Chapter 117
This time, I’m not soaked.
And no one was hurt.
My hand presses to my temple. Thank gods.
The applause hasn’t even finished fading when Vivian’s voice cuts through it.
“She rigged it!” She points innocently. “I’m sorry! But! She did!”
The room stills.
I turn just in time to see her step forward, looking shy like I might bite. “The punch bowl. She staged it. Created a fake disaster just so she could swoop in and save everyone! I saw her by the punch bowl earlier take out one of the…pegs. Sister, I’m sorry but I can’t let you endanger anyone!”
A ripple moves through the crowd.
“She’s desperate,” Vivian continues smoothly. “Her standing is already in ruins. Of course she’d try something dramatic to regain favor, especially in front of Dominic’s parents.”
My chest tightens.
A few people nod. Quietly. Thoughtfully.
“I mean,” someone murmurs, “no one else saw it wobble.”
“And she has been under scrutiny,” another adds.
I feel the ground tilt beneath me, the cheers curdling into something colder.
“You think I made it happen?” I snap, heat rushing to my face. “Would you have preferred I let it fall? Let it soak you all again just to prove a point?”
Vivian doesn’t miss a beat.
“If you caused the problem yourself,” she says like she isn’t sure, “i-tt isn’t a good deed at all.”
She slips her arm through Dominic’s.
My breath catches.
“Don’t you think?” she adds, tilting her head toward him, inviting agreement like it’s a foregone conclusion.
Dominic doesn’t speak.
He just looks at me.
And for a second looks at me with a look I can’t read.
He opens his mouth.
I open mine.
Then-
Clap.
The sound cracks through the ballroom like a whip.
Everything stops.
Chrape
+30 Bonus
Dominic’s parents slowly rise.
“That’s enough,” his mother says, unusually peppy.
Silence falls so completely it feels heavy.
“Many young women showed promise tonight,” Dominic’s father continues. “However, only a few will be considered moving forward.”
Oh. Okay we’re just…moving on? Guess it’s not worth their time.
The first few names are called first.
Two girls I recognize don’t recognize-daughters of high-ranking packs, immaculate reputations, wealth and lineage written into every step they take.
“There is one candidate,” Dominic’s mother says, “who shows potential but lacks the patience and composure we require.”
The pause stretches.
“Second place,” she finishes. “Vivian.”
The room gasps.
Vivian’s smile falters.
Shock ripples outward. Whispers bloom like wildfire.
“Vivian is…second?!”
“Wait, but then…who’s…”
Vivian straightens quickly, chin lifting again, but there’s a crack now.
Then comes the final announcement.
“Our top choice for the evening,” Dominic’s mother says, “subject to future evaluation…”
“…is Ellie.”
The world explodes.
Gasps. Cheers. Shouted disbelief. None more the my own.
I want to melt into nothing. How? How did that even-
Vivian whirls. “What? That makes no sense!”
You’re telling me.
Dominic’s mother doesn’t even look rattled.
“Ellie never chased my son,” she says evenly. “She never begged or demanded his attention. She waited.”
Her gaze shifts, sharp and knowing.
“And he approached her of his own will-again and again.”
Dominic stiffens beside me.
“Beyond that,” the Luna continues, “she demonstrated leadership. Not through theatrics or performance, but through decisive action when others froze.”
+30 Bonus
Vivian lunges forward. “She staged it!”
“Do you have proof?” Dominic’s mother asks calmly.
Vivian opens her mouth.
Nothing comes out.
The silence is damning
“Then I don’t care, and the judgment stands,” the Luna says.
I barely hear the applause this time.
I’m too busy standing there, stunned, the weight of it crashing over me all at once.
I didn’t come here to…win. But…
As the room buzzes and the memory finally shifts, rewritten not with humiliation but with choice, I realize something quietly, unexpectedly true.
This outcome —
This moment-
Might be exactly what I came for after all. To change.
It just didn’t go how I planned.
Comments
Support
Share
+30 Bonus
