Page 94 of Hidden Empire
“Jade, it’s fine,” Matteo murmurs, but I ignore him.
“My patience is wearing thin,” I warn, voice dripping with fury.
“Fine,” she relents. “I’m sorry, Matte?—”
“No,” I grind out. “That’s not good enough.”
“I haven’t even started,” she argues.
“And you’re being insincere,” I sneer. “Frankly, it’s insulting. So get down on your knees and mean it.”
“Oh shit,” someone chuckles, but I ignore it.
The only thing the crowd is good for is adding to her humiliation. I don’t give a fuck what they think about me or any of this.
“Jade—” Matteo tries again, and I hold up a hand to silence him.
Clara’s nostrils flare, and she squeaks like a scared mouse. “I am not getting on my fucking knees, you crazy b?—”
“Either get down, or I’ll put you down,” I promise, almost hoping she’ll give me a reason. When she doesn’t make a move to obey, I get impatient.
“Five, four, three, two…” I count down.
Genuinely scared now, Clara Bell kneels at my brother’s and my feet. She sinks into the damp grass, looking fearful and small, as she very well should
“Make it good, or don’t get up,” I instruct and watch as she takes in a shaky breath.
“I’m s-sorry, Matteo. I didn’t mean it, I was wrong.”
“Ask him to forgive you,” I snap.
It would be so easy to kick her teeth in right now.
“Will you f-forgive me?”
Not nearly as much blubbering as I would like, but it’ll be enough for now. The girl is properly humiliated. Though, if Matteo wants more, I’ll make her sob.
“Do you forgive her?” I ask my brother, looking down at her with my arms crossed. I can’t stress enough how much I’m willing to hit her if he’d prefer.
“No,” he answers, voice low and haunted. “But she can keep her life.”
I almost frown, but maybe he just wants it to be over.
“Get up,” I tell her, barking out the order. “If I hear you talking about him like that again, I won’t ask if he forgives you before I systematically destroy your entire existence. You’ll be running home screaming for God’s mercy because I won’t be giving you any.”
Clara looks like she might be sick when she stands up, but luckily for her, her friends help guide her out of the area. Could I have gone a bit too far just now? Probably. But that’s my brother, and no one is going to disrespect him like that in front of me. She’s blessed that I’ve been working on my bursts of physical violence, or she might have needed a plastic surgeon to fix way more than a bruised ego.
I’m worried her words may have seriously affected him when he takes my hand, and we leave in the opposite direction. To my utter relief, he starts cackling as soon as we’re alone, far enough away but still outside.
“Jesus Christ, Jade,” he wheezes. “You made her bow to apologize. Fuck, I wish that was recorded. I can’t wait to tell Dad.”
“I thought you might think I went too far,” I say carefully.
He chuckles. “Nah, just hiding my hand from the rest of the onlookers. There’ll be at least three offers to blow me to make me feel better tomorrow.”
“Gross,” I shiver, faking a gag.
He chuckles. “I won’t take anyone up on it, little sister. I’ve got my head screwed on right this year. No temptation is enough to knock me off of my game. I can hookup all I want when we get home.”