Hazel’s POV
“You can’t just let her humiliate me!”
Liora’s screech sliced through the silence like glass under a hammer. Her voice cracked on the last word, high and raw, the kind of sound that made your ears hurt.
I sighed.
Long. Loud. Dramatic.
I really didn’t want to be part of this circus anymore. I just wanted to eat my damn fruit in peace without someone screaming like a banshee every five seconds.
I turned to Nicholas, fork still in hand.
“Tell that woman to shut up,” I said flatly. “I just want to eat in peace. Do something, Nicholas.”
The room flinched at the casual way I said his name—like we were equals. Like I wasn’t supposed to grovel.
Nicholas’s eyes narrowed to slits. Veins bulged in his neck.
Liora kept going, voice rising. “Do you hear her? She’s ordering you aro
