Xo Novel
Chapter 37
The morning sun filtered through the grand dining room, casting delicate patterns of light across the polished floor. Bu***hit, I didn’t care about the **g rays of sunlight that were shining through the curtains but I was doing my best to focus on the small details in the room to keep myself from thinking of the big one.
I was trying to distract myself from the obvious fact that I didn’t fit in where I was dining. That Mata’s glare was going to cut through me anytime soon and I was going to die from it. A cold brutal death.
She’d been glaring at me without saying a word since she got in four minutes ago and the other had done practically everything that needed to be done at a dining table without once looking up at me. It was almost like he couldn’t see me.
“Okay, I’m sick of this nonsense. I’ve been patient enough with you Brax, I think I dessert an explanation about why this disgusting b***h is sitting here and eating with us.” Mara’s shrill voice cut through the quiet atmosphere, shattering the delicate calm like a hammer on glass. I saw it coming, she was like a ticking time bomb about to explode while she sat and now that she had, I regretted not leaving while I head the chance
Brax sighed, his face creasing with annoyance as he turned to his soon to be sister-in-law who by the look on his face, he didn’t like very much.
“Mara, please,” he implored, his tone gentle but firm. “You’re being terribly rude to our guest” His words were calm but his eyes were telling an entirely different story. Like he was warning her to shut up before he had to make a scene or something.
Mara shot him a venomous glaret her voice raising another octave as she continued to rail against my presence at the table,
“She’s a ***t!
“She doesn’t belong at our table,” Mara hissed, her eyes burning with hatred. “She’s beneath us, she’s not one of us. She’s nothing but a pathetic little maid.” She screamed at the top of her voice and Brax’s hand balled into fists and hit the table so hard that it shook alongside everything on it.
I quickly latched onto my glass of water so it wouldn’t topple over but I couldn’t say the same for Mara and Aston, their glasses went shattering against the ground and spreading shards everywhere.
“Why do you think yourself so high and mighty anyway? She’s my guest and you’re going to treat her with the respect she deserves or things are going to get really messy for the both of us Brax barked at her and my heart melted at the way he defended me. It’d been ages since I’d had anyone stand up for me in that way and the last man that did was nothing but a jerk anyway.
Aston, who had been silent up until this point, finally spoke. His voice was low and quiet, yet it carried an authority that left no room for arguments. “Mara, enough,” he said, his eyes never leaving the plate in front of him. “I’ve heard enough of your shrieking”
Mara’s mouth hung open at Aston’s rebuke. She had no idea that he wouldn’t take her side and it was almost too satisfying to watch but I still felt inferior sitting at the table..
“What are you doing with a sl**e as your guest, Brax? What happened to dining with normal people that were in the same level as us?” Aston asked looking at me for the first time, with disgust. I shrunk on my seat feeling like disappearing into thin air as he spoke. His words were not a lot but they were more condescending than that of Mara’s. I wasn’t even relatively normal according to his standards.
Mara’s mouth snapped shut as she shrank back to her seat, her nostrils flaring as she glared at the back of Aston’s head. I watched her closely, unable to tear my gaze away as she seethed with barely contained rage.
Brax, meanwhile, turned to me, his face creased with concern. “Kira, I’m sorry,” he said, his voice sincere. “You don’t deserve. to be treated this way. I know it’s not easy, but please try not to let her get to you.” He spoke about her like she wasn’t in the room, completely ignoring everything that Aston had said.
I gave Brax a weak sunile, trying to hide the tears that were stinging my eyes. “Thank you,” I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper. “I appreciate your kindness. It means a lot to rue.”
Brax reached out, his hand brushing lightly against mine as he offered me a reassuring squeeze. “You’re stronger than you know, Kira,” he whispered, his voice low and intimate. “And you’re a lot better company than all the people I know put together.” He said and I didn’t need to be told that his words were mostly directed at Aston’s question than at me.
But his words were little more than a whisper against the deafening roar of humiliation and fear that filled my head. I couldn’t stand the tension that was brewing between both brothers and Brax was really nice, I wouldn’t want to be the reason that he had a squabble with his brother.
I wouldn’t want to be the reason he had a squabble with anyone to despite Brax’s kind words, my heart was racing, my body trembling with humiliation as I felt the weight of Aston’s gaze upon me. I wanted nothing more than to flee, to escape the suffocating scrutiny of the dining room, but I forced myself to remain seated, my head bowed in submission.
Mara, however, was not done with her tirade. “You’re wrong about her, Brax,” she said, her voice thick with disgust. “She’s” not strong, she’s weak and pathetic. She’s nothing but a s***nt, s***.”
The words stung like acid, searing my already bruised heart as I fought back tears of shame and humiliation. Brax opened his mouth to defend me, but before he could speak, Aston’s voice cut through the air, his tone cold and dismissive.
“Enough,” he said, his voice a whip c**ck across the room. “The subject is closed. Eat your food, Mara, or leave the table.”
Mara glared at Aston, her face contorted with rage, but she said nothing, the tension in the room stretching taut as a bowstring.
I could feel the weight of the moment pressing down upon me, the silence in the dining room as thick and oppressive as the shadows in a tomb. I knew that I could not remain at the table any longer, my nerves stretched to their breaking point.
1-1 think I should go,” I said, my voice trembling as I stood up from my chair. “I’m sorry to cause any trouble.”
Brax opened his mouth to protest, but I cut him off with a shake of my head. “It’s okay,” I murmured. “I’ll be fine.” My legs were shaky and it was like I suddenly forgot how to walk. There was sweat between my thighs and my armpits itched.
As I turned to leave, the whispers started, Mara’s maids standing at the door, their eyes fixed on me with mocking smiles and wicked glares.This belongs © NôvelDra/ma.Org.
“Watch your back, little maid,” one of them hissed, her voice dripping with venom. “You’re not safe here. They were like Mara’s loyal hounds and sometimes, I was curious what she did to earn such loyalty from them.
Their words burned into my mind, the weight of their malice heavy upon my shoulders as I fled from the dining room, the door slamming shut behind me.
My heart was racing as I hurried down the hallway, my mind racing with questions and doubts, What had I done? What would happen next?
The corridors seemed to stretch on forever, the sound of my own footsteps echoing in my ears as I fled from the scene of my humiliation. My hands shook, my palms slick with sweat as the fear and uncertainty clawed at my insides.
As I reached the my room, I collapsed onto my bed, burying my face in my pillow as I tried to silence the voices of doubt that swirled around my mind. What was I thinking, accepting Brix’s invitation to dinner?
I could still hear Mara’s voice in my head, her words echoing through my mind like a curse.
I should have been smarter about my answer. I should have asked for us to eat our dinner separately. What the hell was I thinking?
I was so glad when I got to the dinner table initially and it was just the two of us. The conversation flowed and it was the post comfortable I’d ever been in this pack since I got here.
LIF
1 was quite grateful for the few moments that I got with him before Mara and Aston came along. It was a lot more than I could ask for.