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"This is seriously not the time, Alaric." Violet said firmly, shoving past him, desperate to find Elsie. They would talk about their relationship issues later.

But just as she took a step, his next words shattered her.

"Is that what you learned from your mother?"

She froze.

A violent crack split through Violet’s chest, as if her very soul had been struck. Her breath hitched and the air around her suddenly became suffocating.

With her ears ringing, Violet turned back to him slowly, her eyes wide with disbelief. Alaric? Her Alaric? Of all people, she never thought he’d be the one to twist the knife in such a cruel way.

Her gaze went to the sea of students, their hungry stares locked onto the scene, devouring her pain like a meal laid at a grand feast.

Alaric has thrown her into the center of a storm she didn’t ask for, her secrets unraveling in the eyes of a ravenous crowd.

Violet swallowed the lump in her throat, forcing herself to speak. "Why are you doing this? Did Elsie put you up to this? To humiliate me publicly, is that it?"

Alaric laughed, a harsh, cold sound that dug into her bones like claws. "Elsie? I should thank her, actually, for opening my eyes. For helping me see exactly the kind of person you are."

Violet felt her heart fracture into a million tiny splinters, but she refused to let it show. Not here, not when so many vultures were already circling.

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she clenched her fists to fight the tremor in her hands. Then she lifted her chin, staring straight into Alaric’s blue eyes.

"Fine. Let’s break up." She said it coolly, like the words didn’t taste like blood on her tongue. "There you have it. We’re good to go, right?"

Violet was ready to walk past him and be done with this nightmare when Alaric suddenly grabbed her arm. The next thing she knew, he was lifting her wrist into the air, displaying her like some kind of exhibit for the entire school to see.

"What you saw in that video is real," Alaric announced, his voice carrying over the stunned crowd. "Yes, Griffin and I had a good time with her."

A flurry of gasps erupted from the students, and the next seconds, the sound of their judgment and disgust increased.

Violet felt the world around her tilt.

No. No, no. She didn’t want this.

But Alaric wasn’t done.

"Griffin and I thought she was the one for us. We wanted to go exclusive with her. We actually believed in her." He let out a bitter scoff, then added cruelly, "But I guess, just like Eve in the Bible, women just love colluding with snakes."

His meaning couldn’t be clearer. He was talking about Roman.

Just like that, the students’ gasps and whispers turned into a roaring tide of gossip.

The blood drained from Violet’s face. Alaric knew. He must have seen or heard something about that night with Roman. But that had been a misunderstanding. Didn’t he know that? Why would she ever want Roman?

Even at that, Violet never imagined Alaric would publicly condemn her like this instead of talking it out with her. He had made sure the whole world saw her for exactly what she had always feared.

A girl no different from her mother.

He finally let her go, the horror barely settling when a new voice rang out.

"And that is why you don’t trust kids from the slums. They infest everything they touch."

Elsie.

The queen bee stepped forward from the crowd, her expression smug, eyes gleaming with cruel triumph

Of course. This had to be her plan. She had managed to get Alaric on board with it. To think she had ever trusted that bastard.

Elsie’s gaze raked over Violet with pure loathing, and then she tsked, shaking her head.

"But then again, I suppose it makes sense. She learned from the best. A mother who spreads her legs for money? I bet if anyone else paid her right now, she’d spread her legs just the same. Perhaps, Principal Jameson needs tougher rules on awarding scholarships to kids from cheap districts."

Laughter erupted around them, but not everyone did. Some of the scholarship students looked uncomfortable, offended even, but no one was brave enough to stand against the Queen Bee. No one except the purple storm.

But Violet just stood there, cocooned in shock, and taking blow after blow. If someone had told her this was how her day would end, she would have laughed in their face. Not in her wildest imagination did she expect this.

Elsie stepped closer, leaning into Violet’s personal space. "I guess you’ve finally learned your place, Rogue Queen." She said, taunting the self acclaimed title. "I’d expect you to keep your hands off my men from now on."

Then, with a final act of cruelty, Elsie spat in Violet’s face.

"That’s enough, Elsie," Alaric cut in, but Violet barely heard him. She was drowning in the humiliation.

Right now, Violet stood like a cornered pawn on a grand chessboard, trapped with no safe moves left. She was the caged bird with its wings clipped, and its heart thrashing in its prison of dread.

In slow motion, all she saw were laughters, cameras recording, malicious eyes feeding on her downfall. Her chest constricted painfully, tears threatening to break free, but she refused to let them fall. Not for them.

Then, from the corner of her vision, Violet saw a sudden flash of motion as Griffin Hale lunged at Alaric, landing a punch square across his jaw.

Alarmed cries rang out as people scrambled back not just because Griffin hit Alaric, but his body was beginning to swell, his muscles expanding, the telltale sign of his beast coming out.

Alaric reacted instantly, lightning sparking at his fingertips in a bid to defend himself and contain Griffin’s enraged beast.

There was pandemonium with students shouting and bolting toward the exits. They all knew what was about to happen with Griffin in his beast state and Alaric’s lightning unleashed. It would be chaos.

Somewhere amid the panicked jostling, Violet was shoved around until her senses kicked in. She bolted with the crowd, not moving to seek safety but to escape everything. To hide from the world. She didn’t care where she ended up as long as it was far from here.

As Violet pushed through the body of panicking students, a hand reached out, grabbing hold of her and yanking her from the stampede.