Elowen sat on the grass, letting the teenagers hurl insults at her. Lucien stood across from her, watching everything unfold. At last, a look of satisfaction appeared on his face. "Lift your head and let me take a photo. This is what you are supposed to look like."
Lucien walked over, nudged Elowen's chin up with the tip of his shoe, and casually took out his phone to snap pictures. Elowen bit her lip to keep herself from sobbing, but tears streamed down her face under their cruelty. Her shoulders shook violently. Finally, she struggled to her feet and ran with all her strength away from that horrific place.
Lucien watched her retreating figure. The satisfaction on his face vanished, replaced by a cold and dangerous look. A clueless young man came up to him, flattering him. "She really is a disobedient woman. Forget about her. Let us get back to the party, Master Lucien."
He held out a glass of wine to please him, but Lucien's knife sharp gaze instantly left him trembling.
"Disperse."
Those few words left everyone staring at one another in confusion. The party had barely begun. How could it just end like that? Before anyone could figure out what was happening, Lucien had already turned and walked away, heading in the same direction Elowen had fled.
Vanessa would never let Lucien go after Elowen. She sprinted forward and blocked his path. "You are the host of this party. You cannot just leave everyone behind and walk out like that."
Seeing Lucien frown, clearly on the verge of losing his temper, Vanessa hurried to add, "Did uncle William not tell you that you should broaden your social circle? If you leave on your own and bad rumors start spreading, it will not look good. Besides… Elowen cannot possibly escape. So wait until the party is over before you go looking for her."
When she said the last part, Vanessa clenched her teeth, hatred flashing openly across her face. She cursed inwardly. "Damn it. Once I officially become Lucien's girlfriend, I will order my attendants to slash that fox Elowen's face and sell her into a brothel, so she can rot in filth for the rest of her life."
Lucien stared into the darkness ahead for a long moment, then turned back toward the party with a sour expression. It was not that he feared failing to make connections, as Vanessa claimed. He simply did not want others to see just how much he cared about Elowen. And besides, Vanessa was right. Elowen could not escape him.
Elowen ran all the way back to her room, hid in the bathroom, and broke down in sobs. She knew tears were the most useless thing in the world. Even if she cried herself blind, the people outside would still use every means possible to humiliate and torment her. But what else could she do? With no power, no status, no parents to protect her, how could an orphan like her stand against a pack of wolves always waiting to tear her apart?
Hearing the lively laughter outside, Elowen turned on the faucet and washed the wine and cake crumbs off her body. She covered her ears, buried her head between her knees, and trembled uncontrollably. To her, the people outside were demons who devoured others without leaving a trace. She was truly terrified.
Adrian wanted to pull the small girl into his arms and comfort her, but he could not. He clenched his teeth, glaring in fury at the teenagers laughing at someone else's pain. Then he shot out like an arrow. He had to take revenge for her.
On the lawn, the group of students were still eating and drinking, crowding around Lucien and fawning over him. Lucien's face remained icy, showing neither pleasure nor displeasure, his eyes occasionally flicking toward the villa's living quarters.
The one Adrian wanted to teach a lesson most was Lucien, but that brat was too cautious, and he had not yet found a way to deal with him. So he shifted his target to the arrogant students standing nearby. To create a romantic atmosphere, they had lit scented candles instead of using electric lights. With a single flick of his hand, one candle toppled over onto the long mermaid style dress of a girl.
Smelling something burning and realizing her dress was on fire, she panicked and ran around wildly, crashing into several tablecloths at the party. Vanessa, who was standing close by, was dragged into the chaos as well. The flames scorched her skin, sending waves of searing pain through her. In her panic, Vanessa grabbed the hair of the young man who had caused trouble for Elowen, causing the fire to spread to his hair as well. With no other choice, the group scrambled and jumped into the swimming pool to escape.
Even so, the situation for those who were "hit" was far from fine. In the chaos, Vanessa had torn off the burning dress with her own hands. Now she was left wearing only her underwear. The boys standing by the pool stared at her with bulging eyes, their gazes filled with undisguised lewdness as they looked her over.
But their mocking smiles vanished at once when Vanessa's wig slipped off her head, exposing a patch of bare scalp.
Except for Lucien, every male student on the lawn stared in shock at the scene before them.
Although Vanessa was not as beautiful as Elowen, she was still considered one of the prettiest girls in the class. Now, with her scalp scarred and peeling and her whole body soaked through, she looked all the more miserable and unsightly.
At that moment, Vanessa was still drowning in fear, completely unaware of the stares around her. The girls who called themselves her close friends had no intention of warning her either.
Brianna had once been Vanessa's best friend, yet when Brianna died, Vanessa did not shed a single tear. She did not attend the funeral, and even told others that Brianna had poor judgment for falling for a murderer like Nathan, so her death was deserved.