8

"Baby, are you okay?" Alex practically flew to Lily, holding her tight, her face streaked with blood.

His voice was full of pain and anger, a kind of concern I'd never once heard from him when he spoke to me.

"Alex..." Lily was crying, a total mess. "Sophia's gone crazy! She said I broke the bracelet on purpose, and then she hit me!"

She pointed at the shattered pieces of moonstone on the floor, looking completely victimized. "I just accidentally broke it, and she stormed in here and started hitting me!"

Alex turned to me, the cold fury in his eyes making me tremble. "You actually hit an Omega? Do you have any manners at all?"

"It's not like that!" I tried to explain, desperate. "Alex, she did it on purpose! She smashed Grandma's bracelet on purpose, right in front of me!"

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" Alex roared. "Apologize to Lily! Now!"

"Look what she did!" I pointed at the broken moonstone on the floor, my voice shaking. "That was my grandmother's! It's a thousand-year-old sacred heirloom! She destroyed it on purpose!"

Alex gave the pieces on the floor a cold glance. "It's just a broken rock. Is it really worth you making such a big fuss?"

My heart felt like someone had grabbed it and squeezed, so hard I could barely breathe.

"A broken rock?" I looked at him, unable to believe it. "That was the Moon Goddess's blessing! It's been passed down by Lunas for generations..."

"Enough!" Alex cut me off impatiently, starting to pull out his checkbook. "Is ten thousand enough? Fifty thousand? A hundred thousand? How much will it take for you to stop this nonsense?"

Watching him write the check, tears just started streaming down my face. "I don't want money! I want her to apologize! It was priceless!"

"Priceless?" Alex sneered. "To me, it's trash. If you keep going on about this stupid thing, I'll make sure your father's company goes bankrupt!"

His threat completely crushed me.

What was even crueler was Alex then started gently tending to Lily's "wounds," right in front of me.

"Baby, does it hurt?" he softly dabbed at the blood on her face with a tissue. "It's all my fault, I didn't protect you."

"Alex, I'm so scared..." Lily leaned into his chest, her voice as soft and whiny as a kitten's.

"Don't be scared, I'm here." Alex kissed her forehead. "No one will ever hurt you again."

I just stood there, watching this tender scene, my heart feeling like it was being sliced into a million pieces.

"Get on your knees and apologize to Lily, now," Alex suddenly turned to me, his voice like ice. "Or you'll face the consequences."

"Alex, I..."

"KNEEL!" His roar made the whole room shake.

I looked at the absolute determination in his eyes. I knew if I didn't do it, he really would destroy my father's company.

I slowly sank to my knees, my kneecaps hitting the cold floor.

"I'm sorry..." My voice was trembling uncontrollably. "Lily, I was wrong..."

Those were probably the most humiliating words I'd ever said in my life.

Kneeling on the floor, apologizing to the person who had destroyed my most precious memory.

"Oh, it's really nothing, just a small thing," Lily said, all fake sincerity, but the triumph in her eyes was impossible to hide. "I don't hold grudges."

She looked down at me, kneeling on the floor, with that victorious look that made me want to die.

"Alright, let's go," Alex said, his arm around Lily's waist, ready to leave.

At the door, he glanced back at me and threw out one last sentence: "Stay away from Lily from now on. Don't disappoint me again."