Chapter 8

ELEANOR'S POV

I let out a breath. There was no use hiding now.

I licked my dry lips, stood slowly, opened the stall door, and stepped out.

"Why are you here?!" Vivian demanded. "Did you come in on purpose to eavesdrop on my call?"

Suspicion sharpened her pale face. Her brows drew tight.

I lowered my lashes and dug a finger into my ear, unhurried. "If I said I didn't mean to, would you believe me?"

"What do you think?" Her grip whitened around the makeup bag, and a vein stood out on her forehead. "Don't you love peeking into my life?"

"When did I ever peek into your life?"

I narrowed my eyes and took a few steps closer. "Believe it or not, I didn't want to listen to your argument..."

"You read my I*******m every single day, don't you?"

She cut me off with a sneer, lifting her chin in mock pity. "You already knew Dom and I registered our marriage. So why are you still clinging to him? Do you enjoy stealing another woman's husband that much? Or do you want to marry into a wealthy family so badly that you'd settle for being a shameful mistress?"

"Are you sure I'm the one clinging?"

My eyes were bright with arrogance. My face was cold and white and full of disdain. I looked at her sideways and asked coolly.

Her chin dipped slightly. The color drained from her face, and she pinched her own neck as if to steady herself.

"Of course I'm sure. Dom doesn't love you! If he did, why did he take me and my son away from the hospital and left you there?"

Her eyes narrowed, and pride flooded her face. "Did it feel good? Being trampled on by a crowd, your head split open, bleeding on the floor?"

My hands dropped to my sides and tightened.

Something sharp flared in my eyes.

"How do you know I was trampled?"

A white light flashed across my mind. My gaze shot at her like an arrow. "Did you arrange for me to get hurt?"

"Ha."

She crossed her arms over her chest and let her red lips curl. "If you want to fight me, you're still too young. Honestly, I think you're stupid. If I were you, I'd have called Dom the second I got hurt and kept him at my side. Every man has a hero complex, Miss Ashmoor. They love to think of themselves as saviors."

My fists trembled, the veins standing out. I stood looking at that smug, proud face. Then, slowly, the corners of my mouth lifted.

"That's the difference," I said deliberately. "I'm not you."

"Five years ago, when you saw him with both legs destroyed, you ran. I never would have."

"Yes, you and Dominic registered your marriage. So what? Next month he'll still stand at the altar with me, and I'll still be Mrs. Thorne."

"Do you believe that if I say one word, he would divorce you on the spot and turn around and sign a license with me?"

"You liar!"

Burning anger flooded her dark eyes. And her carefully made-up face twisted into something ferocious. She stared at me with gritted teeth.

"He has always loved me! So what if I left him five years ago? I came back, and all I had to do was flirt a little and he ran back to me. He comes when I call. He goes when I say go. He's the most loyal spare tire a girl could ask for!"

"Yes, we are different. How could someone like you, the daughter of an omega servant, ever compare with me?"

"What did you just say to me?"

I stepped forward again. My eyes were stained with fury, and ice filled them all the way down.

"I said, a servant's daughter!" She watched my anger and her lips curled higher. A flicker of madness rose in her gaze. "As long as I'm here, you will never marry Dom!"

Before I could react, she rushed to the sink.

The crack of the skull against porcelain echoed off the tile. A second later, bright blood ran down her face.

"Help! Help me!"

She pulled herself upright, holding on to the sink. She looked at her bloodied reflection in the mirror. She then turned her head and glanced at me with open triumph. Then she staggered out of the restroom screaming.

Down the hallway, I heard a glass hit a table and feet pounding toward her voice.

"Dom! Save me!"

Vivian threw her bleeding self into his arms.

"Vivi? What happened?"

"Ahhhh... Dom... Miss Ashmoor, she wants to kill me... you have to save me..." She cried.

"What?!"

He stared at her in disbelief, his dark pupils shaking.

Callum, Finn, and Theo ran out behind him, and their faces went slack. I could read the thoughts on Callum's. Ellie? Kill someone? It isn't possible.

"Ellie, did you really do this? Have you lost your mind?"

"How could you do this to Vivi?"

"What did she do to offend you? Do you have to be so cruel?"

I walked out slowly behind her. The veins in Dominic's forehead bulged as he saw me, and his vision darkened with rage.

"Ohhh... Dom, I'm sorry, it's all my fault," Vivian sobbed. "I ran into Miss Ashmoor in the restroom and I only wanted to explain about the song you wrote for me... but I didn't think she would mind so much..."

She shrank into his chest, trembling. Her fingers clenched the collar of his white shirt, and she stammered through every word.

"I thought you'd gone out to reflect," Dominic said. His dark eyes burned with boundless fury as he aimed them at me, sharp as daggers. "I never thought you would not only fail to repent but hold a grudge against Vivi over something so trivial!"

"It seems I've been too lenient with you. You've become lawless!"

"Apologize!"

"Right now! Apologize to Vivi!"

The veins on his forehead stood out one after another. He glared at me and roared at the top of his lungs.