Stevvi waved her long, manicured nails with a mocking smile. “Ugh, how could you peel them with your mouth? That’s disgusting!”
Patsy felt a burning pain where Stevvi’s nails had grazed her skin.
Before she could even recover, another sharp sting exploded across her face.
Stevvi had thrown an entire bowl of walnuts—freshly shelled by Patsy—straight at her.
“I can smell your spit on them,” Stevvi sneered. “You don’t mind peeling another batch, do you?”
Instinctively, Patsy looked toward Cornell, hoping he’d at least confirm that she had used only her hands, not her mouth.
But his expression was as cold and distant as ever. It was clear he had no intention of defending her. He only wanted her to keep going.
Her lips curved in a bitter, predictable smile as she lowered her gaze. The impact of those walnuts had left her bandaged forehead throbbing, pain pulsing in waves.
She shook her head slightly, and then she glanced at the bracelet clenched in Cornell’s hand before lifting her blood-streaked hands once more.
But the moment she picked up a walnut, her hand was slapped hard.
The sting was electric—literally. The fly swatter Stevvi had used was wired, and the jolt made Patsy’s stomach cramp violently.
Stevvi didn’t show a shred of guilt. Instead, she frowned in disgust.
“Your hands are covered in blood. Yuck. I’m not eating walnuts with blood on them.”
Patsy understood now—Stevvi had no intention of letting her have a moment’s peace.
She turned toward Cornell, ready to speak, when Stevvi suddenly dragged her toward the kitchen.
Before she could even react, pain seared through her fingertips.
Stevvi had poured an entire bottle of alcohol over her hands. The burn was so fierce it made her gasp for breath.
Staring at the smug triumph on Stevvi’s face, Patsy looked at her with cold eyes.
“So that’s your goal? Hurting me just to pleasure yourself? Hate to break it to you, but you completely failed.”
Stevvi didn’t flinch at the insult. If anything, her grin widened.
“Failed? I turned you into the woman Cornell despises the most. And I taught that old hag a lesson along the way. I feel fantastic.”
Patsy froze at what she heard, confusion clouding her eyes. “What do you mean?”
Stevvi chuckled coldly at her reaction.
“God, you’re so stupid. I honestly don’t know why Cornell would choose a little ugly duckling like you over me—a rich, gorgeous socialite.”
Her voice dripped with scorn as she leaned in closer. “Do you want me to spell it out? Why do you think he never found out what you did for him in France? Why do you think he’s in love with me now? And your precious grandma—she really couldn’t handle a little impact, could she? Forty miles per hour, and she went flying.”
There wasn’t the slightest trace of guilt in Stevvi’s expression, no fear at all in revealing the truth. Her face radiated the thrill of winning a game she had orchestrated perfectly.
Patsy trembled with rage at those words.
Ignoring the pain ripping through her hands, she slapped Stevvi hard across the face.
“You’re sick! That is murder!”
But Stevvi wasn’t intimidated in the least. In their circle, blood on your hands was hardly a novelty.
“Go ahead, report me,” she taunted. “See who ends up ruined. Or do you really think Cornell would believe you?”
Her smile brimmed with confidence, and even though fury nearly drove Patsy insane, she knew Stevvi was right.
She had no evidence or witnesses. If she fought Stevvi head-on, she might be the one to end up behind bars.
And if that happened, Connee would never make it home.
Eyes squeezed shut, Patsy bit down on her lip so hard it almost bled, forcing herself to calm down.
When she finally opened her eyes, her hand shot up again—but this time, someone stopped her.
“Can’t even handle shelling a few walnuts?” Cornell’s voice was cold. “You’re so useless, marrying you was a waste of my life.”
With that, he flung her hand aside and stepped protectively in front of Stevvi.
The moment his gaze fell on the red imprint marring Stevvi’s cheek, his face darkened, a storm gathering in his eyes as he turned back to Patsy.
“You hit her?”
The look of accusation in his eyes made Patsy laugh bitterly inside.
‘I guess this is how two people can go from loving each other dearly to utterly loathing each other,’ she realized.
She nodded. “I slapped her. And you—”
Before she could finish, a resounding smack cracked through the room. His palm landed on her face like a slab of iron.
The force sent her staggering into the wall, her ears ringing so loudly she could hear nothing else.
Blood filled her mouth as her tongue brushed against a tooth that had come loose.
Her knees buckled, and she nearly collapsed until Cornell seized her by the arm and yanked her upright.
“If you don’t understand your place in this villa,” he said, his tone sharp enough to cut, “then I’ll make sure you do.”
