Chapter 36: Rotten Games
They were done waiting.
The men. The exes. All of them.
They tried silence. Control. Force.
It didn't break me.
So now they were trying something worse.
Humiliation.
Eva, the Pretty Viper
Eva strutted into the room like she never left. One leg crossing the other, red heels stabbing the floor, a little more dramatic than necessary.
She laughed too loud. Smiled too wide. And every time Leo entered, she made damn sure her hands were all over him.
He let her.
He didn't flinch. Didn't stop her.
That was the point.
Eva leaned into him, eyes locked on mine.
"So, this is the little heir incubator?"
Leo didn't react.
I didn't either.
She grinned, full of venom. "God, you're even quieter than the last one. At least I used to make him scream."
My nails dug into my palms.
Not from shame.
From rage.
They wanted me to snap. I could see it in Leo's eyes—cool, passive, calculating.
But I didn't. Not yet.
Carla's Cracked Smirk
Adrian played his part next.
Carla was in his lap again, giggling like a devil in heat, sipping wine she didn't pay for and dragging her nails down his chest.
He let her.
He laughed with her. Didn't stop her when she called me a pet, a doll, a mute little breeder.
"She even know how to suck the air out of a room?" Carla purred. "Or does she just lie there and blink real slow while you do the work?"
Adrian looked straight at me.
And smiled.
"Don't knock it till you try it."
That one landed.
It didn't break me.
But it burned.
Nico's Perfect Silence
Nico didn't say a word.
But he let his ex stand behind him while he read, her fingers threading through his hair, touching what I wasn't even allowed to look at.
She whispered things.
Things he let her say.
And he made sure I saw every second of it.
They Wanted Jealousy
They wanted me to react.
To scream. Cry. Crack open.
They wanted to feel powerful again.
To believe I was still something they could shape.
But I gave them nothing.
I sat. I listened. I stared.
And I memorized every move. Every smirk. Every dig. Every weakness.
Because they thought they were in control.
But they forgot something.
Silence isn't surrender.
Sometimes, it's a weapon.
The Setup
Dinner.
Long table. Too many plates. Too many lies.
Eva to Leo's right. Carla to Adrian's left. Nico's shadow sitting too close for anyone's comfort.
And me?
At the end.
Quiet.
Swollen. Unwanted. Outnumbered.
Exactly where they wanted me.
Eva clinked her glass.
"Speech, Sophia," she said, fake sweet. "You've been so quiet. Tell us how it feels to carry their legacy."
I looked up.
Locked eyes with her.
Then Leo.
Then Adrian.
Then Nico.
All of them watching.
Waiting.
Wanting.
I stood up.
Slow. Controlled.
Picked up my glass.
And without blinking—
I threw it.
It shattered at the center of the table. Wine splashed across plates. Forks clattered. Silence fell like a blade.
I leaned forward, voice low. Calm. Measured.
"Next time, it won't be the glass."