Chapter 281


    Chapter 0281


    I carried her back to her chair. Then I took the chair beside her.


    Tiffany and Veronica were sitting on the other side of the table. Tiffany gave me a soft, sad- looking


    smile. Veronica just tly stared.


    I pulled a waffle from a stack at the center of the table onto my own te. As I began to prepare it with


    butter and syrup, I realized just how quiet the rest of the table was.


    Usually the girls were boisterously sharing rumors and gossip, especially the morning after an event.


    This morning, however, everyone was quiet, even Lilliana and Olivia.


    I noticed Susie’s absence. I hoped she was okay. I would have to remember to check on herter. She


    might have had too much socialization yesterday – the unweed kind. It wasn’t unusual for her to


    hide in her room when she was exhausted in that way.


    Even Elva seemed quieter than usual, as if she was feeling the downtrodden vibe of the rest of the


    room.


    I quietly ate my waffle.


    “Are you okay?” Veronica asked suddenly, startling me. I nced up and found her looking at me. “Last


    night was…” Her gaze shifted to Elva, who had lifted her head, clearly listening too. “I just want to make


    sure you are okay. You disappeared.”


    I’d worn a long sleeve dress this morning, but even those sleeves couldn’t entirely cover the ugly


    bruises around my wrists. Veronica undoubtedly noticed. She nced at them again, now.


    I lowered my hands down into myp.


    “I’m…” I didn’t know how to answer. I wasn’t okay, not fully. I was hurt and felt a bit broken. The very


    thought of Terry made me shudder in fear. “I’m getting there.”


    Veronica nodded grimly.


    “Nichs and Julian bolted so fast when they realized you weren’t in the room,” Tiffany said. “Susie


    said Terry was taking you on a private tour… That seemed kind of odd, given that we’d already been on


    a tour…’


    Veronica gave Tiffany a telling look. Tiffany shrank in her chair.


    “Sorry,” she said.


    “Don’t apologize,” I said. I understood where she wasing from. To someone who didn’t fully


    understand what was happening, the action would seem odd. Terry was respected. People’s first


    thought might not be that he was dangerous.


    A notion I wanted to correct. At the very least, I could give those listening a warning.


    “But…” I said. “If Terry invites you to be alone with him, don’t go. Do not be alone with him, not if you


    can help it.”


    Tiffany nodded grimly. Veronica stared.


    “So the tumor was true,” said a strong feminine voice from the dining room entryway. I looked up to see


    the Lama standing there, frowning at me. “You seduced my brother, and now you deign to badmouth


    him.”


    My eyes went wide. My heart sunk down into my stomach. Exactly what had she heard? Had Terry told


    her this lie?


    “I can assure you that wasn’t what happened,” I said.


    “Spare me your false exnations. I know what kind of girl you are. The video evidence is clear


    enough,” the Luna said. She openly red at me. “Everyone saw how you flirted with Terry.”


    I flirted with him?! No way! He flirted with me! Not the other way around.


    But I had to be careful here. I couldn’t just yell at the Queen, no matter how much I wanted to defend


    myself. I had no power here. She could expel me from thepetition for simply raising my voice.


    “I hope you haven’t forgotten the rules, Piper,” the Luna continued. “You are not to flirt with anyone but


    the princes. You are treading on dangerous ground, the kind that could have you removed from the


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