8. Chapter 438


    The pain Sophie had braced herself for nevere.


    Instead, a sharp, mockingugh filled the air.


    "Look at you, all scared and pathetic! You''re cracking me up!" Diana stood several feet away,ughing so hard she was nearly doubled over. She pointed at Sophie


    like she''d just witnessed the funniest thing ever.


    Sophie, realizing she''d been yed, tumed bright red with fury, her face as flushed as a monkey''s backside.


    Sophie couldn''t hold back anymore. She stepped forward, her face contorted with rage, and yelled, "You bitch! How dare you mess with me?"


    In an instant, Diana''s smirk disappeared. Without warning, sheshed out with her whip, striking Sophie squarely on the face, unprotected by Matthew.


    The whipnded hard, tearing into her skin and ruining half of her face.


    Even some villigers who were working in a mile away heard the scream.


    "What was that sound?" one of them asked, startled. "No idea..." another replied, ncing around. Seeing nothing unusual. they went back to their work.


    Matthew froze, his eyes locking onto Sophie''s bloodied face. His pupils shrank in shock. "Sophie!"


    "Matthew Matthew! Look at my face right now! Did she ruin my face? Matthew! Say something!" Sophie was on the verge of losing it.


    The sharp, burning pain on the left side of her face,bined with the warm trickle of blood, made her suspect the worst, but she refused to ept it.


    She sobbed uncontrobly, her hands hovering near her face, too afraid to touch it. Instead, she grabbed Matthew, bombarding him with frantic questions.


    Unable to bear the sight, Matthew averted his gaze and gritted his teeth as he tried tofort her. "Sophie, listen to me! It''ll be okay! Father will find the best healer, we''ll fix this, I promise!"


    Sophie let out a piercing scream, her voice echoing with despair. The more Matthew tried to reassure her, the louder she shrieked.


    "My face! My face! You wretched woman, I''ll kill your In a sudden burst of rage, Sophie lunged forward, aiming straight for


    Diana.


    But before she could take more than a step, Matthew intercepted her.


    It was a good thing he did. The Baker family''s guards moved swiftly, their des gleaming like a wall of silver, cutting off any chance of Sophie reaching Diana. Their cold, unyielding gazes locked onto Sophie and Matthew, daring them to make a


    move.


    A wall of razor-sharp swords formed a protective barrier around Diana. The guards stood firm, their expressions as icy as their steel.


    Diana crossed her arms and tilted her chin upward, a mocking smile ying on her lips. "Kill me? Don''t make meugh. You'' re not even worth the effort"


    Held back by Matthew, Sophie''s bloodied face twisted into a terrifying expression. Her voice dripped with hatred as she spat, "You''ll regret this! My father is the Duke of Mowba. He won''t let you get away with this!"


    "Is that so?" Diana''s smile was faint. I am so scared."


    Her mocking tone was thest straw for Matthew.


    He stepped in front of Sophie, shielding her with one arm, his re fixed on Diana as his frustration boiled over.


    He said, "Diana! Have youpletely lost your mind?! Or has Eliza brainwashed you again? What is it about her that makes you go to such extremes? You know how much my father adores Sophie! Aren''t you worried about the trouble you''re bringing to the Baker family?"


    Diana''s voice shot up, her eyes zing with fury. "Don''t you dare use that filthy mouth of yours to talk about Elizal My Eliza is worth a thousand of you twobined. She doesn''t need to say a word to me. I just like doing things for her. And I love putting people like you in your ce when you


    "And let me make one thing clear. This is just t


    Sessfully unlocked!


    Her icy gaze swept over Sophie, and a cold, cruel smile tugged at her lips. "From now on, you''d better stay out of my sight. I''ve already warned you. Show up in front of me again, and I''ll make sure you regret it every single time. "Doesn''t matter where, doesn''t matter when. How far I would go? That depends entirely on my mood."


    438 Chapter 430


    Today, her mood was downright rotten.


    So she decided to make Sophie''s face her outlet.


    Without hesitation, Dianashed out with three more strikes, each onending with a brutal snap against Matthew''s body


    The harder he tried to shield Sophie, the more vicious her blows became.


    The final strike came down with a sickening crack, the kind of sound that made everyone wince it was unmistakably the sound of bone breaking.


    His arm had to be shattered.


    The sheer brutality of it left Sophie frozen in ce. Her earlier screams died in her throat, reced by a suffocating silence as terror took hold of her.


    Finally, Diana exhaled sharply, as if expelling thest of her anger. Without a second nce, she tossed the bloodied whip to a nearby guard and walked away.


    "Let''s call it a day." Diana said coolly.


    With that, she turned and walked away without looking back.


    The Baker family guards waited until Diana had stepped into the carriage before breaking their encirclement around Sophie and Matthew. They quickly followed the carriage, leaving the area in no time.


    As Diana''s carriage disappeared from view, Matthew''s body wavered before he copsed to the ground with a heavy thud. Only then did a muffled groan of pain escape his lips.


    He gritted his teeth, trying to hold himself together, but the arm he''d used to shield Sophie hung limp and lifeless at his side. Diana''s whip had struck that arm directly, rendering it useless.


    Even in his weakened state, his first concern was still Sophie. "Sophie, are you okay?" he asked, his voice strained but full


    of worry.


    His voice was weak and trembling.


    Sophie shot him a cold, piercing re. Her blood-smeared face and crimson-


    stained eyes made her look downright terrifying.


    She thought, ''I''d already been beaten to a pulp!


    And he still has the nerve to ask how I am?


    ''I am itching to kill that wretched woman right here and now!


    ''He is an utterly useless waste of space!


    ''He couldn''t even handle one woman! What''s the point of keeping a fool like him


    around?"


    Her mind was already raging, a storm of fury and contempt.


    When her eyes met Matthew''s, it only made her disgust boil over.


    She thought, ''Maybe I should just take control of him too.


    ''No, this idiot has already seen my Poisonous Flower. He''d definitely be on guard.


    ''Then maybe... I should just kill him?"


    A sh of cruel intent flickered in Sophie''s eyes as her gaze locked onto Matthew.


    Caught off guard, Matthew found himself staring into her eyes.


    In that instant, an inexplicable sense of panic gripped his heart. "Sophie, why are you looking at me like that? You''re scaring me!


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