297 Already Bleeding

    297 Already Bleeding

    ~biThird /i/bbiPerson/i/b~

    Wanda held her smile, but her words began to stumble under the pressure of her father’s gaze. “It’s the truth,

    Father. Draven had no-b” /b

    Suddenly, a sharp crack split the air before she could finish.

    A whip, long and thin,shed across her cheek so fast her head snapped to the side. And immediately, pain

    red hot, her skin splitting open as blood streaked down.

    Before Levi could even react, Reginald struck again. The secondsh curled around Wanda’s leg, biting into the skin before yanking her off her feet. She fell hard against the polished floor, a cry breaking from her lips.

    “How dare you tell a straight lie to my face!” Reginald’s voice thundered, reverberating through the sitting

    room like a storm.

    “Father!” Levi’s voice rang out, sharp with fury. He held his father’s furious gaze for a few seconds, then, he

    dropped to his knees beside Wanda and quickly moved his hands to steady her.

    Wanda winced as one hand clutched against her bleeding cheek, her body trembling from the shock of both

    pain and humiliation.

    Her breath came ragged, and for the second time already, her sharp tongue failed herpletely.

    Levi’s jaw tightened, his re shing back up toward their father. But Reginald stood unmoving, his whip

    coiled in his hand and his eyes cold as steel, as though he had done nothing more than swat an insect daring

    to defy him.

    The next moment, he stepped forward and spoke with a sharp tone.

    “Did you really think I wouldn’t know?” His re pinned Wanda to the floor where shey. “This nonsense

    about reassignment–do you take me for a fool? I know very well that Draven sent you packingb.” /b

    Wanda flinched, her lips parting as if to argue, but no words came.

    Reginald’s tone sharpened, every word ash of its own. “If it were true, if Draven had truly reassigned you,

    why weren’t you brave enough to send word first? Why slink back unannounced and crawl to my doorstep

    297 Already Bleeding

    like a beaten dog?”

    Wanda’s breath hitched. The prideful confidence she had once unted in Duskmoor seemed like a distant memory; here, before her father, she was reduced to nothing but silence.

    Reginald stepped closer, his voice rising, heavy with disdain. “You failed me, Wanda. I gave you one task–get

    rid of Meredith Carter, and win Draven’s heart. And instead?”

    He let the words hang in the air as his eyes narrowed into slits. “You return empty–handed, humiliated, and

    with nothing to show but excuses.”

    Levi clenched his jaw, his hands steadying Wanda as she trembled. “Father-”

    “Silence!” Reginald barked, the crack of authority in his voice silencing even Levi for the moment.

    Just then, his gaze returned to Wanda, hard and unrelenting. “You’ve brought disgrace into this house. And

    worse, you have proven yourself useless to me.”

    Wanda’s fingers curled weakly against the floor, the sting of the whip searing on her cheek and leg, but

    sharper still was the crushing weight of his words.

    Regardless of what she had been through, she forced herself into an upright position, thanks to her brother’s

    help.

    “Father, you me me, but this isn’t all my fault.” Her tone shook, but the words tumbled out in a rush.

    “Yes, Draven sent me away, but ask yourself why. He didn’t cast me aside because of any random reason.

    Instead, he did it because you betrayed me.”

    Reginald’s eyes narrowed dangerously at her statement.

    Wanda’s hands trembled under his gaze, but she pressed on, her words spilling out in a frantic attempt to

    shield and defend herself.

    “I gave you intelligence reports about Duskmoor because I trusted you, Father. But you went and exposed

    everything in that council meeting! Right in front of Draven whom you made me loyal to!” 1

    Levi’s gaze darted between them, his shoulders tightening as Wanda’s voice cracked with emotion.

    “If

    you hadn’t said it,” Wanda continued desperately, “And if you hadn’t disclosed that he nned to use

    297 Already Bleeding

    Meredith as a pawn, he wouldn’t have known I was the one who told you. He wouldn’t have known I betrayed

    his trust. And he definitely wouldn’t have sent me back to you in disgrace!”

    Her trembling but sharp words echoed through the sitting room. Wanda refused to cower while her father

    heaped the whole me on her. She wanted him to see his own mistakes.

    Reginald’s whip uncoiled slowly at his side, his stare cold enough to pierce through her trembling body. Then,

    with sudden violence, he cracked it down against the floor, the sound sharp and cruel.

    “How dare you put your failure at my feet!” His tone thundered, venom dripping from each word. “You

    opened your mouth to Draven’s secrets. You fed me his ns. And you thought he would never discover it?”

    He stepped closer, towering above her where she knelt. “You shame me further by ming me for your own

    weakness.” b1 /b

    “Father!” Levi’s voice rang out sharply still crouched beside Wanda, shielding her with his body. “She’s already

    bleeding. Enough!”

    Though Levi couldn’t understand why their father would make up flimsy excuses that didn’t make sense just

    to cover up his own part, he refused to mention is in other not to further incur his wrath against his younger

    sister.

    But Reginald’s fury was unrelenting. “You failed me, Wanda. You lost Draven’s trust. And worse, you have

    shown him that this house cannot keep its own daughters loyal.”

    Wanda’s tears finally spilled, sliding hot down her face, mixing with the blood on her cheek. She pressed her

    forehead to the floor, her voice breaking. “I only did what you asked of me. I only tried to please you.”

    Reginald stared down at her silently, his whip still in hand, as though weighing whether she was worth even

    his anger anymore.

    Atst, he spoke in a low cutting tone, “You will not grovel here on the floor. You will rise and prove you are

    still a Fellowes.”

    Wanda lifted her head slowly, fear and confusion mingling in her expression.

    “I am giving you one final chance,” Reginald said, his hand tightening around the coiled whip.

    “If you want to redeem yourself, you will find a way to break that woman. You will dismantle her influence, weaken her bond with Draven, and make her stumble in her ce as his wife.

    16.06

    297 Already Bleeding

    If you cannot win Draven’s heart with that woman there, then you will make his mate stumble so badly that

    he will regret ever cing her by his side. And finally, you will kill her off.”

    Levi’s jaw tightened, but he held his tongue, his hand still steadying Wanda.

    Reginald’s eyes burned into Wanda. “Do this, or you are no daughter of mine.”

    The words cut deeper than the whip had. Wanda’s lips trembled as she searched for air. Then, in a voice both

    bitter and broken, she whispered bitterly, “I… can’t.”

    Reginald’s head snapped, his voice sharp. “What did you say?”

    “I can’t touch her,” Wanda said louder this time, though her voice cracked. Her fingers curled tight against

    her bloodied cheek, nails digging into her skin. “Because Meredith is Draven’s mate.” 1

    For a moment, the room stilled. Even Levi’s breath caught at the admission.

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    298 As Long as She Breathes