Chapter 16 #2
Liv had completely lost it. She didn't even care where she was. She raised her hand at Arian.
My heart seized. I rushed forward and pulled Arian behind me. Liv's hand came down, and her manicured nails raked across my cheek, leaving a stinging pain.
"You're bleeding!" Arian started crying in fear.
I touched my face and found a thin, bleeding scratch. Not serious, but rage filled me nonetheless.
"You were going to hit my child?" I glared at Liv, every word forced through clenched teeth. "Liv, I'm warning you—as long as I'm here, you won't lay a finger on him! Touch him once, and I'll make you pay!"
"Oh, I'm so scared." Liv patted her chest dramatically. "A lowly Omega thinks she can fight back? I could discipline him and you together, and what could you do about it?"
SLAP!
I slapped her hard across the face. Her cheek instantly swelled, and her carefully styled hair came undone.
"You—!" she screamed.
"How dare you—"
"Damn right I hit you!" I snarled and raised my hand again, slapping her other cheek.
"No one touches my child!"
"You're insane!" Liv screamed, trying to block my attacks. She recovered from the shock, her eyes reddening with fury. It looked like she was about to shift and fight me—
Just then, Elias's voice thundered from downstairs. "What are you doing? Stop it!"
Elias strode up the stairs, followed by several suited assistants. He had clearly just returned from the company.
Seeing his furious expression, I assumed, based on past experience, that he was here to defend Liv.
So he really did rush back for her.
The moment Liv saw him, she switched to a delicate, pitiful demeanor. She stumbled toward Elias's embrace, tears flowing on command. "Elias, you're finally here. Look at my face—look what she did to me! I don't even know what I did to make her angry. The moment she saw me, she attacked!"
I looked at them coldly, not bothering to argue with Liv. Instead, I crouched down to comfort the crying Arian. Four years of experience had taught me that defending myself was pointless. Elias would always choose to believe Liv.
But to my surprise, Elias didn't take Liv's bait. Instead, he stared fixedly at the small wound on my cheek.
His voice was tight with suppressed fury. "Did you do that to her face, Liv?"
Liv froze. "No… it wasn't me! She scratched herself by accident!"
I couldn't help glancing at the two of them. The way Elias looked at Liv was ice-cold. I almost thought I was seeing things. And Liv seemed oblivious.
"I'll give you one more chance, Liv." He walked over to me, crouched down, and gently touched my face. His movements were tender in a way that didn't seem like him. He turned to look at Liv, his tone the opposite—ruthlessly cold. "Tell me the truth."
"I… I…" Liv looked between us, clearly wavering. But she stuck to her lie. "I am telling the truth! Elias, don't you believe me? What did Serenity say to make you act like this? I—"
"I believe in evidence." Elias cut off her defense and pulled out his phone. "Liv, why do you think I rushed back with people?"
He opened a security app on his phone.
"You probably didn't know, but to keep Arian safe, I had hidden cameras installed around his room after he was born." Elias played a clip from the footage. The image of Liv raising her hand at Arian, me protecting him, and her nails scratching my cheek was crystal clear.
My face paled. I hadn't realized my life here had been under his surveillance all along. Disgust grew stronger inside me. But compared to me, Liv was even worse.
All of Liv's bravado crumbled. Her shoulders sagged in defeat. She stammered, "Elias, I can explain…"
"No. I don't want to hear your explanation," Elias said firmly. "You tried to hurt my son, and you intended to keep hurting my mate. Liv, I can't tolerate you any longer."
He called out to the people he'd brought. "Notify HR and Finance. Liv no longer works at the company. Handle her severance and replace her immediately."
I held my child and watched silently, occasionally murmuring comfort to him, observing this drama unfold before me like a stage play.
Although I was surprised that Elias would actually punish Liv, on second thought, it was probably because of Arian.
This was just a father giving his child an explanation. He'd probably fire Liv from the company today and coax her back tomorrow.
"Also," Elias continued—he wasn't finished, "Herman, spread my order to every pack member. Liv Laster is hereby banned from the Vernal mansion. Anyone who sees her here has the authority to remove her. Take her away now and keep her under watch."
"Yes, sir."
"What?" Liv panicked completely. "No! Elias, you can't do this to me!"
I was stunned too.
Getting fired from the company and being banned from the mansion were entirely different things. The first could be written off as a lovers' quarrel, easily reversed later. But the latter… would leave Liv with almost nowhere to stand in the pack.
But why? Didn't he love Liv the most?
While I was trying to understand, Liv was grabbing Elias's arm and pleading. But Elias didn't hesitate, waving coldly. "Take her away."
Two warriors stepped forward and forcibly grabbed her arms, dragging her out. Liv struggled and screamed, her makeup smeared by tears—more pathetic than I'd ever seen her.
Elias simply turned his back on her. The moment he turned, a flash of venom crossed Liv's eyes. But it disappeared so quickly I almost thought I'd imagined it.
After the mansion fell quiet again, Elias walked toward me and carefully touched my cheek again. "Does it hurt?"
But I stepped back.
"Serenity?" He looked startled.
I lowered my eyes and held Arian tighter.
"Elias, haven't you had enough of this farce?" I took a deep breath. I didn't want to stay here another second. His relationship with Liv had nothing to do with me. I just wanted my peaceful life back.
"I don't love you anymore. I don't want to be dragged into your drama with Liv. I was exiled long ago. I don't want to come back to Vernal. When will you understand that? I would rather die than stay here!"