Seraphina’s POV

Just as I was about to let out a laugh at Darius’s ridiculous your prince is here tease, my eyes caught movement from behind him, and just like that, my amusement vanished.

Gianna.

She was walking toward my room, her usual smugness written all over her face, no doubt coming to revel in whatever twisted pleasure she got from locking me up, or maybe she’ll try to question how I got the prince to show up at our doorstep.

A fury I hadn’t known I was capable of exploded inside me, and something inside me snapped.

Before Darius could react, I stormed past him, my feet moving on their own, my pulse roaring in my ears.

Gianna barely had time to register what was happening before I reached her—and without a second thought, I slapped her.

Hard.

The slap was so loud and sharp that it echoed through the hallway, and Gianna stumbled backward, her eyes widening in shock.

A stunned gasp came from behind me, and I almost rolled my eyes at Darius’s dramatic reaction. I had never stood up to Gianna before, and no matter how angry I was with her and my father, the best I ever did was throw a little tantrum, even though I still always ended up getting punished.

I had spent years being her punching bag, her little pet that she could torment whenever she pleased, but the audacity—the nerve—of her to lock me up again as if I was still that weak little girl?

It was mind-blowing, and now, I had finally done what I had been itching to do for years. I had slapped her, and it felt so damn good. Really, really good in ways I couldn’t even begin to describe.

From behind me, Darius let out a low whistle, his tone amused. “Well, damn.”

Then, with absolutely zero seriousness, he muttered, “Cat fight.”

I turned my head, rolling my eyes so hard I was surprised they didn’t fall out of my skull.

“Don’t be so childish, Your Highness,” I muttered.

Darius just grinned, looking far too entertained, and I turned my attention back to Gianna. Her face was still frozen in horror, almost like she was replaying the slap over and over in her head to be sure that it had really happened.

Her cheek was red from the impact, and her lips were parted slightly as if she still couldn’t think of what to say to justify what happened.

Her disbelief was my pleasure. Knowing that she couldn’t believe that little, weak Seraphina had just slapped her across the face made me feel a sense of satisfaction that words couldn’t begin to explain.

The realization slowly sank in, and the pure, distraught look on her face? It was the most satisfying thing I had ever seen.

For what felt like forever, she just stood there, her hand pressed against the side of her face, her mouth slightly parted in shock, and then, after what felt like an eternity, her hand dropped, and her expression changed.

Her wide, stunned eyes suddenly filled with tears, and her lips trembled, as if she were the victim in all of this.

In a forced, shaky voice, she gasped, “Did you really just have the audacity to put your hands on me, child? Did you really just raise a hand to hit your own mother?” she asked.

On seeing her reaction, I didn’t say a word. I just stared at her, because of course, this was her next line of action. I shouldn’t be in the least bit surprised that she was about to turn this into some dramatic, pitiful scene and make herself into the wronged victim.

And then, she did exactly what I expected her to do. She turned to Darius with false tears in her eyes. I couldn’t even bring myself to count the many times I’d seen those false tears form whenever she wanted to make me look like the crazy teenager and make herself into the sensible adult.

“Your Highness,” she pleaded, her voice dripping with fake devastation, “did you see that? Did you see what she just did to me?”

I could feel Darius shift slightly beside me, but I didn’t turn to look at him.

Gianna continued, “I have spent years taking care of this ungrateful girl, and this is how she repays me? By physically abusing me?”

I clenched my fists, barely resisting the urge to laugh at her dramatics.

“Seraphina has never respected me!” she wailed. “No matter what I do for her, no matter how much I try to guide her, she defies me at every turn! And I hope, Your Highness, that you can now see for yourself why I had to punish her! I hope you can see for yourself that she deserved to be punished.”

At that, I rolled my eyes. Her words were pathetic, but also unsurprising.

I finally turned to Darius, and in a serious, flat tone, I asked, “Did you see anything, Your Highness?”

For a split second, silence. Then Darius suddenly grinned. With an amused smirk, he slowly raised his hands in innocence.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lady Gianna,” he said casually. “I didn’t see a thing. Was I supposed to see anything?”

I smirked at his response, and Gianna’s face instantly fell, but Darius wasn’t finished just yet.

He turned to her, his smile widening. “The only thing I can say for sure that I’m a witness to,” he continued, “is the fact that you locked your stepdaughter in her room with the intention of starving her, and you can’t deny it, since I had to get her out myself.”

Gianna stiffened, and color drained from her face as the realization of the situation dawned on her. And then, as if enjoying every second of tormenting her—Darius leaned in slightly, lowering his voice just enough to sound playful, but with an unmistakable edge beneath it.

“And you do know,” he added, “that, by the laws of Aldoria, that is recognized as child abuse. The fact that you’re doing this just a day after her father’s funeral goes to show how truly unscrupulous you are.”

Gianna froze completely, but Darius wasn’t done yet. With a polite smile, he finished, “And well, I believe you’re smart enough to know that child abuse is an arrestable offense, and it also comes with a heavy fine. So tell me, Lady Gianna, how do you think this situation should be handled? Should I have you arrested, or would you prefer to apologize to your daughter while promising to never pull such a stunt again?”

The paleness of Gianna’s face almost made her look like a ghost, and I stared at her in fascination while enjoying every second of her fear.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep