Chapter 4

Damien’s hands froze around Sarah.

I turned to leave.

"Wait!" Damien suddenly let go of Sarah and grabbed my wrist.

His hand was shaking, and a flash of panic crossed his eyes.

"Stop joking around," he said, his tone softening. "I just told you to stop bullying Sarah. If you just behave, I’ll keep taking care of you like I always have."

His grip was like iron; I couldn't break free.

I simply nodded.

Damien let out a breath of relief, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

He didn't see the jealousy and resentment burning in Sarah's eyes beside him.

For the next month, for some reason, Damien became even more attentive.

He brought me breakfast every day, though he brought a portion for Sarah too.

With only a month left before my departure, I didn't want any trouble. I accepted them in silence every time, only to toss them into the trash as soon as he was gone.

But Damien clearly saw this as a sign of my submission. Every time he saw me take the food, his smile grew more confident.

He failed to notice Sarah’s growing envy.

Finally, graduation day arrived.

The moment I stepped onto campus, Damien lunged at me from the side. He was holding Sarah, who was soaking wet and shivering uncontrollably.

Sarah’s left cheek was badly swollen, and she looked like a total mess. Her clothes were drenched, her hair was matted, and she looked utterly pathetic.

Damien’s eyes burned with rage as he pointed a finger at me. "Elena, I never thought you’d stoop this low!"

"You actually hired thugs to corner Sarah in the bathroom and drown her in the sink? Have you lost every shred of decency?"

Sarah sobbed into Damien’s chest.

"Damien, just let it go..." she choked out. "Elena is only doing this because she's upset that we're together. I can handle being hurt, just please don't fight because of me."

I watched the performance with cold indifference.

"I didn't do it," I said, my voice eerily calm. "I wouldn't waste my time on such petty revenge. Damien, if you have a single brain cell left, go check the security footage instead of barking here like a rabid dog."

Damien wasn't listening to reason; Sarah’s tears had completely blinded him.

"Check the cameras? Sarah saw you!"

His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a beast on the verge of snapping.

"Since your parents clearly failed to teach you manners, I’ll do it for them!"

He lunged forward, using his Alpha strength to grab my wrist and violently twist my arms behind my back.

I struggled, but Damien locked my joints so tightly I couldn't move.

Damien barked at Sarah. "Hit her back! Do exactly what she did to you! I’m right here; she won’t touch you."

Sarah walked forward, putting on a fragile act. A glint of malice flashed in her eyes before she swung her arm with everything she had.

Slap!

My head snapped to the side. Blood began to leak from my nose, dripping onto my white shirt.

When Damien saw the blood, his grip instinctively loosened.

Doubt flickered in his eyes, as if he hadn't expected Sarah to hit me that hard.

The second he let go, I didn't hesitate.

I spun around and slapped Sarah across her other cheek with every ounce of my strength.

She shrieked as I sent her crashing to the ground.

Before Damien could even process what happened, I stepped forward and landed a resounding slap across his face too.

Damien clutched his cheek, staring at me in pure disbelief.

"Are you insane? You actually hit me?"

I wiped the blood from my nose and looked at him with a cold smirk.

"Why wouldn't I? Anyone who touches me gets hit."

Damien was trembling with fury.

"Elena, you’ve gone too far. Get on your knees and apologize to Sarah right now!"

He took on a high-and-mighty stance.

"If you apologize and admit you're wrong, I’ll still help you get into the Alpha Academy. I’ll even get us a luxury apartment near campus so we can live together and I can keep taking care of you."

"This is your last chance, Elena. Don't be ungrateful."

I looked at the man in front of me and found him absolutely pathetic.

He actually thought that after humiliating me, offering to let me "live with him" was some kind of reward?

"Live together? Tutoring?" I couldn't help but laugh; I laughed until tears nearly came to my eyes.

"Damien, you really think highly of yourself." I wiped my eyes, my voice turning ice-cold. "I am never going to that Alpha Academy. I’ve already been accepted to the Royal Academy of Healing in Europe."

Damien froze.

"As for your offer to live together," I glanced at Sarah on the ground, my lips curling into a mocking smile, "save it for her. A low-born Omega like her probably needs all the 'protection' she can get."

With that, I turned and walked toward the graduation hall.

The ceremony began, and I was preparing to walk up and collect my honors certificate. I had been top of my class, and I earned this.

As I rounded a corner in the hallway, Sarah suddenly blocked my path. The handprint from earlier was still visible on her face, but her eyes were gleaming with triumph.

She lowered her voice, her tone dripping with spite. "Does it hurt, Elena? Did you see that? Damien held you down personally so I could hit you. It just goes to show you're worth less than a dog to him."

She gave me a wicked grin.

"Who cares if you applied to a school in Europe? The moment Damien snaps his fingers, you’ll come crawling back like a spineless bitch to lick his boots."

I didn't hesitate for a second. I delivered a deafening slap.

Crack!

The force of the blow sent Sarah crashing into the lockers.

Terror flashed in her eyes; she clearly didn't think I'd strike her again.

"Help! Damien! Elena’s attacking me again!" she screamed, collapsing to the floor.

Damien came rushing over instantly. He saw Sarah crying on the ground and me standing over her.

"You're still at it?" He shoved me aside in a fit of rage. "When is this madness going to stop?"

I looked at him coldly, not backing down an inch.

"Now that was me actually hitting her," I said, enunciating every word. "That was for her little 'comment' just now."

I took a step closer, looking Damien straight in the eye. "Take your trash and get the hell away from me."

The moment the ceremony ended, I went straight home. My official acceptance letter from the Royal Academy of Healing was sitting on the living room table, right next to a one-way first-class ticket to London. A wave of relief washed over me.

I went to my room and pulled out a massive suitcase. I moved quickly, packing only the clothes and books I actually needed.

Then, I started clearing out the junk. Everything Damien had ever given me—the designer bags, the expensive dresses, the matching accessories, even our photos—I threw it all into trash bags without a second thought.

I dragged the bags out to the curb, feeling no regret whatsoever. These things were just relics of my foolish youth. It was time to say goodbye.

Meanwhile, at the post-graduation party.

Damien sat on the sofa, his face dark, while Sarah sobbed in his arms.

"Damien, Elena went way too far," Sarah whimpered. "Why does she hate me so much? What did I do wrong?"

Damien held her, his gaze icy.

"She’s just a spoiled brat," he spat. "She’s always been like this, thinking she can do whatever she wants just because she's an Alpha's daughter."

He pulled out his phone to call my father, intending to make him force an apology out of me.

But before he could dial, his own phone rang. It was his father. Damien frowned and answered.

"What the hell did you do to Elena?" his father’s voice roared through the phone in a blind rage. "The Blackwood Alpha just officially notify us that they are pulling all investment from our pack. That’s three hundred million dollars! And they’ve withdrawn all the elite warriors guarding our borders! Do you want our pack to be overrun by rogues overnight?"