[ I Fell In Love With My Own Daughter ]

A Good Revenge Idea

Chapter 7: The Punishment of a Queen

The air in the VIP room, which only moments ago had been thick with a desperate, aggressive heat, suddenly turned ice-cold. The sound of their labored breathing was the only thing filling the silence as Luvia Stone pulled back. Her hands, which had been framing Eliza’s face with such possessive force, now trembled as she dropped them to her sides.

Luvia’s "overthinker" brain, which had short-circuited during the kiss, was back online, and it was screaming at her. She saw the shock in Eliza’s eyes, the way her emerald dress was slightly rumpled, and the way her lips were swollen from the intensity of the contact.

Luvia took a stumbling step back, her back hitting the far wall. She looked like a woman waking up from a fever.

"I am sorry, Eliza," Luvia said, her voice cracking—a sound so rare it felt like the foundation of the building was shifting. "I... I was wrong. You are not an asset. You are not a project. You don't belong to me unless you want to. You have every right to live your life exactly the way you want to, with whoever you want."

Eliza remained pinned against the door, her hand hovering over her heart. She couldn't find her voice. Her mind was a kaleidoscope of the night’s events: the shopping, the laughter with her friends, and now this raw, bleeding honesty from the most powerful woman she knew.

"I just..." Luvia continued, her gaze dropping to the floor, unable to meet Eliza's eyes. "It was the first time in my entire life that I wanted something just for me. I saw you smiling at those people, and for the first time, I felt the crushing weight of my own selfishness. I wanted that smile to be my own private sun. I know how it looks. It looks toxic. It looks like the behavior of a woman who thinks she can buy the world."

Luvia looked up then, a flash of the old "Stone" fire in her eyes, though it was softened by a deep vulnerability. "But the kiss... Eliza, I am not sorry for the kiss. The possessiveness was a mistake, and I won't stop you from being who you are ever again. But that kiss? That was real. It wasn't because of a desire for power. It was because I am falling, and I didn't know how else to stop the descent."

Eliza stayed silent. Her throat felt tight. There were a thousand things she wanted to say—that she wasn't scared, that she had felt the fire too—but the shock was too deep. She simply turned, unlocked the heavy mahogany door, and slipped out into the hallway, leaving Luvia alone in the dim light of the VIP room.

The Counsel of a Friend

The taxi ride back to the apartment was a blur of neon lights and rain-slicked streets. When Eliza walked through the door, the emerald silk dress looked out of place against the peeling wallpaper and the modest furniture. Teliny was still awake, sitting on the sofa with a notebook, waiting for her friend.

"Eliza! You’re back! How was—" Teliny stopped mid-sentence. She saw Eliza’s face. "Oh no. What did she do? Did she fire you?"

Eliza collapsed onto the sofa next to her friend, the silk of her gown rustling. "She kissed me, Teliny. In the VIP room. It was... it was a lot."

For the next two hours, Eliza poured her heart out. She told Teliny everything: the way Luvia had snapped at the gala, the aggressive way she had pulled her away, the possessive things she had said, and the way she had apologized afterward.

Teliny listened, her expression serious as she scribbled a few notes in her notebook—habitual for a girl who had to organize her life just to survive.

"Okay, look at me," Teliny said, taking Eliza’s hands. "You need to focus on two things. First, what she said about you not talking to others or smiling? That was wrong. That’s the 'Boss' trying to own the 'Employee.' It’s a red flag, Eliza. In our world, if a man said that to us, we’d run."

Eliza nodded slowly. "I know. It felt... suffocating."

"But," Teliny continued, "look at the second part. She realized it. Most people like Luvia Stone never apologize. They just break things until they get what they want. But she stopped herself. She admitted she has no right to control you. She recognized her own toxicity and stepped back to give you your freedom back. That... that shows a right heart, Eliza. She’s fighting her own nature for you."

Eliza leaned her head on Teliny’s shoulder. "She said she wasn't sorry for the kiss, though. She said it was real."

"Well," Teliny smirked. "Was it?"

Eliza didn't answer, but the faint blush on her cheeks told Teliny everything she needed to know.

The Office and the Saboteur

The next morning, the Stone Corporation was humming with its usual energy, but for Eliza, the air felt electric. She walked through the lobby, her heart hammering against her ribs. She was wearing her usual professional attire, but she felt like everyone could see the "emerald girl" underneath.

As she approached the executive elevators, she ran into Ron. He was holding two cups of coffee and looking particularly cheerful.

"Rough night at the gala?" Ron asked, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "The gossip mill is working overtime. People saw Luvia drag you away like a Viking raider."

Eliza looked down, biting her lip. "It was... complicated, Ron. She apologized this morning. She’s trying to be 'better' and give me space, but I don't know how to act around her now."

Ron laughed, a deep, belly-shaking sound. He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "You know, Eliza, Luvia is a woman of rules. She’s spent her life making them and forcing everyone else to follow them. She’s currently in her office, probably overthinking herself into a migraine, trying to be 'respectful' and 'professional' to make up for last night."

Eliza looked up. "Is she?"

"Oh, she’s miserable," Ron grinned. "She hates giving up control. If you really want to get a good revenge on her—if you want to punish her for being such a possessive overthinker—I have an idea."

"What?"

"Kiss her," Ron said simply. "But not in private. Not where she can control the environment. Kiss her in the middle of the cafeteria. Right in front of the High Department managers. The ones who tried to bully you."

Eliza’s eyes went wide. "Ron! I couldn't!"

"Think about it," Ron urged, his grin widening. "It would be the ultimate punishment. Luvia Stone, the woman of mystery and iron-clad privacy, becoming the number one gossip topic of the century. She wouldn't be able to refuse you—we both know she’s wrapped around your finger—but the embarrassment and the loss of her 'scary' reputation would be a hilarious torture for her. It would show her that you are the one in charge of the narrative, not her."

Ron patted her on the shoulder and walked away, chuckling to himself. "Just a thought, Eliza! Revenge is best served with a side of public scandal!"

Eliza stood alone by the elevators, her mind racing. She thought about Luvia’s apology—the way she had tried to be "good" by stepping back. She thought about the "Trio of Iron" and the way they still whispered behind her back.

A slow, playful smirk began to form on Eliza’s lips. It wasn't the "sweet girl" smile, and it wasn't the "secretary's shadow" smile. It was something new.

She thought about Luvia sitting in that cold office, trying so hard to be professional. Eliza realized that she didn't want a "professional" boss. She wanted the woman who had kissed her with such fire. And maybe, just maybe, Ron was right. Maybe the best way to handle a woman who tried to own the world was to show the world exactly who she belonged to.

Eliza adjusted her blazer, took a deep breath, and stepped into the elevator. The "punishment" was already beginning to take shape in her mind.