At that moment Serenity gathered more courage, standing there with her back straight as if bracing herself for whatever Damien would say next.But when Damien finally spoke, his voice was calm—too calm.“So, that's what you call an apology?” Damien asked, tilting his head slightly, his gaze sharp and piercing.“If you truly wanted to apologize,” he continued, “I would expect you to bow your head properly, and apologize proudly. Not... whatever this half-hearted thing you’re doing is.”He stood there, not raising his voice, but his words struck harder than if he had yelled.“You’re still trying to prove something,” Damien said, a slight smirk playing at the corner of his lips.“As if being the War Goddess makes you untouchable. As if it freaks me.”Upon hearing what Damien just said, Serenity’s lips parted, but no words came out.Damien’s voice grew colder.“It doesn’t freak me. None of it does,” he said bluntly.“It seems you really don't have anything else to say.”He shifted slightl

At that moment Deborah took a step forward, confusion written all over her face. “What are you insinuating, Bernard? What are you even trying to say?” she asked, her voice tight with frustration.Uncle Bernard let out a soft sigh, like he was tired of trying to make them understand.“I'm saying,” he said, locking eyes with her calmly, “that everything Damien said inside this room the other day... he actually did it.”Deborah blinked rapidly, not sure she heard him right. Jessica, sitting silently on the edge of the couch, clenched her hands together tightly.Then Uncle Bernard leaned back in his chair, his voice firm. “When we got there, instead of us being punished like you all feared, it was the committee members themselves who got punished.”Upon hearing what Bernard just said, Deborah gasped. Victoria looked even more stunned.“They were punished for trying to frame us, for abusing their authority,” Uncle Bernard continued, his tone carrying a mixture of disbelief and admiration

At that moment Brandon’s eyes gleamed with a dangerous light as he leaned against the wall, the phone pressed firmly against his ear.Again from the other side of the call, Victoria’s voice came through sharply, laced with venom.“Brandon, listen to me carefully,” she said, her tone low and serious. “Don’t you dare show him any mercy. Not even an ounce. No pity, no hesitation. Not even a second thought.”Brandon smirked, listening silently as she continued.“I don’t care if he begs,” Victoria hissed. “I don’t care if he tries to explain himself or pretends to be innocent or humble. Crush him. Crush him so hard he won’t even understand where the blow came from.”Brandon’s smirk widened into a full-blown grin, that was exactly what he wanted to hear.“Relax, Sister,” he said smoothly, his voice steady and cold. “I know what needs to be done. And this time… I’ll make sure it’s thorough. He won’t even have time to crawl away. This one—this one will bury him completely.”Victoria inhaled s

Again the words slammed into Serenity like hammers, she stood there, her body trembling, her nails digging into her palms.She wanted to scream, She wanted to cry, She wanted to punch something.All the anger she had bottled up inside finally started spilling over.She bit her lower lip so hard it almost bled, just to stop herself from shouting back.Did he think she hadn't tried? Did he think she hadn't swallowed her pride and gone after Damien?She had, She did everything she could!But Damien—Damien was acting all high and mighty, like he was the center of the universe.Like he was untouchable.Serenity’s fists tightened even more, he treated her like she was nothing.As if she, Serenity, the War Goddess, someone feared and, respected across cities and top families, was below him!And what made it worse—Her grandfather didn't even ask how hard she tried, he didn't even care about the humiliation she suffered.All he cared about was Damien. Anger stung her eyes but she refused to

However Just as Jessica and her mother were settling in, their food orders freshly placed and the gentle aroma of roasted spices filling the air, the soft murmur of the restaurant was broken by a familiar voice.“Excuse me,” the voice said smoothly, almost casually.“May I join the two of you?”Upon hearing what word Jessica blinked, surprised by the interruption, She lifted her head slowly, her fingers still resting lightly on the menu, her gaze landed on the man standing politely before their table.Her heart sank slightly when she saw, It was Victoria’s brother, Brandon.She hadn’t seen him in a while not properly, at least, and honestly, she hadn’t missed him, not after all the quiet rumors, the sneaky way he always managed to show up where she was, pretending to just "bump into her" by coincidence.But today, of all days?At that moment Jessica’s face remained neutral, though inwardly she was already tense.She didn’t say anything at first, unsure how to react without causing a