Chapter 62 The Voice

Chapter 62 The Voice
Liora and Mara were eating together in the canteen, enjoying what should have been an ordinary meal, when Sophie approached their table.

The moment Liora looked up and saw her expression, she already knew something was wrong.

Sophie had that smug look on her face...the kind that made it obvious she had come over with the sole intention of provoking her.

There was a self-satisfied curve to her lips, and the confidence in her eyes suggested she believed she had something that would finally get under Liora's skin. “I have news for you, Liora.”

Liora's expression barely changed because she had learned that reacting to Sophie only encouraged her but still, she didn't want to sit there and listen to whatever cruel remark her stepsister had prepared.

She reached for Mara's arm, intending to leave their table and find somewhere else to eat but before she could move, Sophie reached out and seized her wrist, Liora stopped.

“I slept with Ning Mufan,” Sophie declared.

The words hung between them and Sophie watched Liora carefully, clearly waiting for a reaction and her smile widened when Liora remained silent.

“You’re not jealous, are you?” she continued, her voice filled with deliberate provocation.

“He was so strong, so vigorous and I couldn’t get enough of him.”

Liora felt irritation rise inside her and pure disgust.

The way Sophie spoke about Ning Mufan, as if sleeping with him was some kind of accomplishment she could wave in her face, made her stomach turn.

She didn't understand what Sophie expected to gain from humiliating her like this.

Mara, however, had never been particularly good at keeping her mouth shut when someone crossed a line. “What’s there to be jealous of?”

Her voice cut through the conversation with sharp disbelief..“Why don’t you show us a video too, if you’re so proud of what you did?”

She gave Sophie a slow, critical look from head to toe, her expression openly unimpressed.

“On second thought, forget I asked. There’s not much of you to grab, and your face looks like someone threw up on it. I don’t want to lose my appetite.”

Sophie’s expression changed instantly and the smugness disappeared, replaced by pure anger.

Before Liora could even react, Sophie raised her hand and slapped Mara across the face.

The sharp sound made Liora's heart jump and Mara's head turned with the force of the blow. She immediately lifted a hand to her cheek, her eyes widening as she processed what had just happened.

Sophie glared at her. “I know what you’re really thinking, you bitch.”

Her face was twisted with rage now, the earlier smug confidence completely gone. “You’re just jealous because you like Ning Mufan, right?”

Mara lowered her hand slowly, staring at her and Sophie continued before she could respond. “Listen to me, you’re not good enough for him and I’ve already slept with him. There’s no use pining after him.”

Her words became even more vicious. “Good luck finding a man willing to use your body in the future.”

“You…”

Mara clutched her cheek, disbelief and fury flashing across her face. “How dare you?”

Her voice shook with anger..“I’ll kill you!”

Before Liora could stop her, Mara lunged forward and Liora was startled by how quickly everything happened.

One second Mara was standing beside her, and the next, she was on Sophie.

The two women collided like wildcats, hands immediately going to hair and clothing as they struggled against each other. Mara grabbed Sophie’s hair and pulled hard, while Sophie fought back just as fiercely.

Liora could only watch as the fight became more chaotic and their limbs moving almost blindly in the struggle. It was one thing for Sophie to insult them but It was another thing entirely for her to slap Mara.

Liora's friend had been hurt because of her, and Mara wasn't the kind of person who would simply stand there and accept it.

Sophie stumbled backward with a cry of pain.

Her carefully arranged hair was now completely ruffled, and scratches marked her face and neck.

She looked nothing like the confident, glamorous woman who had approached their table moments earlier. “You’ll pay for this!” Sophie screamed.

She pointed angrily at both of them but Mara didn't look remotely intimidated.

“What are you so proud of?” she shouted back. “You slept with him, that’s all. Do you think that automatically makes him yours?”

Sophie glared at her. “We all know about your family situation,” Mara continued, her anger spilling into every word. “He probably used you as he would a gutter whore.”

Liora's eyes widened slightly. “Mara…”

But Mara was too angry to stop. “You both sicken me. You want to fight? Bring it on!”

For a moment, Liora could hardly believe what she was hearing. The entire situation was built around a misunderstanding so ludicrous that she didn't know what to make of it.

What misunderstanding could there possibly be?

Unless Sophie had somehow forced herself on Ning Mufan and Liora had wanted her best friend to end up with him.

She had actually wanted Mara to have a chance with him, like an idiot, never imagining that things could become this ugly.

Liora met Mara’s gaze.

There was an understanding between them and neither of them wanted to escalate the situation any further but Sophie clearly wasn't willing to let the matter rest.

Mara grabbed Sophie by the arm and hauled her upright before shoving her against the wall, her own cheek was still stinging from the slap, and the pain only seemed to fuel her anger.

Her hand lashed out again, striking Sophie across the face. “Weren’t you just bragging about being Ning Mufan’s woman?”

Sophie stared at her, stunned. “Where is he now?”

Mara's voice was filled with challenge. “Call for your hero and see if he comes to save you!”

“What’s going on?”

A male voice suddenly sounded from behind them, the words immediately cut through the chaos and Liora froze.

Mara's hand stopped as Sophie turned and for a moment, nobody moved.