Chapter 176\u00a0<\/p>\n
Violet\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room went dead silent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u178c\u17e9 (60)\u00a0<\/p>\n
20 vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
My words echoed against the high walls, and for a moment, everyone went silent. Mouths hung open, eyes widening at my comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The people who had been nodding along with Nora just seconds ago stiffened, their faces flushing red as embarrassment crawled up their necks. Others, those who had stayed quiet, watching from the sidelines, looked entertained. A few even let out soft snickers, quickly covering their mouths, pretending they weren\u2019t amused while clearly enjoying every second of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nora and my aunt looked like they had swallowed something bitter. Their faces were pale, their bodies rigid, trembling not just with anger but with humiliation. I watched them for a moment, and a strange thought crossed my mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How stupid I had been.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How foolish must I have looked back then, letting people like this bully me, control me, and ruin my life whenever they pleased. How dumb was I to endure everything quietly just to protect the few things I loved? Being bullied by stupid people had made me stupid too, or at least, it had convinced me to act like I was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But that was the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If this had happened before, I would have lowered my head. I would have apologized for things I didn\u2019t do. I would have quietly walked away, swallowing my fear and shame like I always did. But now? Now it was different. I wasn\u2019t that woman anymore. I wasn\u2019t the one who silently accepted every insult and every slap disguised as family concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were just loud, ignorant people who had no idea what was coming.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They still believed they were in power. They still thought they were untouchable. They didn\u2019t know that everything they had built, the money, the reputation, the influence they gained by stepping on others, was already crumbling. And the funniest part? They would be the ones to destroy it with their own hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since they loved acting like they were in control, I decided it was time to show them what real control looked like.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My aunt was the first to snap out of her shock. She pointed at me, her hand shaking as she raised her voice. \u201cViolet! How dare you speak to me like that? Have you forgotten who you\u2019re talking to? 1\u2014\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I cut in calmly, tilting my head as if genuinely confused. \u201cDid I say anything wrong?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My tone was indifferent, and bored, and that only made it worse for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou people have been running your mouths without bothering to find out whether I was invited or not. Anyone with basic common sense would ask for proof before accusing someone. Instead, you chose to blame me without a single piece of evidence.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:57 Wed, Jan 21\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 176\u00a0<\/p>\n
60\u00a0<\/p>\n
20 vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
She opened her mouth, clearly ready to explode again, but before she could speak, someone in the crowd\u00a0<\/p>\n
beat her to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s right,\u201d a man said aloud. \u201cYou should\u2019ve asked for proof before jumping to conclusions. That\u2019s not fair.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another voice followed. \u201cThey\u2019re her niece and nephew, aren\u2019t they? Why was she so quick to accuse her like that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Judgmental stares turned toward my aunt from every direction. For the first time tonight, she looked uncertain, her lips pressing together as if her brain had finally caught up with her emotions. She didn\u2019t say another word. But Nora wasn\u2019t done.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stepped forward, her eyes sharp and calculating. \u201cThen tell me, Violet. Were you invited?\u201d She crossed her arms. \u201cIf you were, show us your invitation, and I won\u2019t say another word.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A small smile tugged at her lips. \u201cIn fact, I\u2019ll do more than that. If you were truly invited, I\u2019ll go down on my knees and apologize to you for causing all this drama.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room stirred.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut,\u201d she continued smoothly, \u201cif you weren\u2019t invited, then you will go down on your knees and apologize for barging into this party.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her eyes locked onto mine, burning with intent. She wanted to humiliate me. She wanted to force me out in front of everyone. At this point, embarrassing me had become her life mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo,\u201d Nora said sweetly, gesturing toward me, \u201clet\u2019s see the invitation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My uncle\u2019s voice cut through the tension first.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNora, stop this,\u201d he said sharply. \u201cWhy would you make such a comment? This is unacceptable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a split second, I almost softened because of my uncle, but I hardened my heart again. My uncle might be different from his wife and daughter, but he wasn\u2019t any better. He should have kept his family on a tight leash to begin with.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My aunt rolled her eyes dramatically, as if my uncle had just said something utterly foolish. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s unacceptable at all,\u201d she said. \u201cViolet was the one who claimed she was invited. Why not let her prove it? If she really has an invitation, then she won\u2019t need to go down on her knees. Simple.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My uncle opened his mouth, clearly wanting to argue, but my aunt whispered something in his ear that shut him up instantly. He clenched his jaw and fell silent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked at the two of them, and then slowly shifted my gaze to Nora. I shrugged casually, the movement\u00a0<\/p>\n
relaxed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have an invitation,\u201d I said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nora\u2019s lips curled into a triumphant smile, her eyes lighting up like she had just won something precious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSee?\u201d she said loudly, turning slightly toward the crowd. \u201cI told you. She wasn\u2019t invited.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:57 Wed, Jan 21\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 176\u00a0<\/p>\n
660\u00a0<\/p>\n
20 vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked back at me, her smile widening. \u201cSince you don\u2019t have an invitation, you should go down on your knees and apologize for wasting everyone\u2019s time. That\u2019s only fair, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beside me, Sebastian stiffened. His hands tightened around the wheels of his chair, his jaw set so hard I could see the muscles flexing. The idea of me kneeling in front of these people was clearly something he would\u00a0<\/p>\n
never accept.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou-\u201d he started, his voice shaking with anger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I placed my hand on his shoulder, firm but gentle, stopping him mid-sentence. Then I finished calmly, my voice steady and clear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me finish before you run your mouths. I don\u2019t have an invitation because I don\u2019t need an invitation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room paused at my words. Nora stared at me as if she hadn\u2019t heard me correctly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d she said. \u201cWhat did you just say?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I crossed my arms slowly, tilting my head. \u201cYou\u2019re not deaf, are you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her hand clenched into a fist. \u201cAre you fucking with me right now?\u201d She stepped closer, her heels clicking sharply against the floor. \u201cYou don\u2019t need an invitation? Why wouldn\u2019t you need an invitation? Who do you think you are?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice rose with every word, feeding on the attention of the crowd. \u201cEveryone here is important, ministers, politicians, celebrities. Every single one of them was invited. Who do you think you are that you wouldn\u2019t need one?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Murmurs spread instantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s acting like she\u2019s above everyone,\u201d someone scoffed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s nothing,\u201d another voice added. \u201cShe\u2019s just lying so she won\u2019t have to kneel. The arrogance is ridiculous.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nora\u2019s eyes gleamed, encouraged by the support. She lifted her chin, clearly enjoying this. \u201cEnough of this already, Violet,\u201d she snapped. \u201cShut up and go down on your knees this instant.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She took another step toward me, her tone dropping into something darker. \u201cOr else I\u2019m going to force you to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just as Nora was about to close the distance between us, a voice thundered through the hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:57 Wed, Jan 21\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nights Burn With Regret \u2014 by Nathan Perez 176 Chapter 176\u00a0 Violet\u00a0 The room went dead silent.\u00a0 \u178c\u17e9 (60)\u00a0 20 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-craving-the-guardian-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28092\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}