tried to lick my aching, bruised lips. Her friend kneed me in the back of my legs, and I fell to my knees.
“You’re easily disposable, Lila. I claimed Maddox a long time ago, and all the girls of Berkshire know he’s my property. That’s the same as playing with fire.”
Maddox… her property?
My stomach cramped, and I busted out laughing. This was probably the most hilarious shit I’ve heard in this decade.
They looked at me like I was a maniac. Maybe I was.
I was about to get my ass beaten, and here I was laughing at my assailants.
Bethany hissed, her face growing red. Poor little, insecure Bethany.
She pressed her thumb against my bleeding lip, and I forced myself not to flinch. She smirked and pressed harder. It hurt so much that unshed tears burnt the back of my eyes. “You’re as pathetic as I thought. Dirt poor, not beautiful enough, so easily forgotten and so easily replaceable that you had to grab onto the richest and most popular guy.”
Her voice told me everything I needed to know.
I was poor and beneath them. Maybe I wasn’t as pretty or as rich as Bethany and the rest of Berkshire, but… Bethany, she felt threatened by me.
“I don't slut shame, but I can smell a bitch from a mile away,” I said lazily. “You smell of jealousy. Very stanky. Go take a shower, sweetie.”
Bethany gave me a disdainful sneer, her face twisting, and I saw all the ugliness she hid beneath the sweet girl mask that everyone loved and bowed down to.
She was Berkshire's official Queen, a pretty face with a nasty soul and a hideous heart. Her minions still had their hands on me, holding me in place and keeping me from attacking them. They had successfully trapped me; my arms twisted painfully behind my back and their knees were pressed into my shoulder blades, keeping me close to the ground.
Bethany crossed her arms over her huge tits, smirking down at me. “How would your grandparents feel if they lost their grocery store? Their only income and source of survival? They’ve had the store for fifteen years now, right? I guess, it's time to close down.”
So, she did her research on me.
Bethany brought her face closer to me, and I saw the evil glint in her eyes. “Tsk, how sad would it be to watch them beg my daddy? I can ruin you and your little family. All I have to do is snap my fingers, and I'll watch you burn to the ground.”
Rage bubbled over. She thought I was weak. She and her minions thought I was helpless.
Bethany gripped my jaw, her long nails digging into my sensitive flesh. “Where's Maddox now? Your hero is not here to save you.”
I let out a small laugh.
Maddox, my hero?
She was mistaken.
I was my own hero.
I didn't need him to protect me or my family. I was my own protector in this story. Like Maddox once said, I didn't need a prince charming or a knight in shining armor.
Bethany's first mistake was standing too close to me. She had underestimated me. Once again.
My head reared back before I brought it forward, slamming my forehead into her nose. Hard.
She screamed, her wails piercing, as she pushed away from me. I twisted my arms away, kicked back at my attackers before standing up on my feet again.
I wasted no time and grabbed Bethany by the throat before she could escape and slammed her against the bathroom's wall.
“Don't. Fuck. With. Me,” I hissed. Blood gushed from her nose; it wasn't broken, but I knew it was probably painful.
She glared at me, but too bad she was no longer in control. Her friends tried to grab my arms, to pull me away from their queen bee, but I held her tighter. Her throat was small and delicate in my hand.
“Don't fuck with me,” I repeated. "You won't like the consequences. You might not like to get your hands dirty, but I don't mind. After all, I'm a poor, dirty rat, right? You don't threaten my grandparents. You don't threaten me. Because trust me, I will destroy you. I have my ways, Bethany Fallon. That's your first and only warning.”
I pushed away from her, and she gasped for breath, wheezing. “You… bitch.”
Suraiya tried to grab me, but I sidestepped out of her way. “You’ll end up with a broken nose, too,” I warned.
She smartly took a step back, and I smiled. Yeah, maybe I did look like a maniac in