Chapter 28

Writer's POV

Elara's eyes lit up with recognition as she took in Amelia's nearly naked form. A slow, calculated smile spread across her face. 

"Amelia!" she exclaimed, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "I didn't expect to see you here. You look... well, you certainly know how to make an entrance."

Amelia tilted her head slightly, her expression unreadable as she looked Elara up and down with deliberate slowness. The crowd around them seemed to hold its collective breath, sensing something was about to happen.

"Thank you," Amelia replied smoothly. "I have to say, that's quite an outfit you're wearing. Very... fashionable."

Elara practically glowed at what she interpreted as a compliment, her confidence surging. She did a little turn, showing off her designer bikini, clearly feeling like she was winning some kind of invisible competition.

"This old thing?" Elara said with false modesty, running her hands over the expensive fabric. "It's just a little something I picked up. Designer, of course. I'm sure you understand the importance of quality."

The smile that crossed Amelia's face was absolutely wicked.

Then she burst into laughter not polite, social laughter, but genuine, uncontrolled laughter that echoed across the party area. The sound was so unexpected and so loud that conversations throughout the immediate vicinity stopped dead.

"Oh, come off it, Elara," Amelia said between laughs, wiping tears from her eyes. "That 'designer' piece? I saw them selling it at the discount mall last week for thirty dollars. They're practically giving them away now that it's last season's style."

The effect was immediate and devastating. Elara's face went through a series of expressions confusion, realization, humiliation, and finally rage. The crowd around them made that collective intake of breath that signaled social carnage.

Maya couldn't help herself. She burst into laughter, the sound bright and delighted in the sudden silence that had fallen over their little drama circle.

"Oh my god," Maya managed between giggles. "That's absolutely cruel."

Tasha face was flushed with anger, her protective instincts for Elara overriding any sense of self-preservation she might have had.

"Excuse me, bitch!" Tasha snapped, stepping aggressively toward Amelia. "Who the hell do you think you are? You can't just…” 

"I'm still talking to your friend here," Amelia cut her off coldly, not even bothering to look at Tasha as she spoke. "So why don't you shut up and wait your turn like a good little sidekick?"

The dismissal was so casual, so utterly contemptuous, that it seemed to break something inside Tasha. Her face went red with rage, and before anyone could react, she was raising her hand to slap Amelia across the face.

But Amelia was faster.

With a movement so quick it was almost impossible to follow, Amelia's hands shot out and gave Tasha a firm push right in the center of her chest. Tasha, caught completely off guard and off balance, stumbled backward with a shriek of surprise.

The crowd watched in fascination as Tasha windmilled her arms desperately, trying to regain her balance, but momentum and gravity were working against her. With a tremendous splash that sent water flying in all directions, she crashed backward into the pool.

Amelia looked down at the sputtering, furious girl in the water with an expression of mock concern.

"Oops," she said sweetly, her voice carrying clearly across the now-silent party. "It's a pool party, right?"

The reaction from the crowd was explosive. Some people were laughing, others were gasping, phones were coming out to record the aftermath, and everyone was staring at Amelia with a mixture of awe and terror. Nobody had expected the nearly naked goddess to be quite so ruthless.

"Holy shit, she just threw her in the pool!" someone shouted.

"Did you see how fast that was?"

"That was the most badass thing I've ever seen!"

Elara's carefully composed facade finally cracked completely. Her face was twisted with fury as she watched her best friend flailing in the pool. 

"You fucking psycho!" Elara screamed at Amelia, all pretense of civility abandoned. "Do you have any idea what you just did?"

Amelia shrugged carelessly. "She tried to hit me. I defended myself. Maybe teach your friend some manners before you bring her to public events."

Without another word, Elara stormed toward the pool to help Tasha out of the water, both of them shooting murderous looks back at Amelia as they made their dramatic exit from the party area.

As the immediate drama died down, Drasa found herself staring at Amelia in complete amazement.

"You're beautiful," she said softly, the words coming out before she could stop them.

Amelia turned to look at her, and for just a moment, her expression softened. "You're beautiful too, Drasa. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Maya, still buzzing with excitement from the confrontation, stepped forward with a bright smile.

"Hi! I'm Maya, by the way. Thank you so much for standing up for Drasa like that. That was absolutely incredible!"

Amelia looked at Maya for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then she simply nodded once not unfriendly, but not particularly warm either and began to walk away without another word.

Maya's face fell slightly, clearly hurt by the cold reception. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked Drasa quietly.

Drasa sighed, watching Amelia's retreating figure. "She can be weird sometimes. Don't take it personally."

"What do you mean, weird?" Maya asked, her curiosity clearly piqued.

Drasa hesitated for a moment, then decided Maya deserved to know at least part of the truth about who Amelia really was.

"She once took a picture of me," Drasa said quietly. "I was working at this bar, serving drinks to some man, and she took my picture and sent it to Elara. Elara had paid her to do it."

Maya's eyes went wide with shock. "She what? She was working for Elara? But she just humiliated her!"

"That's not all," Drasa continued, watching Maya's expression carefully. "When she sent the picture, she colored my hair differently and blurred my face. She said the money Elara paid her wasn't enough to reveal my actual identity."

Maya stared at her in amazement. "So she took Elara's money but protected you at the same time? That's... that's actually kind of brilliant in a twisted way."

Drasa nodded slowly. "Like I said, she can be weird. You never really know which version of Amelia you're going to get."