Aurum closed his gaping mouth, but then was the first to demand, “Why not?”
I wasn’t going to justify his idiotic question with a response. I stood up from the table, ready to ditch this conversation before it even started.
“Hey!” Aurum called, offended. “Did you see that? He ignored me.”
“Because you asked in an obnoxious way,” Crimson muttered, then cleared his throat. “Viol, don’t walk away yet. Let’s all sit down and discuss this like civilized dragons.”
Crimson’s asinine comment was evenlessdeserving of a reply. I took two steps towards the door.
“Haha, he ignored you, too,” Aurum teased.
I was seconds away from grabbing the handle to leave when Cobalt’s huge body swung in front of me, blocking my path.
I glared up at him. “Move.”
Normally I wouldn’t speak so rudely to my eldest brother, but this setup put me in a foul mood. They’d brought this upon themselves.
“Viol, I know this is difficult,” Cobalt said calmly, “but it’s for your own sake.”
Saffron leapt up to join him. His stupid sunny face was twisted into a concerned frown. “Yeah, we just want you to be happy.”
“Iamhappy,” I snapped.
Saffron raised his brow while the rest of the room fell into doubtful silence.
“What?” I added, raising my voice as I whirled around. “Do any of you have a problem with that?”
“No, but I have a problem with lying,” Crimson said.
My lip curled in anger. “Are you calling me a liar?”
Crimson arched a brow. “Well, yes. Because you are.”
Fury welled up within me like a volcano about to blow. I took one rigid step towards Crimson, seated smugly in his chair, before I felt Cobalt’s large hand on my shoulder, holding me in place.
“Ignore him, Viol,” Cobalt soothed.
I exhaled hard through my nostrils, but I didn’t feel any calmer. If anything, I wanted to punch Crimson’s lights out even more since he’d had the last word. How dare he call me a liar?
“I’mnotlying,” I ground out through my teeth.
Crimson barked out a laugh that pierced my ears and reignited my rage. “Come on, Viol. Be serious for a second. You’re not happy—you’re angry.”
“I amnow,” I spat.
Crimson met my glare head on. “You were angry five minutes ago. Honestly, you were probably angry when you woke up this morning, and angry when you fell asleep.”
My fists clenched.
“Crimson,” Cobalt said in a warning tone. I felt his hand tighten on my shoulder, like I was an aggressive dog at the end of a taut leash.
“What Crimson istryingto say,” Jade intercepted, shooting our suit-wearing brother a stern look, “is that we want you to be the happiest version of yourself. Nobody is implying that your life is bad. We simply know it can be better. More fulfilling.”
I snorted. What a snake. Jade was essentially saying the same shit as Crimson, just dressed up in prettier words. But his silver tongue wouldn’t work on me. Not about this.
“Answer’s no,” I stated. “Now let me out of here.”
Before I could slip out the door, Saffron got in my way with a pleading look.
