CHAPTER 55: 55 - THE TROUBLE

55

~Lisa’s POV

"I’m talking to you, human," Belinda snapped. "Do you think they’ll ever love you? You really believe you mean something to them?"

I swallowed hard. My heart was racing, my hands trembling. I didn’t want trouble. I never did.

"I don’t..." My voice cracked, and I cleared my throat. "I don’t think they love me."

Her brows raised slightly. She wasn’t expecting that.

"I didn’t ask to be here," I added quietly, still kneeling on the cold floor. My knees were already sore from scrubbing. "And I definitely didn’t ask to be mated to them."

For a second, the room went still.

"What did you just say?" Her voice dropped low and sharp like a knife. Cold. Dangerous.

I hesitated, but the words had already slipped out. There was no going back.

I looked up at her, just for a second. Her eyes were burning.

"I said I don’t want the triplets. I never did. All they’ve done since I got here is make my life miserable. I just want peace."

She stepped closer. Her heels clicked hard against the marble floor. I swallowed, but stayed still. Her perfume was thick... sweet and choking.

"You don’t want them?" Her voice was tight, controlled, but her face was twitching. "You..." Her tone suddenly rose, high and shrill. "You dare say that? Who the hell do you think you are?!"

Before I could react or even get a word in, her hand swung through the air, slap! It landed on my cheek so hard, I couldn’t breathe for a moment. The sound echoed in the hallway. My head snapped to the side, and I tasted blood in my mouth. My eyes stung instantly, and a burning pain spread across my face. I gasped, leaning back slightly on my heels.

The force of the hit wasn’t just physical; it broke something inside me.

"You stupid, lowlife girl!" she screamed, her voice filling the hallway like thunder. "How dare you talk like that?! Like you’re too good for them? Who gave you the right to open your filthy mouth and speak that nonsense?!"

I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. They welled up quickly, blurring my vision. But I didn’t cry loudly. I stayed there, trembling, my hand pressed against my burning cheek, trying to understand what exactly I had done wrong.

I wasn’t trying to be rude. I wasn’t even trying to talk back. I was just telling the truth.

"I... I never meant to upset you," I whispered, my voice shaking. "I just don’t understand what you want from me. What exactly do you want me to do?"

Belinda laughed bitterly, tilting her head. "What do I want? I want you gone. I want your dirty little face out of my sight. I want the triplets to forget you ever existed!"

"I want you gone!" she shouted. "Out of this palace! Out of their lives! Out of my way!"

"I never wanted to be in your way," I whispered, the tears falling now. "I didn’t even know who they were when I got here. I didn’t ask to be mated to them."

"Don’t lie to me!" she hissed, pointing a finger in my face. "You’re a snake. A manipulative little pest. Acting all innocent while trying to steal what’s mine!"

"I’m not stealing anything," I cried. "They don’t even treat me like a mate. They treat me like trash. Just like you do."

That only made her angrier.

"You think I care how they treat you?" she snapped. "You deserve every bit of it! You should be grateful they haven’t thrown you out yet. Because if I were them, I’d have you chained in the dungeon for even looking at them."

I stared at her, mouth open in shock.

"What did I ever do to you?" I asked softly. "From the first day I got here, you’ve hated me. You treat me like I committed some crime."

She leaned in close, her eyes burning with hatred. "Your crime is existing," she whispered. "Breathing their air. Touching their things. Taking their attention. Being chosen when I should’ve been the one."

"I didn’t choose anything," I said through my tears. "I’m just trying to survive. You have everything... beauty, power, respect. Why do you hate me so much?"

"Because they’re mine!" she screamed, finally snapping. "They’re my mates, Lisa! Mine! And every time they look at you, every time they don’t reject you, it makes me want to rip you apart!"

I gasped. My body froze.

"They don’t even want me," I said. "You don’t need to be scared."

She laughed again, but there was no joy in it, just rage and bitterness. "You don’t get it, do you? They’re men. They’re wolves. It’s not about want. It’s about a bond. Once that bond grows stronger, it’ll ruin everything I’ve worked for. So yes, I’m scared. And I’ll do anything to stop it."

"Even hit me?" I asked. "Even torture me for something I didn’t ask for?"

"I’ll destroy you if I have to," she said coldly.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand and slowly stood up, legs shaking. "You can do what you want to me, Lady Belinda. I’ve done nothing but try to stay out of your way."

"You think this is about fairness?" she said, stepping closer again. "You think life is fair for people like you? You don’t belong here, Lisa. You never will."

I shook my head. "Maybe not. But I won’t keep letting you humiliate me either."

Her eyes widened. For once, she looked stunned. Then she scoffed and stepped back, brushing her gown like I’d touched her.

"Pathetic," she muttered. "You’re not even worth the trouble."

I held my ground. I was still shaking inside, but I didn’t move.

She turned sharply, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Clean up this mess," she spat. "That’s the only thing you’re good for."

And with that, she walked away, heels echoing down the hallway.

I collapsed back to my knees, the rag falling from my hand. My face still stung, my heart even more. I was so shocked that I even had the guts to say such a thing to Belinda of all people. I knew she would get back to me for that, but I wasn’t sure how.