15%
The moment stunned everyone.
Gasps rippled through the crowd–no one could comprehend what had just happened.}
“What the hell? Did that woman just kick Mr. Weber to the ground?”
Andrew struggled to his feet, clutching his side where my blow had landed. His expression twisted in disbelief as he looked at me.
“You–have you been pretending all these years?“}
I didn’t answer.
Because he already knew the truth. No one could fake twenty years of meekness. He just couldn’t understand how I had changed so much. How the quiet shadow beside him had become this.
The Weber Family, seeing Andrew collapse like that, rushed toward him in a frenzy.
“You bitch! How dare you lay a hand on Sir Andrew!“}
“I told you–stray dogs like her can’t be tamed. And now she’s biting the hand that fed her!“}
“Don’t think you’re leaving this hall alive unless we cut off a leg or an arm!“}
Their roars blurred together, a chorus of threats. But in that moment, I wasn’t afraid.”
I was back in the asylum, in the wild blood–rush of a hunt.
“Kill the ones who hurt you,” the most feared patient had whispered to me once, his voice trembling with reverence. I remembered stabbing him to a tree trunk with a broken branch. He bled until dawn.}
–:༠ལ་
And tonight, I’d let these people bleed too.
I tilted my head, my voice dangerously calm. “So… will it be one at a time? Or all at once?”
They hesitated.}
Until one man, trying to salvage his pride, barked out:
“Don’t be fooled by the act! You all know Geneva. That soft–spoken girl who couldn’t open a bottle cap without help, who cried if you raised your voice at her–how could she possibly beat us?”
“That’s right! She’s bluffing!“}
“There’s dozens of us! We could crush her like an insect!“}
Emboldened by empty bravado, the younger men puffed up again. Some grabbed nearby chairs, others steel rods from the banquet setup. Slowly, they began to advance.
“Keep her breathing,” Andrew ordered coldly. “I still have questions.“}
Even now, he looked down on me–as if I were still a piece of furniture that had dared to bite. To the hulking men of the Weber Family, I was no more than a tiny ant to be stomped out.
But someone in the back suddenly muttered, “Wait… where’s Wendell?“}
The room paused.
Now that they thought about it, no one had seen him in a while.”
He’d spent the entire day trying to provoke me–eager to land the first blow. He wouldn’t have missed this chaos for anything. So where was he??
The Weber Family exchanged uneasy glances.}
I smiled coldly. “Don’t bother looking.“}
“You’ll be joining him soon.“2
And as if summoned by my words, the glass ceiling above the banquet hall shattered with a deafening crash.
Wendell’s lifeless body dropped from the sky like a rag doll, landing in the center of the hall with a sickening thud.§
Blood pooled beneath him.
Gasps erupted.%
The bravest guests inched forward to check his breath–then recoiled, shaking their heads. He was dead. No struggle. No warning.
Gone, just like that.
“What… what the hell happened?“!
“Holy shit, he was standing next to me not long ago. Did she do it?“}
“When did Geneva become this… this terrifying?”
Andrew’s face drained of color. “You… you killed him?”
I met his eyes. “That’s just the beginning.”
I turned my gaze to the rest of the hall, letting it burn into every face that once mocked, tormented, and destroyed me.
“I’m sending you all to hell.“%
– Just as you once did to me.”
Diane stepped beside Andrew, trying to regain her composure, her voice trembling with disdain.
“Enough bluffing! You think you alone can take down the entire Weber Family?“}
12:18 PM
I smiled faintly.
Then, without a word, I tore open my wedding dress with a sharp pull. The fabric fluttered to the ground, revealing a sleek black combat outfit beneath. Strapped to my thighs were two short batons–I pulled them free, one in each hand.
“Why don’t you come find out?“}
Cameras flashed wildly. The reporters, frozen in disbelief a moment ago, now swarmed like sharks. Their lenses captured every second, their fingers trembling with excitement.
The headlines would be sensational:
“Weber Family’s Caged Canary Turns Violent in Public–Was the Good Girl Just a Persona?”
“Banquet Bloodbath: Watch the Weber Family Beat Down the Runaway Bride!”
My white wedding gown lay in tatters behind me, trailing like a ghost.”
And there I stood–batons in hand, blood on my palms, eyes burning like wildfire–as the craziest bride Chicago had ever seen.”
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