Chapter 12
Elise's POV:
"Remember what you said today."
I said this and turned toward the door.
I didn't want to keep arguing with Anna.
I was tired enough already—Liam's coldness, Miller's resignation, Victor's words "my patience isn't infinite," each thing weighing on me like a stone. I had no energy left to fight with Anna.
But what I didn't expect was that my calmness only made her more furious.
"You're just going to leave like that?"
Anna's voice rang out behind me, sharp and piercing.
I stopped but didn't turn around.
"Elise, what are you pretending to be so noble about?"
She strode up in front of me, blocking my path. Her eyes were slightly red, her lips trembling, but her expression was twisted.
"You act like such a good student outside, getting scholarships at school, participating in exhibitions, everyone praising your talent—you think I don't know what kind of person you really are?"
"Anna, move."
"You're just a kept mistress!"
She shouted it out, loud enough for the entire building to hear.
"How much does Liam give you each month? You use his money to buy clothes, pay tuition, open a tattoo shop—how are you any different from those women who sell their bodies to get by?"
I looked at her.
Anna's chest was heaving violently, as if she'd used all her strength to shout those words. There was no guilt in her eyes, only pure jealousy and hatred.
Why would a seventeen-year-old girl have eyes like that?
I said nothing.
But my silence seemed to make her think I was backing down.
"You know why Mom and Dad favor you?" She stepped closer. "Because you're pretty. Because you know how to act sweet in front of them. Because of the money your parents left behind—"
"Shut up."
This time it was my turn to speak.
My voice wasn't loud, but Anna's mouth actually closed.
She looked at me, seemingly frightened by the sudden coldness in my eyes.
But she quickly recovered that aggressive posture.
"What? Did I hit a nerve?"
She tilted her head at me, a hint of malicious smile at the corner of her mouth.
"Elise, what right do you have to put on airs in our house? Eating our food, living under our roof—the money your parents left is long gone. Everything you have today is because Liam keeps you. Without him, you're nothing."
That last sentence was like a needle, stabbing precisely into the place I least wanted to touch.
Because what she said was true.
Without Liam, I really was nothing.
But truth is one thing; hearing it come out of her mouth is another.
My hand lifted.
Anna didn't react in time.
Slap.
The sound of the slap was loud and crisp, echoing in the small room.
Anna's face turned to the side from the impact. She covered her cheek, staring at me in disbelief.
"You—you dare hit me?!"
Her voice was shaking.
"I told you," I lowered my hand, looking at her, "to stop talking nonsense."
The next second, Anna lunged at me.
She grabbed my hair and dragged me toward the bed. Sharp pain shot through my scalp. I instinctively grabbed her wrist, trying to pull her off.
"Let go of me!" Anna screamed, her other hand clawing at my face.
I turned my head to dodge, but her nails still scraped across my neck, leaving a burning mark.
I grabbed her shoulder with my other hand and shoved her away hard.
Anna stumbled back several steps and crashed into the wardrobe, hangers clattering noisily.
After steadying herself, she charged at me again.
This time, she grabbed my collar. I was wearing a thin knit sweater, and the neckline was pulled out of shape by her grip. I tried to pry her hands off, but she held on tight.
We grappled like that.
Anna was stronger than I expected, or rather, more reckless. She pulled my hair, clawed at my arms, kicked my shins—like a crazed cat.
It wasn't that I couldn't beat her.
I just didn't want to fight.
Because she was only seventeen. Because she was one of my few blood relatives left in this world. Because if my mother were still alive, she wouldn't want to see me fighting with my own cousin in a bedroom.
But Anna didn't think that way.
She kneed me in the abdomen. I bent over in pain, and she took the opportunity to slap me across the face again.
This time, I didn't hold back.
I straightened up, grabbed the back of Anna's neck, and pressed her against the wall.
"Enough."
My voice was cold.
Anna's face was pressed against the wall, her breathing rapid, her hair disheveled across her face. She tried to struggle, but I held her firmly.
"Let me go—!"
"Anna."
I lowered my head, leaning close to her ear.
"Try moving again."
Anna froze.
Not from fear.
But because the look in my eyes at that moment was completely different from the usually submissive Elise.
The door was suddenly pushed open.
"What's going on?!"
Margaret rushed in, with Benjamin behind her.
Margaret saw Anna pressed against the wall by me, and her expression changed instantly.
"Elise! What are you doing?!"
She hurried over and pulled Anna away from me.
Anna immediately hid behind Margaret, covering her reddened neck, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Mom! She hit me!" Anna cried out. "She slapped me first!"
Margaret looked down to check Anna's cheek—the left side was swollen, a clear red handprint visible.
She turned to look at me, her gaze icy.
"How could you hit her? She's only seventeen!"
Uncle Benjamin stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, watching all this in silence.
His expression was very calm, so calm it made me uncomfortable.
"She started it," I said.
"Nonsense!" Margaret said sternly. "How could Anna have started it? Look at her, thin as a rail—"
"She called me a kept mistress."
I interrupted Margaret.
"She said I was a woman who sells her body to get by. She said the money my mother left is long gone, and I can only survive today because Liam keeps me."
Margaret's expression changed for a moment.
But only for a moment.
"Is she wrong?"
Benjamin suddenly spoke.
He stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, his tone flat, as if judging something that had nothing to do with him.
"Elise, how is your current life any different from being kept?"
I didn't answer.
Because hidden in his question was a fact I couldn't refute.
But I didn't want to admit it in front of him.
Benjamin glanced at me, then turned to Margaret.
"You two go out."
Margaret was stunned. "What?"
"I need to talk to Elise alone." Benjamin's tone was devoid of any inflection. "Some things aren't appropriate to say in front of the child."
Anna was still wiping her tears. Hearing this, she looked up at Benjamin uneasily.
Margaret seemed about to say something, but after meeting Benjamin's gaze, she swallowed her words. She put her arm around Anna's shoulders, gently comforting her, and led her out of the room.
"Mom..." Anna's voice came from the hallway, full of grievance.
"Be good, go out first."
The door closed.
Only Benjamin and I remained in the room.
My back tensed instantly.
This wasn't a conversation.
I knew this wasn't a conversation.