Chapter 23: I’ll Tear Your Mouth Apart!
Caroline stood with her back straight, leaning casually against the second-floor railing, her eyes locked on Elizabeth. There was no fear in her gaze—only the quiet confidence of a woman who had endured much, and now, finally, knew her worth. She had been pushed to the brink, but this house was hers now, and no one would take it from her.
Elizabeth, standing below her, was seething with rage. Her face twisted with fury. “Who are you calling a dog?” she snapped, her voice thick with venom.
Caroline’s lips curled into a faint, almost mocking smirk. “Who else could it be?” she replied coolly, her voice dripping with disdain.
The words stung Elizabeth, her fists clenching at her sides. “Caroline, I see you’ve gotten bolder after a few days apart,” she spat, the bitterness in her tone palpable. “Do you really think I can’t deal with you now?”
For years, the two women had clashed, their rivalry fierce and unrelenting. Elizabeth, the biological daughter of the Brooks family, had always seen Caroline as the interloper, the unwanted outsider. Everything Caroline liked, Elizabeth wanted to claim for herself. Every mistake that was made, Elizabeth had found a way to pin it on Caroline.
Caroline had always been the one to take the blame, the one who suffered silently while Elizabeth took everything she could. But it had all gone too far when her first time had been sold to a stranger. That was a betrayal Caroline could never forgive.
“Say what you came to say,” Caroline said sharply, her tone unwavering. “If not, there’s the door.”
Elizabeth’s eyes burned with fury. How dare Caroline speak to her like this? “How dare you talk to me like that!” Elizabeth hissed, seething. “Fine, I’ll make you regret this!”
She couldn’t bear being put down any longer. Elizabeth, the one who had always lorded over Caroline, couldn’t stand being humiliated now that the tables had turned. She charged up the stairs, her hand outstretched, her fingers aiming to grab Caroline’s hair and yank her down.
Caroline didn’t flinch. With a swift and graceful move, she sidestepped Elizabeth’s attack. “What’s your problem?” she asked, her voice calm despite the chaos. “Acting crazy out of nowhere.”
The audacity of Elizabeth, barging into David’s home and acting as though she owned the place, was ridiculous. Caroline couldn’t believe she had to deal with this right now.
Elizabeth snarled, her eyes filled with rage. “Hah! I’ll hit you wherever I want, at home or anywhere else! All the times you upset me? I’ll pay them back now, Caroline! You’ll always be beneath me!”
Elizabeth lunged again, her hand aimed at Caroline’s face, but Caroline was ready. With quick reflexes, she caught Elizabeth’s wrist mid-air. “Elizabeth, did you forget your rabies shot?” she quipped, her tone biting.
The insult was enough to push Elizabeth over the edge. “What did you just say?” she shrieked, her voice high with fury. “I can’t win against your mouth, but I’ll tear it apart!”
Elizabeth raised her other hand, aiming for Caroline’s face, but Caroline was done with this game. With a fluid motion, she twisted Elizabeth’s wrist, using her own force to shove Elizabeth backwards.
“Ah!” Elizabeth cried out as she tumbled to the ground in a heap, her arms and legs flailing in a comical display.
Caroline stood her ground, her gaze icy. “You… You dared to fight back?” Elizabeth gasped, her voice incredulous. “Fine, you’re finally showing your true colors now that you’re out of the Brooks family!”
Caroline’s voice was cold, but firm. “Elizabeth, I’m no longer the girl you could bully at will. And I don’t owe your family anything anymore.”
The words hit Elizabeth like a slap to the face. She had come here to assert her dominance, to remind Caroline of her place, but instead, she had been humiliated. The anger inside her bubbled to the surface. She couldn’t let it go. She wouldn’t.
“Caroline, I’ll fight you to the end!” Elizabeth hissed, scrambling to her feet, her eyes burning with determination.
Caroline didn’t move. She waited, calculating, until Elizabeth was almost upon her. Then, in a single swift motion, she stepped aside.
Elizabeth’s momentum carried her forward, and with a sickening crash, she collided headfirst with the wall, her body crumpling in a heap. The force of the impact made stars burst before her eyes, her mind spinning in confusion.
Caroline merely shrugged, her tone dripping with disdain. “How stupid.”
Before Elizabeth could recover, a cold, familiar voice rang out from the entrance below. “The only stupid one here, Caroline, is you.”
David. His voice was like ice, and the words were like a sharp blade cutting through the tension in the room. Caroline froze. For the first time, she felt a chill run down her spine.
