All Chapters of MATED TO THREE, DESPISED BY ALL. : Chapter 61 - Chapter 64

Melissa.The sound of the slap still echoed in my ears long after Cyril’s hand dropped back to his side.It wasn’t just the sharp crack of skin against skin.It was the vibration that followed. The ringing. The way it seemed to bounce off the tiled walls and lodge itself somewhere deep inside my skull, replaying over and over long after the moment had passed.For a second, I thought I might have imagined it, but the sting spreading across my cheek told me otherwise.No one moved.No one spoke.The kitchen, once full of whispers and clattering pots, had gone completely still.Only moments ago, there had been the rhythmic scrape of knives against wooden boards. The hiss of oil in heated pans. Low murmurs exchanged between omegas. The shuffle of feet against stone.Now, there was a heavy suffocating silence.Even the oil that had splattered onto the stove seemed to quiet, its earlier sizzle fading into a faint, mocking crackle.I could feel every pair of eyes on me.Some wide.Shocked.U

Melissa.By the time dinner was ready, my arm felt numb.Not because the pain had faded.But because I had grown used to it.The burn from the oil hadn’t disappeared; it had simply settled into something constant, a dull, persistent sting that no longer startled me but refused to be ignored. It throbbed beneath my skin, a quiet reminder with every movement that it was still there. Every time I stirred the pot, every time I lifted a tray or adjusted a plate, the fabric of my sleeve brushed against the tender skin and sent a subtle flare of heat up my arm.It didn’t make me flinch anymore.It just lingered.A steady ache woven into the rhythm of my work.But I finished.Of course I did.Stopping had never truly been an option. Not when expectations hovered as heavily as they did in this house. Not when mistakes were remembered longer than effort.The plates were arranged perfectly, edges aligned, garnishes placed with careful precision. The portions were measured, neither too generous n