Gasps swept through the crowd. Whispers erupted like wildfire.
“Did you see that?”
“Poor Marina!”
“Vivienne has completely lost it.”
“That’s Mr. Dominic’s wife—why is she striking her?”
All eyes dug into me, sharp and accusing, but I didn’t care. Not anymore.
“You think I haven’t seen through you?” I shouted, my voice raw and shaking with years of silent fury. “You slithered into my life, whispered lies into Dominic’s ear, poisoned his heart against me. You destroyed my family! And now—you tried to kill my son!” The words ripped from me, every syllable scorched with truth. “You can smear your face with tears and pretend to be fragile, but I know exactly what you are—a scheming, venomous snake!”
Marina’s sobs intensified, her head shaking as if she were the wronged angel. The crowd’s hearts softened for her, but I saw the poison beneath.
Then Dominic’s voice rolled like thunder behind me.
“Vivienne!”
I spun just in time to see his hand rise. The slap struck me with brutal force, knocking me backward.
He loomed over me, every inch the tyrant. “After trying to poison my son, you dare touch the woman I loved first? If it weren’t for that cursed arranged marriage, Marina would have been my wife!”