"Really? I don't see many traces of your life here." I raised an eyebrow, partly to provoke her, partly out of genuine curiosity. "Everything here is exactly as it was when I left. You say you're the mistress, but you look more like an intruder to me."
Fury blazed in Liv's eyes. She charged up the stairs to confront me. But before she reached me, a small figure burst out of a room on the second floor and slammed into her legs like a cannonball. "Bad person! Go away! Leave her alone!"
Arian's sudden attack caught Liv off guard. She nearly tumbled down the stairs.
She grabbed the railing to steady herself. When she looked at Arian again, her gaze was vicious. "Were you trying to kill me?"
"I buy you snacks and toys, and this is the thanks I get—losing to some woman who just showed up? You ungrateful little brat?—"
Liv had completely lost it. She didn't even care where she was. She raised her hand at Arian.
My heart seized. I rushed forward and pulled Arian behind me. Liv's hand came down, and her manicured nails raked across my cheek, leaving a stinging pain.
"You're bleeding!" Arian started crying in fear.
I touched my face and found a thin, bleeding scratch. Not serious, but rage filled me nonetheless.
"You were going to hit my child?" I glared at Liv, every word forced through clenched teeth. "Liv, I'm warning you—as long as I'm here, you won't lay a finger on him! Touch him once, and I'll make you pay!"
"Oh, I'm so scared." Liv patted her chest dramatically. "A lowly Omega thinks she can fight back? I could discipline him and you together, and what could you do about it?"
SLAP!
I slapped her hard across the face. Her cheek instantly swelled, and her carefully styled hair came undone.
"You—!" she screamed.
"How dare you?—"
"Damn right I hit you!" I snarled and raised my hand again, slapping her other cheek.
"No one touches my child!"
"You're insane!" Liv screamed, trying to block my attacks. She recovered from the shock, her eyes reddening with fury. It looked like she was about to shift and fight me?—
Just then, Elias's voice thundered from downstairs. "What are you doing? Stop it!"
Elias strode up the stairs, followed by several suited assistants. He had clearly just returned from the company.
Seeing his furious expression, I assumed, based on past experience, that he was here to defend Liv.
So he really did rush back for her.
The moment Liv saw him, she switched to a delicate, pitiful demeanor. She stumbled toward Elias's embrace, tears flowing on command. "Elias, you're finally here. Look at my face—look what she did to me! I don't even know what I did to make her angry. The moment she saw me, she attacked!"
I looked at them coldly, not bothering to argue with Liv. Instead, I crouched down to comfort the crying Arian. Four years of experience had taught me that defending myself was pointless. Elias would always choose to believe Liv.
But to my surprise, Elias didn't take Liv's bait. Instead, he stared fixedly at the small wound on my cheek.
His voice was tight with suppressed fury. "Did you do that to her face, Liv?"
Liv froze. "No… it wasn't me! She scratched herself by accident!"
I couldn't help glancing at the two of them. The way Elias looked at Liv was ice-cold. I almost thought I was seeing things. And Liv seemed oblivious.
"I'll give you one more chance, Liv." He walked over to me, crouched down, and gently touched my face. His movements were tender in a way that didn't seem like him. He turned to look at Liv, his tone the opposite—ruthlessly cold. "Tell me the truth."
"I… I…" Liv looked between us, clearly wavering. But she stuck to her lie. "I am telling the truth! Elias, don't you believe me? What did Serenity say to make you act like this? I?—"
