While My Husband Cheated I Married His Powerful Brother novel Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Chapter 25 Keep Your Apology

The room was still buzzing.

Dr. Harrison was still holding the test tube like it was a holy relic. The family was still staring at Veyra like she had grown a second head. But Eleanor was backing away.

Slowly at first. A step. Then another. Then she turned toward the door.

Veyra saw her.

"Eleanor," she said.

Eleanor froze. Her back was to the room. Her shoulders were tense.

"Where do you think you’re going?" Veyra asked.

Eleanor turned around. Her face was pale. Her smile was gone.

"I’m leaving," Eleanor said. "This is absurd. I don’t have to stand here and listen to this."

"The bet," Veyra said. "We had a bet. You lost. Now you pay up."

Eleanor’s eyes darted around the room. Looking for an exit. Looking for someone to save her.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Eleanor said.

"Yes, you do." Veyra stepped closer. "You accused me of being a liar. A fraud. You said I couldn’t have made that serum. You bet that if I was telling the truth, you would slap yourself in the face. In front of everyone."

Eleanor’s hand went to her cheek. The same cheek she had slapped yesterday. The red mark was still there.

"That was different," Eleanor said.

"How?"

"I was emotional. I wasn’t thinking clearly. You took advantage of me."

Veyra almost laughed. "I took advantage of you? You grabbed my bag. You dumped my things on the floor. You called me a nobody in front of your entire family. And I’m the one who took advantage?"

Eleanor’s face twisted. She opened her mouth.

Nothing came out.

She turned and ran for the door.

She did not make it.

Her legs gave out halfway across the room. She stumbled. Caught herself on a chair. Then her eyes rolled back and she collapsed.

The sound of her body hitting the floor was loud. A heavy thud that echoed off the marble.

The room erupted.

Celeste rushed to her side. Marcus was shouting for help. Richard was fanning her face with his hand. The maids clustered around, their voices high and anxious.

"Get her to bed," Celeste said. "Someone get her to bed. Now."

Two maids bent down to lift Eleanor.

Veyra watched.

Eleanor’s eyelids were fluttering. Her breathing was shallow. Her hand was draped dramatically over her forehead.

Veyra had seen this before. Her mother’s neighbor used to do it when she wanted attention. The faint that wasn’t a faint. The collapse that was really an act.

"She’s faking," Veyra said.

No one listened.

"She’s faking," Veyra said again, louder this time.

Celeste looked up. Her frozen face was hard. "She’s unconscious. Can’t you see that?"

"I can see that her breathing is too steady. Her pulse is too strong. And her eyelids are moving." Veyra pointed. "Someone who’s really unconscious doesn’t flutter their eyes like that."

Eleanor’s eyelids stopped moving.

Veyra smiled. "See?"

The room went quiet.

Then Veyra walked toward Eleanor. She knelt beside her. She pulled a small vial from her bag. The same kind of vial she had used on the old woman.

"This is a stimulant," Veyra said. "It will wake her up immediately. But it might cause some discomfort. A little pain. A little burning. Nothing she can’t handle."

She uncapped the vial.

Eleanor’s eyes snapped open.

"I’m fine!" Eleanor sat up so fast she nearly headbutted Veyra. "I’m fine. I don’t need anything. I’m perfectly fine."

The room stared at her.

Celeste’s mouth was open. Marcus looked like he had swallowed a bug. Richard was still fanning her face, even though she was sitting up.

"I’m fine," Eleanor said again. She scrambled to her feet. "I just felt a little faint. It passed. I’m fine."

Veyra stood up. She capped the vial and put it back in her bag.

"Good," Veyra said. "Then you can honor the bet."

Eleanor’s face went white.

"The bet," Veyra said. "You lost. You owe me an apology. With a slap. In front of everyone."

Eleanor looked around the room. At Celeste. At Marcus. At Richard and finally at the old woman.

"Please," Eleanor said. Her voice was small now. Begging. "Please don’t make me do this."

She was not talking to Veyra. She was talking to the old woman.

"Auntie," Eleanor said, using the old woman’s title. "Please. I was wrong. I made a mistake. But to make me slap myself in front of everyone—it’s too much. Please."

The old woman’s face was unreadable.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify