Villainess on Ice

Chapter 16

It was the day of the exhibition matches. I was seated on the bleachers but closest to the entrance.

“Elara.”

I heard Paisley’s voice call out my name from the side. Turning, I looked toward her.

She was dressed eloquently in a simple show outfit, but it looked good on her.

“You look good, Pai,” I said the moment I was close enough to her, and it wasn’t a lie. “Are you okay?” I noticed the nervous ticking in her frame.

“Thanks. I am just nervous is all.” I just smiled at that. She always did get butterflies before every performance. Big or small.

“Don’t sweat it. You will do great.” I gave her a reassuring smile. “I will be watching and cheering the loudest for you.” I gripped her hands and gave her a gentle squeeze.

Her face did that thing it always does when she wanted to say something but knew it wouldn’t land well. And I already knew what she wanted to say.

“You should be here too. You deserve this more than me.” She stopped to gauge her next words. “You deserve to shine—”

I cut her off. “And I told you to stop worrying yourself about it. Focus on the showcase. I am not the only star that deserves to shine,” I really hated when she dimmed herself for me. She struggled so much to be the best but still sees herself as mediocre. I had watched her do this for years always putting herself second, always making herself smaller so others could look bigger. “Except those losers,” I added, which made her let out a laugh.

The tightness in her finally loosened. I knew she was ready to perform.

“Paisley Morriston.”

Her name was called over the intercom system. I hugged her one last time before she moved toward the middle of the rink where she was to perform.

Gliding over, she performed a soft stroking sequence into a spiral, followed by a layback spin, a waltz jump into a salchow, a footwork sequence, a camel-to-sit spin combination, and finished with a clean double toe loop and a final spiral hold.

I couldn’t stop staring. It was so beautiful.

She was so beautiful.

I didn’t know when I started crying, but I did. Seeing Paisley so happy and full of life brought back a melancholy feeling.

Knowing that she never got to be where she was meant to be because life threw a curve ball at her. She was meant for great things, to be better than everyone else. Watching her now, shining under the lights, only made the weight in my chest heavier. She deserved this stage more than most of the people who would ever stand on it.

“Look who we have here. If it isn’t the disgraced rich heiress,” I heard someone say behind me. I just ignored them and focused on Paisley’s performance.

“Are you still acting tough after being suspended from the figure skating team?” another one said in the same disgusting tone. I just drowned them out, pretending they didn’t exist.

“Is her highness gonna cry?” The last taunt was where I had enough.

“You know, instead of focusing on little old me, why don’t you focus on your amateur moves?” I responded, turning to face them.

“Oh, somebody’s mad. Will your face get as red as your hair?” he chuckled at me.

I recognised them. They were the guys from the photos Dante sent.

It was amusing in a sense how they were offending the same person who could blow their lives with just a phone call. One message to Dante and their little world would burn. The thought almost made me smile.

“You are just angry because you got suspended because of your drug problems,” the moron on the left responded.

Oh, they wanted to talk. f*****g with the wrong person.

“I will take your advice and get tested to see if I have a drug problem,” I hummed, tapping my chin as I spoke. “But while I check for my problem, I would recommend you also get a full STD panel. You know how things fly around.” They stared at me in confusion.

“What are you getting at, Voss?” the moron in the middle asked.

I just turned back to watch Paisley giving her bow as she finished her performance. I clapped as everyone else did.

“When everyone sleeps with an ‘innocent’ girl, somebody is bound to contact the diseases she carries, don’t you think?” I turned to face them, shooting them a smirk as they all stiffened at my words.

Gotcha.

I just walked away, going to the entrance to wait for Paisley to emerge.

Rozetta messing with the entire hockey team was disgusting itself, but it was a move nonetheless a way to get them on her side to do her dirty work for her. She wasn’t just sleeping around. She was collecting pieces, building a network of people who would protect her and attack for her. Clever. Annoying.

“You did great—” I started to say but was stopped by the sound of my own voice.

“What do you want, country bumpkin?”

“Elara Voss, I heard about you slapping Rozetta!” Lila’s voice screeched out. “Who the hell do you think you are? Bullying her because you can.”

“You are a clear sign that money doesn’t buy class.”

“Tell your charity pauper bestie to stay away from me.”

“Elara, I am also from a wealthy family like you!”

“I am tired of you treating everybody else like we are beneath you.”

“Oh no, I forgot.”

“I am very aware of your family’s circumstances wealth bestowed on unfortunate people.”

“I treat you like you are beneath me because you are beneath me. Do you think suddenly having money would make a girl from a run-down town stand on the same social level as me? As I said, money doesn’t buy you class or power.”

I heard the conversation I had with Lila from a few weeks ago being replayed on speaker. I would have been proud of myself for the comebacks, but I suspected it was someone else that was behind this.

A surge of anger filled every part of my being. f**k them. They were trying to paint me as a vicious person.

She wanted to completely ruin me. This was her plan from the get-go. I wanted to laugh at the pettiness.

Fine. If she wanted a war of reputation, she just handed me the first real reason to stop holding back.