Sonia’s expression darkened. “There’s nothing I can do, even if I can’t stand it. Can’t you see that big shot sitting next to Valerie?”
Kieran was born into a family of mystic masters. Though he was young, his name carried weight in Windmere, and Sonia knew better than to offend him. After all, even Lucius and Noah had to show him respect.
Naomi smirked. “Pretty faces always have it easy. Any man can be reeled in with looks like
hers.
“You’d better be careful, Sonia. A man like Mr. White is a rare catch, so you wouldn’t want Valerie to steal him away.”
Sonia’s fingers clenched tight around the dart as Naomi’s warning struck a nerve.
The latter continued rambling, “Think about it. With Mr. White’s methods and character, do you think he’d tolerate Valerie throwing a fit right before his eyes?
“All men share the same weakness–their principles often crumple when faced with beauty.
“Have you ever considered that he might not have let her go for the Woodward family’s sake? Maybe he just couldn’t stand the thought of a beauty like her rotting in a holding cell.”
Realization dawned on Sonia. Of course! Why hadn’t she considered that?
If Lucius ever bothered showing the Woodward family respect, he would have released Valerie the moment Skyler begged him, but that never happened.
So, what exactly had happened to Lucius and Valerie all this time?
Her eyes flicked uneasily toward their table and caught Kieran saying something that made Lucius and Valerie exchange a glance. It was such a tactful, knowing glance, almost like the kind of unspoken understanding between a long–married couple.
Naomi’s words echoed like a curse, shattering the last of Sonia’s composure and twisting her face with rage.
Suddenly, instead of throwing her dart at the bullseye, she whipped it straight at the back of Valerie’s head. It wouldn’t kill, but it’d certainly cause an injury.
Naomi hadn’t expected Sonia to act so recklessly, but as the dart flew, she felt a thrill of excitement.
“Let the drama unfold!” she screamed inwardly and was dying to see Valerie brought down. It served Valerie right for walking around with that vixen’s face and luring men’s eyes wherever
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she went.
12/2
Lucius and Noah both saw Sonia’s dart flying toward Valerie. Their hearts lurched as they tried to shout a warning, but it was too quick.
Just as it was about to hit, Valerie–without turning her head–flicked her pen in one smooth, fluid motion. No one could tell if it was by sheer chance or prediction, but the pen perfectly deflected the dart.
Next, a miraculous, almost impossible scene happened. The dart reversed course and grazed past Sonia’s cheek before embedding itself in the bullseye.
The room fell into an eerie silence. No one would have believed it if they hadn’t seen it with
their own eyes.
After recovering from the shock of the jaw–dropping scene, Noah finally found his voice. “Can anyone tell me what just happened?”
Naomi shrieked, “Sonia, your face!”
A thin trail of blood marked Sonia’s left cheek, and a lock of her hair had been chopped off. She looked utterly disheveled.
Glaring at Valerie, she snapped, “You hurt me on purpose, didn’t you?”
Valerie continued twirling her pen with casual grace and replied, “What was that? I didn’t quite catch you.”
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