that, Charles ordered the guards to rush me to the hospital.
I was in too much pain to speak. As they lifted me, Victoria lunged, grabbing my hair and pressing the ritual blade to my throat.
“You’re not going anywhere, you bitch!”
Even if the engagement is off, I’m taking you down with me!”
*Caleb, you’re a coward! Letting a slut walk all over you! You deserve to lose the inheritance! I was blind to have ever fallen for you!”
“If I’m going down, I’m dragging this fraud with me! She’s a con artist! Let’s see who the police arrest when they get here!”
A tearing pain shot through my scalp as strands of my bloody hair fell to the floor. I looked desperately at the guards, but they were frozen, terrified of making my injuries worse.
Victoria’s friends, seeing how horribly things had escalated, hastily shut down the livestream and stood there, unsure whether to stay or run.
Caleb knew that saving me was his only chance at redemption. He rushed to Victoria’s side, pleading with her.
“Tori, listen to me, Miss Hamilton really is an honored guest. There’s nothing between us! Please, let her go. I can expla-
in everything later, we’re running out of time!”
“Please, stop making a scene! This is already a disaster. If you keep this up, the whole family will find out. Don’t you
want to marry me anymore?”
For a moment, Victoria’s expression wavered.
Her friend quickly chimed in. “Tori, let’s just stop for today. Mr. Devereaux himself said there’s nothing between them. If you don’t trust Caleb, you have to trust his father, right? They wouldn’t risk their relationship with your family unless she
was really that important!”
“The whole school knows you’re engaged. If it’s really called off, you won’t be able to show your face there again!”
“Calm down. You’ve taught her enough of a lesson. Just let her go. Please.”
In the end, Victoria was just a girl who wanted to be her lover’s one and only. She looked up at Caleb, her eyes welling
with tears.
“Is that true? There’s nothing between you two?”
“Then why did you cancel our dates? Why did you go meet her at her dorm?”
“You said you’d never lie to me. You promised you’d never change. You promised!”
Charles subtly signaled the guards, telling them to get ready. Caleb, seeing his chance, softened his tone.
“Listen, I never lied to you. But the ritual… it’s a family secret, something unbelievable. I was going to tell you after we were married, I never thought you’d misunderstand.”
*Please, be good, okay? Sweetheart, let her go. If we wait any longer, Miss Hamilton might really die.”
“She’s a woman, too. You know how damaging this is. You’re a Sterling. Do you really want to be known as a jealous
shrew?”
“My heart only has room for you. If you let her go now, I still want to marry you. Not for the business deal, not for the inheritance, but because I love you. Even if I had nothing. I would still want to be with you.”
At his words, tears spilled from Victoria’s eyes. The hand holding the knife loosened its grip.
The guards saw their opening and rushed in, finally pulling me to safety.
A wave of post–traumatic fear washed over me, and I began to shiver violently. My body, naked and losing blood, was growing dangerously cold. Victoria collapsed into Caleb’s arms, sobbing, demanding he repeat his promise.
Charles gave them one last, icy glare before ordering the guards to cover me with a jacket and get me out of there..
“You know what to say and what not to say about today’s events,” he said to his son.
*Caleb, do not disappoint me again.”
Caleb’s shoulders trembled. Hidden from Victoria’s view, he gave a slight, desperate nod.
Victoria’s friends had completely broken down. They knew that if Victoria, as a future daughter–in–law, would not be forgiven, then they, as outsiders, would face the full wrath of the Devereaux family. They turned to flee, but the butler had the remaining guards knock them unconscious and drag them to the basement.
Victoria, sensing something was wrong, looked up to question Caleb.
Instead, she was met with the blunt force of a steel pipe.
After a dull thud of metal meeting flesh, she collapsed, unconscious.
Caleb finally let out a breath of relief. He had her locked in the basement with her friends and immediately ordered the servants to prepare the ritual items again.
But the auspicious hour had passed.
Could the damage be mitigated? And by how much?
He had no idea. All he could do was pray that I would survive this and be able to perform the rite for his family once
more.
On the way to the hospital, I used the last of my consciousness to divine the Devereauxs‘ future.
