Chapter 68: don’t piss me off

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: don’t piss me off

Jade’s smile didn’t change. "Of course not."

She didn’t give Skye the satisfaction of a another kind of reaction. The group continued into the main living room, where the formal atmosphere settled heavier around them. Dylan gestured lightly between the two sides of the gathering.

"We’ll handle our discussion here. The Luna will keep your partner occupied in the meantime. I trust that won’t be an issue."

All three brothers turned their attention to Amelia at once. The weight of their gazes made her pulse skip—she wondered, briefly, why they were looking to her for the answer instead of simply deciding themselves.

Enzo asked. "Is that what you want? You can still stay with us if you want."

The reminder landed quickly. Fake affection in public. She recovered her expression and gave a small nod.

"Yes. That’s fine."

Jade stepped closer and gestured toward a connecting hallway. "This way."

Amelia turned back toward the brothers just long enough to offer them a soft, carefully loving smile.

"Take care."

Then she let Jade lead her away, skye following behind.

The moment the women were out of immediate earshot, Jade’s tone shifted. "They seem genuinely fond of you."

Amelia kept her steps even. "I’m grateful for the luck I was given. If I hadn’t been tricked into infiltrating their home in the first place, I never would have ended up as their partner. It’s a one-of-a-kind romance story. I’d love to tell it properly someday."

Jade let out a short, sharp scoff. The polite mask slipped. "You’re not fooling anyone with that act. I know you too well. I was literally your best friend."

Amelia glanced sideways at her, expression cool.

"Was. A lot can change when people are apart."

Jade’s smile turned thin and mocking.

"You’re still the same, though. Same quiet little orphan who never quite believed she deserved to be in the room. Still walking around like you’re waiting for someone to notice you’re not enough. I saw the way you looked at Dylan earlier—like some pathetic part of you still hopes there’s a chance to get closer to him again. It’s almost sad. A wish is all it’ll ever be."

"Do you honestly think I came here with them because I wanted to see Dylan?"

"There isn’t any other explanation." Jade gave her a scornful look. "You clearly didn’t come for me. And who else do you even know in this territory?"

They stepped into an open garden Amelia recognized at once. The familiar paths and the carefully kept hedges. The gazebo with its built-in seating, where a small group of women already waited. The sight of it pulled something tight and sore under her ribs.

Jade glanced at her. "You remember this place, don’t you?"

How could she forget?

This garden had held some of the memories she once promised to cherish in her heart always. Evening walks. Quiet conversations under the gazebo roof. Dylan’s soft voice telling her he loved her, that he was committed to their future—every fake promise and love.

They kept walking. "While you were out here collecting false hopes like dusts, this was also one of the places Dylan and I used to be intimate. Funny, isn’t it? You can’t even imagine."

Amelia’s hand curled into a fist at her side.

Jade noticed and the satisfaction that flickered across her face.

I just know you haven’t gotten over him.

"Look at you. Always so composed on the surface, and everyone still treated you like a joke. Do you know what the best part was? While I was playing the devoted best friend, I was the one laughing with them. Half the time I was the one leading the conversation."

A sudden pinch landed at Amelia’s lower back—Skye, close enough to deliver the warning without drawing attention.

"Don’t lose your temper. I want to leave this place the same way I walked in. Got it" she whispered for just her to hear.

Amelia drew a slow breath through her nose. Skye was right. Reacting would only hand Jade exactly what she wanted.

Skye stepped forward to put herself slightly between them.

"Are you finished bragging about how you played secret side-piece while smiling in her face? Congratulations on the prize, by the way—the same man who will almost certainly do to you what he already did to her."

Jade’s eyes flashed. "You’re in my territory. Don’t you dare speak to the Luna like that."

"You think you’re special. Just like she once thought she was special." she gave a humorless smile. "At least Amelia walked away with an upgrade—not one man, but three. Tell me, Jade... what exactly do you think you’ll be left with when he eventually gets bored and dumps you too?"

Jade’s attention snapped back to Amelia, voice tight with warning.

"You’d better keep your maid in check."

When amelia’s gaze met hers, she felt a chill seeing that her eyes held no warmth like it used to.

"And you’d better remember who actually holds more authority here. Your ’husband’..." she let the word hang mockery, "...or the devils that decided to spare this territory?"

They reached the gazebo. The women already seated there rose as one and offered a unified greeting to their Luna. Jade barely acknowledged them. She sat down irritably.

Amelia took the seat across from her and glanced at Skye.

"Sit."

"Two servants don’t sit among royalty. I’m already being generous tolerating one."

Amelia tilted her head, squeezing her eyebrows. "Is that the definition of royalty we’re using now? Sleeping with someone else’s fiancé behind their back and then throwing a tea party about it?"

She looked over at the other women. "Is that a shared hobby, or is she the only one collecting other people’s partners?"

The women shifted uncomfortably, eyes flicking toward Jade as if bracing for an explosion. None of them answered.

Amelia simply looked at Skye again and gave a small, clear gesture toward the empty space beside her. Skye hesitated for half a second—genuinely startled before she sat down.

She had half-expected Amelia to play the part, to put distance between them in front of these women just to prove a point. Instead Amelia was treating the hierarchy like it didn’t exist.

Amelia turned her attention back to the table, scanning the empty surface with mild expectation.

"Where are the treats and delicacies?"

The atmosphere shifted at once.

The polite discomfort on the other women’s faces hardened. One by one their expressions changed, eyes narrowing as they looked at Amelia with open dislike bordering on hate.

Jade leaned back in her seat.

"We didn’t prepare a single thing for a useless, wolfless piece of trash like you." Jade’s cold voice cut through the gazebo. "It’s almost disgusting how stupid you still are—sitting there as if any of us would ever see you as more than what you are. We’re going to drag you back down where you belong. By the time we’re done with you, you’ll wish you had stayed dead instead of crawling back into this territory."