Page 89 of Villainess's Redemption
“No!” The word exploded from me. “Are you even listening to what you’ve just said? That’s exactly what I don’t want. No more schemes, no more plots.”
“Since when did you become so… soft?” She spat the word like poison.
“Since I realized where all this plotting leads,” I gestured around us. “Look at us, Mother. Really look. We’re destroying ourselves and others for what? A better seat at dinner parties? This is not us. This is notyou. Look deep inside you, mother. You don’t want to be this… this vicious woman. I know this.”I had learned so much about her during our exile.
For a moment mother looked like she was contemplating my words and I thought it worked but then mother’s face hardened. “You sound just like your father when he’s had too much wine. All philosophy and no sense.”
“Better that than no conscience at all.”
The slap echoed in the dusty room. My cheek stung, but I didn’t flinch.
“How dare you?” Mother’s voice shook. “Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for this family. For you!”
“And I’m trying to save what’s left of it,” I touched my cheek. “Whether you understand that or not.”
“Save it?” She laughed bitterly. “You’ve just destroyed everything we’ve built. Years of careful maneuvering, gone because you’ve decided to play at being righteous?”
“Mother—”
“No.” She held up her hand. “If you go through with this divorce, don’t bother coming home. The D’Arcane mansion’s doors will be closed to you. Forever.”
I swallowed hard. Even knowing this might happen, the words still cut deep. “You’d choose social standing over your own daughter?”
“My daughter?” Her laugh was brittle. “My daughter died the moment she chose to throw away everything I’ve given her. I don’t know who you are anymore.”
If only you knew.
She straightened her spine, every inch the aristocrat despite her disheveled appearance. “Make your choice, Ilyana. Your family or this… whatever this is.”
I met her gaze steadily. “I already have.”
The silence stretched between us like a chasm, filled with years of expectations and disappointments. Finally, Mother turned toward the door, her skirts rustling against the worn carpet.
“Then you are no daughter of mine.”
The door closed behind her with a soft click that somehow hurt more than if she’d slammed it. I sank into a dusty chair, wondering if saving my family meant losing them first.
A spider crawled across the window, its web catching the late afternoon sun.At least someone’s building something in this room.
Chapter 23
I stepped out of the room, my shoulders slumped in defeat. Laurel’s anxious face greeted me, her brows furrowed with concern.
“Well?” she asked, wringing her hands.
I looked up, a slow smile spreading across my face. Then, unable to contain my joy any longer, I let out an ecstatic shriek.
“I’m free!” I exclaimed, throwing my arms around Laurel.
We hugged tightly, bouncing on our toes like giddy children. The weight of my cage had finally lifted, and I felt lighter than air.I am a bird. No, I’m air itself.
“Oh, Laurel,” I said, pulling back to look at her, “I’ve been disowned by mother, but I couldn’t care less!”
Laurel’s eyes widened. “Disowned? But my lady—”
I waved off her concern. “It’s a small price to pay for freedom. Now, let’s go celebrate with some of that delicious food in the courtroom, shall we?”
Winning back my mother wouldn’t be easy but it was doable. So, I wasn’t worried.
