Chapter 51
After he spoke, Jacob didn't spare another glance at Lilith's tear-streaked face. He turned, gestured for me to follow, and led the way out of the tea room.
I paused, turning back to offer Lilith a small, sharp smile. "I'll be sure to remember Ms. Moretti's enthusiastic hospitality."
Lilith stood frozen, trembling from head to toe. She watched our retreating backs, then looked down at the coffee cup in her hand, which seemed to mock her. A wave of humiliation and a towering rage, unlike anything she had ever felt, threatened to swallow her whole.
But she didn't dare defy Jacob's polite but non-negotiable command.
This was his punishment. If she didn't comply, giving him a reason to make things difficult for her father, her father would undoubtedly punish her far more severely.
In the end, she could only bite her lower lip so hard she nearly drew blood. Mustering every ounce of strength she possessed, she clung to the last shred of her crumbling dignity, holding the coffee cup—now seemingly a permanent extension of her arm—as gracefully as she could, and followed us.
As we walked down the corridor, the pale-faced servants kept their heads bowed, but I could feel the ridicule and scorn in their furtive glances.
To avoid looking even more bizarre, Lilith hadn't drunk the coffee. The strain of holding her arm up for so long was already exhausting her, and Jacob's pace was brisk and relentless. I could practically feel her wilting behind us. She looked like she was about to die.
Jacob, for his part, acted as if he hadn't noticed Lilith's predicament at all.
Only when we were nearing the grand entrance of the castle did he stop, as if suddenly remembering something. He turned to face Lilith, whose arm was now visibly trembling, and a truly wicked smile spread across his face. "Had I known Ms. Moretti was so inseparable from her coffee, I would have brought some fine beans as a gift today."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the hand glued to the cup. "It seems an ordinary cup is no longer worthy of your affection."
The mockery in his tone was practically dripping with venom.
Lilith's cheeks burned, as if she'd been slapped across the face in public. She stared at the floor, unable to utter a single word, her vision swimming with black spots.
Jacob said no more. He nodded to Leon to open the door, then led me out of the grim gates of Castello Moretti without a backward glance.
It wasn't until I was settled in the spacious backseat of Jacob's car, the door shutting out the world behind us, that the dam broke. As the car pulled away from that gloomy estate and onto a brighter, tree-lined avenue, I suddenly doubled over, clapping a hand over my mouth as a suppressed laugh escaped.
The sound started as a muffled snort, but it quickly grew louder until I gave up trying to contain it. I was laughing so hard I slapped my thigh, my shoulders shaking uncontrollably as tears streamed from the corners of my eyes.
I just couldn't help it.
The image of Lilith, trying so desperately to maintain her composure while being forced to escort us out like a stiff, string-puppet with a coffee cup super-glued to her hand, was just too ridiculously funny.
Jacob sat beside me, watching me laugh until I was gasping for air. The usual layer of ice that coated his features seemed to have thawed, just a little. He didn't speak, just tilted his head, observing me quietly. Sunlight danced through the window, playing across my flushed face.
In that moment, the cold, distant aura that always clung to me vanished, replaced by the vibrant, living energy of someone my age.
The corner of Jacob's mouth twitched upward.
Maybe bringing me home wasn't all trouble.
At the very least, watching me drive Lilith Moretti insane was, apparently, quite entertaining.
The second the heavy iron gates of the castle clanged shut, sealing the black sedan and its occupants away, the mask of civility on Lilith's face shattered.
The forced propriety on Lilith's face collapsed in an instant, revealing the twisted, ferocious madness and venom beneath!
She violently swung the arm still attached to the coffee cup, smashing it with all her might against the cold stone wall beside her.
The delicate porcelain cup exploded on impact, sending shards flying everywhere.
But the handle, held fast by the industrial-strength glue, remained stubbornly stuck to her fingers and palm. The force of the impact had driven several sharp fragments deep into her flesh, and blood immediately began to well up, dripping in thick, crimson drops onto the floor and ruining her expensive dress.
A searing pain shot through her hand, but it was nothing compared to the agony of her humiliation. The pain of being publicly shamed, played for a fool by me, and losing all face in front of Jacob was a thousand times worse.
"Elizabeth! I'll kill you! I hope you die a horrible death!" Lilith shrieked into the air, her eyes bloodshot, like a woman possessed. She paid no mind to her bleeding hand or the mess on the floor.
The pale maid and several bodyguards nearby trembled, too terrified to even breathe.
After her outburst, Lilith panted heavily, her chest heaving. She stared down at the gruesome wound on her hand, the remaining porcelain shards, and the dripping blood. The wildness in her eyes slowly subsided, replaced by a cold, calculating fury.
She would make that bitch Elizabeth pay a price a thousand times more painful than what she was feeling right now.
"Go!" Lilith commanded the bodyguards, her voice a raw hiss. "Drag that bastard Kane over here! Now! Immediately!"
The guards didn't dare hesitate. They turned and sprinted back into the castle.
A few moments later, two of them returned, dragging the boy—Kane—like a sack of garbage. The same boy who had barely survived the hunting dogs, the same boy I had saved. They threw him brutally onto the stone ground in front of Lilith.
Kane, already covered in injuries and weak from his ordeal, blacked out for a second from the impact. He collapsed in a heap, coughing violently, fresh blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He looked up in terror at the demonic figure of Lilith looming over him, his body shaking uncontrollably.
Lilith stared down at him, her eyes filled with undisguised disgust and contempt, as if looking at a pile of repulsive filth.
Slowly, she lifted her foot. The pointed toe of her stiletto heel slammed mercilessly into Kane's chest.
Kane let out a choked grunt, curling into a ball of pain.
But Lilith wasn't finished. She stepped forward, planting the sole of her high heel—now smeared with blood and grime—firmly on Kane's head. She ground his face, which he had just started to lift, into the cold, rough flagstones.
"Useless! Worthless piece of trash!" Lilith spat through gritted teeth, applying more pressure with her foot. "You couldn't even handle two dogs! You couldn't even let them kill that bitch! What good are you?! You're just like your slut of a mother, a waste of food and air!"