her posture straight and unshaken.

“You were never worried about me,” she said. “You were worried about how it made the family look.”

“Fiona-” I stepped forward, reaching out.

Her body tensed–not in fear. In warning.

She wasn’t the girl who flinched at raised voices anymore. She wasn’t the girl who hid behind Raina or apologised for breathing.

She was something else entirely.

“Fiona… we were wrong,” I said finally. The words tasted like blood. “We were all wrong.”

“And now you know,” she said. “So you can stop worrying.”

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19:57 Mon, Apr 13

Chapter 14

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Jimshed

“I’m your brother,” I whispered, and she shook her head again.

“No. You’re Damon. And we just happened to share blood. Nothing more.”

My ego was hit, and I snapped, feeling insulted as her words cut straight through me, the cool edge in her tone making my blood boil.

“Fiona… Stop acting like Lydia wasn’t a better image for the family. What makes you think you can compare to Lydia? Even till now!”

The moment the words left my mouth, the air went still and my anger froze in place, and I felt a bit of regret slip in.

I shouldn’t have brought Lydia into it. Maybe I shouldn’t have compared them again, as that had always hurt Fiona.

But as I looked at Fiona, bracing myself for the hurt I was sure I’d see in her eyes, there was nothing. Her face was unreadable, and her voice was calm as she spoke.

“Right. I could never compare to her,” she said evenly. “I’m just a nobody–an orphan with no power, no name, no standing–and I have accepted it, so you and I have nothing to do with each other anymore. Even if I drop dead right here, it has nothing to do with you.”

She added, “If something happens to me, just keep walking. Pretend you were never there.”

I didn’t see it coming.

Fiona didn’t look sad at all, and she spoke with such firmness, so sure of herself, leaving no space for doubt.

Facing her icy attitude, I didn’t even notice the little bit of panic starting to rise inside me.

“So all I have done for you since you were born, and this is how you treat me?”

“Well, now you can regret ever helping someone as cold and ungrateful as me!” She fired back without holding anything back, and Raina came out at that moment, her voice drifting gently like a mother as she held her. “Fiona, sweetheart? We should go and stop wasting time here.”

Fiona nodded, then turned back to me one last time. “Take care of yourself,” she said softly. “And take care of Lydia. You all chose her, after all.”

Fiona’s POV

The drive home should have been peaceful as the car purred smoothly through the highway, shadows sliding across the tinted windows like silk curtains. Raina sat beside me in the backseat while Kieran drove up front, shoulders broad beneath his jacket, posture straight and alert as

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19:57 Mon, Apr 13

Chapter 14

always as the guardian.

VPH

37

Fished

I leaned my head against the seat, letting the cool leather soothe the heat buzzing under my skin from the confrontation with Damon.

Raina gently squeezed my hand. “You handled yourself well, sweetheart.”

I smiled faintly. “You think so?”

“I know so.” She brushed hair from my eyes, motherly as ever. “And about the Jensons… Don’t let their actions define you. They lost someone precious and not the other way round. Damon only acted that way because of what you became. He never looked out for you when you

Her words softened something tight inside my chest.

“You’re right. I’m not going back,” I said quietly. “Not even for any goodbye.”

left.”

“Good,” Raina whispered. “Some doors should stay closed. They will regret all they did to you.”

Kieran chimed in from the front, voice steady. “You did the right thing, my Queen.”

I blinked. “You heard everything?”

“Wolves like me hear everything,” he said with a small grin. “And if Damon had taken one more step toward you, I would’ve broken his jaw.”

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