\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa is confronted by a man she believes to be Finley, the eldest son of the Paxton family. Despite a faint resemblance to Leopold, Finley\u2019s demeanor is cold and ruthless, contrasting with Leopold\u2019s arrogance. Larissa, focused on arranging herbs on the ground, speaks to him with a calm but distant tone, making it clear she no longer considers herself his sister and shows no respect for him.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finley is angered by her dismissive attitude and accuses her of mistreating Honora, including demanding her departure from the family and even slapping her. In response, he deliberately crushes some of Larissa\u2019s precious herbs underfoot, provoking a sharp reaction from her. Larissa rises fearlessly to confront him, ignoring his accusations and instead offers him a chance to restore the destroyed herbs, a suggestion that Finley finds audacious and laughable.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Finley mocks the value of the crushed plants, calling them worthless weeds, Larissa shocks him by revealing their enormous worth\u2014at least fifty million dollars\u2014and recounts how their mother had tried to buy her loyalty for ten million, which she refused. Finley\u2019s frustration grows as Larissa presses him on how he intends to pay for the damage.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa challenges Finley further, implying that if he cannot pay with money, he will have to pay with something else\u2014specifically, the foot he used to destroy her plants. Her bold stance and unwavering gaze leave Finley unsettled, highlighting the tension and conflict between them.<\/p>\n
The man standing before Larissa appeared to be in his mid-twenties. There was a faint resemblance to Leopold, yet where Leopold carried an air of arrogance, this man radiated a chilling coldness and ruthless intent. If Larissa\u2019s instincts were correct, this had to be Finley, the eldest son of Paxton.<\/p>\n
Without lifting her gaze from the herbs she was carefully arranging on the ground, Larissa spoke in a flat, measured tone. \u201cI am Larissa, daughter of the Judson family, yes,\u201d she confirmed. \u201cBut if you came here to find me, you should already know I\u2019m no longer your sister. So, what is it you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
Finley watched her closely, noting how absorbed she was in her task, deliberately ignoring his presence. Leopold had not exaggerated\u2014this sister of his was remarkably arrogant, showing him no respect whatsoever.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you realize who I am, and this is how you treat me?\u201d Finley\u2019s voice was tight with barely contained anger.<\/p>\n
Larissa finally glanced up, her eyes sharp and dripping with disdain. \u201cTsk. With the kind of attitude your family has, I\u2019d treat your parents the same way. What kind of welcome were you expecting?\u201d She let out a short, mocking laugh.<\/p>\n
Finley\u2019s entire expression hardened, the coldness in his eyes deepening. Now it was clear\u2014this so-called sister didn\u2019t deserve even the smallest shred of courtesy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was away on business,\u201d he said, stepping closer, \u201cbut Leopold told me that the moment you arrived, you demanded Honora leave the family. And yesterday, you even slapped her. Is that true?\u201d<\/p>\n
Without hesitation, he deliberately stepped on a fresh bundle of her herbs, grinding his shoe into them until they were reduced to dust.<\/p>\n
Larissa\u2019s hands froze. Her eyes flared with a dangerous spark as she finally met his gaze fully. He looked down on her as if she were a mere insect he could crush without effort.<\/p>\n
Slowly, she rose to her feet, meeting his stare squarely, unafraid. She ignored his question. \u201cI\u2019m going to give you a chance,\u201d she said, her voice steady and emotionless.<\/p>\n
Her unwavering gaze seemed to unsettle him for a moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cA chance for what?\u201d he asked, skeptical.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo restore the herbs you just destroyed,\u201d Larissa replied calmly.<\/p>\n
Finley stared at her in disbelief for a moment before bursting into laughter. \u201cLeopold was right. You really are\u2026 audacious.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea of him replacing a crushed weed was utterly ridiculous. His amusement faded as quickly as it had come, replaced by a cold, hard glare.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what if I refuse?\u201d he challenged, raising his foot again, ready to crush another plant.<\/p>\n
Larissa didn\u2019t flinch or move to stop him. \u201cDo you even know what those two plants you just stomped on are worth?\u201d she asked, her tone cool and measured.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re just weeds. Worthless, just like you,\u201d Finley sneered.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least fifty million dollars,\u201d Larissa said without hesitation. \u201cAt a Regal City auction, each would start at ten million.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her words hung in the air, heavy and deliberate.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother came to me this morning with a ten-million-dollar offer to buy my loyalty,\u201d she continued, voice unwavering. \u201cI refused. Because to me, ten million dollars is worth less than a single one of my herbs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finley\u2019s eyes darkened, his expression growing colder. \u201cI didn\u2019t come here to listen to your nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo how will you pay?\u201d Larissa pressed on, her voice calm but firm. \u201cCash or bank transfer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLarissa!\u201d he snapped, frustration evident in his tone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t want to pay?\u201d she said, her eyes scanning him from head to toe with a hint of challenge. \u201cThat\u2019s a shame. If you can\u2019t pay with money, you\u2019ll have to pay with something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her gaze lingered on the foot he had used to crush her herbs. \u201cWe\u2019ll take the foot you used to destroy my plants. Though I doubt one of your feet is worth that much\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
Wings of Broken Time by Alina Das 39 Wings of Broken Time by Alina Das 39 Summary \u00a0 Larissa is […]<\/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":[89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-throne-of-thorns-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30558","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=30558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30558\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}