Chapter 65 Public humiliation 2

Chapter 65: Chapter 65 Public humiliation 2

Talia’s POV

There were loud gasps, before the hall went quiet again.

Wolves stared, some covered their mouths, while others leaned closer, not wanting to miss a single word.

"I drugged the drink I gave her," Vivienne lifted her head, and her eyes found mine. "I wanted her to embarrass herself in front of all of you. I wanted her to fall, and I wanted Celeste to be Luna."

Celeste gasped. "Mother, stop. Please stop."

But Vivienne did not listen.

Celeste grabbed her mother’s arm. "Stop. Please stop. They will lock you away."

Vivienne shook her off. "I do not care. Let them lock me away. I have nothing left to lose."

"You have me," Celeste said, with tears streaming down her face.

Vivienne laughed. "You? You are useless. You could not even keep the Alpha’s attention, and you let him choose that ugly creature over you."

Celeste flinched like she had been slapped. She stepped back, as her face crumbled.

Wolves whispered and pointed. Some looked at Celeste with pity, while others looked at her with disgust.

"She planned to destroy the Luna," someone said. "And now she is turning on her own daughter."

She laughed again. "You think that is all?"

She turned to look at Edmund, who was standing near the table, with his face pale, and his hands shaking.

"I used witchcraft to make him marry me," Vivienne said. "I put a spell on him so he would neglect his own daughter."

Edmund’s face went white. His eyes widened, and he looked at Vivienne like he did not recognize her.

"What?" he whispered.

"The sorcerer warned me," Vivienne continued. "If anyone ever found out, the charm would break." She laughed. "And now, you all know."

Edmund swayed on his feet. He grabbed the table to steady himself, as his face was pale from shock, and his hands were shaking even more.

He looked at me properly for the first time in fifteen years. His eyes were red, and his jaw was trembling.

"Luna Talia," he said. His voice was barely a whisper. "I did not know, and I did not remember."

I did not answer. Because what was I supposed to say? That I forgave him? That fifteen years of neglect meant nothing?

I could not.

"The spell made me forget," he said. "It made me push you away. I did not mean..."

"It does not matter now," I said. My voice was colder than I intended.

Edmund’s face crumbled, and he looked away.

Vivienne laughed again. "He is free now, and the spell is broken. But it is too late, because he will never get back the years he has lost with you."

Celeste stepped back from her mother. Her face was pale, and her body was shaking, like she had caught a cold.

It seemed she knew about the plan to drug me, as she had helped plan it. But she did not know about the witchcraft.

Celeste’s world was crumbling. Not just the plan to drug me, and not just the public shame. But her mother, the woman she loved, and the woman she trusted. That woman was a stranger now, a monster, and a witch.

Celeste had lost everything tonight. She lost her reputation, her future, and her mother.

I should have felt sorry for her, but I did not.

"Mother," she whispered. "What have you done?"

Vivienne did not answer. She was still laughing, still struggling against the guards, and still lost in the poison and her own madness.

The laughter was worse than the screaming.

It bounced off the walls and crawled under my skin. I wanted her to stop, I wanted her to cry, to beg, and to apologize. But she just laughed, like everything was a joke, like my mother’s death was a joke, and like fifteen years of my pain was a joke.

I hoped she would laugh like that in whatever cell they put her in.

The hall was still silent as no one moved, and no one spoke. Not even servants, because everyone was just staring at Vivienne.

I watched from across the room as my heart was pounding loudly, and my hands were shaking with rage from the mention of my mother, and I did not smile.

I did not need to.

The truth was out, and everyone knew now what she had done to my mother, what she had planned for me, how she had manipulated Edmund, and how she had ruined my family.

Fifteen years of wondering, of nightmares, and fifteen years of thinking my mother died because of an accident. But it was not an accident. It was because of Vivienne.

The woman who had smiled at me and called me ugly. The woman who had starved me and locked me in the dark. That same woman had killed my mother, and now everyone knew.

She had tried to destroy me, but her plans had backfired. And now, she had destroyed herself.

I looked at Kaelen.

His hand was still on my back, warm, and steady. He did not say anything, and honestly, he did not need to.

I looked back at Vivienne.

The guards were standing over her, ready to drag her away, or punish her, if the orders were given. Her feet were shaking on the floor. Celeste stood frozen, crying, while Edmund was on his knees, with his face in his hands.

And I just stood there watching, breathing, and surviving.