Chapter 26
A loud crash filled the room as cups and decorations broke on the floor, sending glass pieces flying everywhere. Some sharp bits landed near Lydia’s feet.
Lydia froze with a startled gasp while Andrew, Vincent, and Emma immediately surged forward to surround her.
“Are you hurt?” they chorused, their voices overlapping.
No one saw Emily collide with the coffee table or witnessed her near fall into the broken glass.
Expecting no assistance, Emily had already shoved herself sideways with desperate force. Several glass shards stabbed deep into her palm, but she was relieved that she’d avoided tumbling fully into the debris.
Shielded by her protectors, Lydia looked unnaturally pale. “I-I’m fine,” she whispered, her hands trembling visibly.
Emma exhaled in relief before her gaze landed on Emily. She stiffened at the sight of blood dripping from Emily’s hand onto the floor. “Emily… you’re bleeding.”
The observation snapped all attention toward Emily. Blood ran freely from her wound, yet she merely pressed her lips together in silence, her quiet defiance stunning the room into silence.
Emily angled her bleeding hand away from her clothing as she stood. When her eyes met Lucas’s, they burned with quiet fury. “Does this satisfy your demand for an apology?” she asked, raising her wounded palm.
Lucas went rigid, his gaze skittering away from the vivid crimson streaking Emily’s fingers.
Lydia immediately moved between them. “Please don’t blame Lucas,” she said hurriedly. “He didn’t mean to hurt you. It was just a light push. How could you have fallen so badly?”
Emily’s gaze turned razor-sharp. “Are you suggesting I injured myself intentionally, Ms. Bennett?”
Lydia recoiled as if struck. “No. I only meant… the way you fell seems inconsistent with just hurting your hand.”
“Then what would satisfy you?” Emily’s voice sliced through the air. “Should I have impaled myself on the glass completely?”
Tears welled in Lydia’s eyes. “That’s not what I meant.”
Any remorse Lucas had felt vanished. He moved protectively in front of Lydia, glaring at Emily. “Watch your tone,” he growled. “Looks like you lost it when Lydia saw through your little game.”
Emily held his glare without flinching. “What exactly do you want from me, Mr. Bennett?” Her voice remained eerily calm. “When I denied targeting Ms. Bennett, you called me wicked. Now I admit fault and apologize, and you call it sarcasm.
“I simply asked what Ms. Bennett was implying and what you all expect from me. But then you objected to my tone. So tell me exactly what attitude you’d prefer.”
She was done playing their games. If they wanted something from her, they could just say it plainly, and she’d comply without protest.
Something about her-maybe the eerie calm in her eyes, or the raw edge in her voice-froze everyone in place.
A drop of blood fell from Emily’s finger, striking the floor with startling vividness. In that suspended moment, it might as well have been a dagger plunging into Emma and the others’ conscience.
Lydia caught the changing atmosphere, something unreadable flashing behind her eyes. She moved forward hastily. “Emily, Lucas was just being protective. Please don’t quarrel over this.”
She pulled at Lucas’s sleeve. “Can’t you see she’s injured? For my sake, just accept it was an accident.”
