Chapter 31

Amelia's POV.

The air in the dining room was thick with tension, so palpable it could've been cut clean with a knife.

I focused on my food, feeling the heat of Freya’s gaze burning into me from across the table. She was seething, I could tell from the way she held her fork in a chokehold, shoving pieces of food in her mouth as if it was the cause of her predicament.

Her hands formed fists at intervals, nails digging into her palms forcefully. She was probably recalling how Bella and Damien had basically called her good for nothing.

The scowl on her face soothed my wounds, and I kept smiling. This was exactly what I wanted.

I took another bite of my food, enjoying how the rich flavours blended together beautifully on my tongue. I had to hand it to the pack chefs, they were doing an immaculate job.

As much as I hated being in the presence of these vile lots, I always enjoyed the food.

Maybe after I was done with my revenge, I'd recruit them to Kaiden’s pack.

Kaiden.

The thought of him caused my heart to squirm painfully in my chest, his absence suddenly causing a crack in my mood.

What was he doing? Who was he doing it with?

The thoughts haunted me once more but I pushed them to the far of my mind. There was no point asking questions I had no answers to.

Suddenly, Damien set down his glass with a clang, his gaze shifting to me.

"Amelia," he said, his voice smooth but firm.

"About your idea, I think we should discuss it further. I’d like your advice on how to handle it in detail. Why don’t you meet me in my study after breakfast?"

The corners of my lips lifted slightly. He wanted to be alone with me, away from the watchful eyes of others. This was sure to drive Freya mad.

I was getting into Damien's head more and more, sliding into spaces Freya once thought she stood unquestioned. The thought pleased me more than I cared to admit. I nodded slowly, careful not to look too eager.

But before I could respond, Freya spoke, her voice laced with bitterness.

"Is that necessary?" she asked, her gaze flitting between Damien and me.

"You can discuss whatever you need to right here."

I bit back a smirk. She was desperate now, clinging to whatever threads of control she thought she had left.

Damien’s jaw ticked as he turned his sharp glare on her. For a few moments he just stared at her in silence, and she stared back, looking like a little kid of the verge of throwing a tantrum.

I wished I could frame her expression and hang it on a wall. It was the complete opposite of her usual arrogance and self assuredness.

She had begun to realize how little patience Damien had towards her and as he sucked in a breath, trying to control his temper, her lips quivered slightly.

"Freya, don’t interfere in matters that don’t concern you," he snapped.

"Maya here offered a good solution to a problem the pack has been facing for a while. You had no input whatsoever. What makes you think you can tell us when to discuss the matter? Or do you have something to add?" He questioned and the room fell silent, both their heavy breathings the only thing that could be heard.

Her lips parted open, stumbling over her words. She mumbled incoherently and after a few beats of silence, Damien's glare turned into one of disgust and disdain.

“I thought so. Since you have nothing to contribute, please keep your thoughts concerning our meetings to yourself. After all, you're not useful for anything.”

The words sliced through the air like a dagger. A sharp, brutal dismissal that left a stunned silence in its wake.

Even my eyes widened in surprise.

I knew he was getting more and more annoyed with her but I wasn’t expecting him to have been so blunt about it.

He had openly called her useless without a second thought and an inadvertent gasp had escaped my lips, my eyes finding Freya’s stunned expression.

Freya’s breath hitched, and for the first time in a long while, she looked… fragile. Tears welled in her eyes, her lips parting slightly as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

She swallowed hard before whispering,

"Why are you doing this? Why are you humiliating me in front of a stranger?"

I stilled.

For a brief moment, I saw something flicker in Damien’s eyes—guilt. Regret. A raw, unguarded emotion that made my stomach twist.

The genuineness of his emotion caused a boulder to lodge itself in my throat and I gulped, shocked. I hadn't expected him to react that way to her tears, seeing as a few seconds ago, he was calling her useless without so much as a batted eyelid.

I couldn't really decipher how the scene unfolding made me feel.

But I could see in his eyes that her tears were affecting him, his gaze growing softer by the second and I couldn’t allow that.

My mind shot into action, my instincts taking over before I could second-guess myself.

I let out a soft, strangled gasp, clutching my throat as I coughed violently. My eyes bulged out of their sockets, watering slightly as I forced myself to choke on food, my body jerking forward in response to my violent gasps.

Damien’s attention snapped to me in an instant.

"Maya?" His chair scraped against the floor as he rushed to my side, his hand landing gently on my back as he patted it.

I coughed harder, gripping the edge of the table like I was struggling to breathe.

"Here," he said hurriedly, grabbing his glass of water and pressing it to my lips.

"Drink."

I let him tilt the glass, allowing the cool liquid to slide down my throat as I forced my breathing to slow. His hand remained on my back, rubbing slow, soothing circles to calm my breathing.

I watched Freya from the corner of my eyes. She rose from her seat abruptly, her face twisted in fury.

Her cheeks glinted as tears rolled down her face, she looked between us with an expression I could only attribute to a broken heart.

Damien didn’t even look at her.

That was the final blow.

Freya let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. Without another word, she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, her heels clicking against the marble floor.

Damien remained by my side, oblivious to her departure. He was still watching me, concern etched into his features.

I should have felt victorious.

Instead, I felt… empty.

I was playing a dangerous game, but I had always known that. I was doing what I had to—what I had decided I had to do. But that didn’t stop the sudden, hollow pang in my chest as I realized just how easy it had been to manipulate Damien. To pull him away from Freya with nothing more than a few well-placed words and an act of weakness.

I turned my head slightly, and that was when I saw him.

Kaiden.

He stood at the opening of the dining room, where Freya had just stormed through. I hadn't noticed him before, and my heart raced dangerously in response to his presence.

My stomach twisted violently as our eyes met. His gaze was unreadable, but I knew him too well. He wasn’t fooled.

Guilt surged through me, thick and suffocating.

Damien’s voice pulled me back. "Are you okay now?"

I forced myself to nod, but my fingers trembled as I reached for my napkin.

I could still feel Kaiden’s  eyes on me but I didn't dare look back. For the first time, I wasn’t sure I could face him.