As I walked toward the door, I could feel Victoria''s cold gaze burning into my back.
I kept my Rnd Warner''s dying words giving me strength.
head high,
"I''ll take Victoria and Emma to see the new roses in the garden," Isabelle offered, clearly trying to defuse the
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Chapter 31 Kitchen Cent
tension.
Ethan nodded, rising from his chair. "I have business to attend to anyway."
In the kitchen, I found myself alone. All other servants had been dismissed- Eleanor''s way of ensuring i understood my position in the pack hierarchy.
I sighed, tying an apron around my waist. The venison for tonight''s main course sat waiting on the cutting
board.
As I began chopping, my mind wandered back to Rnd Warner''s revtion. Victoria had deliberately
Intercepted Lily''s kidney donor, ensuring my daughter''s death while pretending innocence.
The truth burned inside me like acid. If I revealed what I knew now, who would believe me? The only witness
was dead.
My hands trembled slightly as I sliced through the meat, imagining it was Victoria beneath my knife. Each cut was precise, deliberate, satisfying..
"nning to murder the venison, Olivia?"
I froze at the sound of Ethan''s voice. I hadn''t heard him enter the kitchen, a testament to how lost Td been in
my vengeful thoughts.
He moved closer, his powerful presence filling the space. The heat from his body radiated against my back
as he stepped behind me.
"What game are you ying?" he asked, his breath warm against my ear.
I continued chopping, refusing to acknowledge how his proximity affected me. “I don''t know what you mean."
My heart raced traitorously. Despite everything, my body still responded to his nearness.
His hand closed over mine, stilling the knife. "That little disy in the sitting room. Touching me like that in
front of everyone."
I could feel the barely contained anger in his grip, the tension in his body. Good. Let him feel something.
anything.
I turned to face him, our bodies inches apart. His amber eyes gleamed with something dangerous-anger,
confusion, desire.
"Victoria!" The voice called from outside the kitchen. "Victoria was looking for you!
Of course she was. Victoria always knew when to interrupt, when to pull Ethan back into her orbit.
I couldn''t help the bitter smile that curved my lips. "You should go. Your real family needs you."
Ethan''s jaw tightened. "Don''t start this again."
“Start what? The truth?” I challenged, setting down the knife. "You''ve made your choice clear to everyone,
Ethan. Victoria, Emma-they''re who you want. Not me. Not Lily."
The words tasted like poison on my tongue, but they needed to be said. For five years, I''d watched him
prioritize Victoria and Emma over his own family.
"Lily is gone," he said harshly, his eyes darkening. "And you need to ept that."
The casual dismissal of our daughter ignited my rage. "Gone because you weren''t there when she needed
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Chapter 31 tchen Conh
yout Gone because you were too busy ying father to another woman''s childr
My voice rose with each word, the pain and anger I''d suppressed for months finally breaking free
His hands gripped my upper arms, pulling me closer. "You think I don''t care that she''s gone? That I don''t feel
that loss?"
"I think you were never there to begin with," I spat. "Even when she was alive, you were Victoria''s shadow, not Lily''s father."
The truth hung between us, sharp and undeniable. Ethan had been at every one of Emma''s achievements, every milestone, while missing most of Lily''s.
His grip tightened, not enough to hurt but enough to remind me of the power in his hands. ''Is that what this is about? Are you trying to break up with me, Olivia?
The question hung between us, charged with unspoken emotions. My eyes locked with his, searching for any sign that he actually cared about my answer. "Haven''t you already agreed to that?" I retorted, leaving him speechless.