After speaking, Margaret was about to lower her head in a bow, but before she could, the two men rushed forward, panic flashing in their eyes, desperate to stop her.
The air thickened with tension and chaos quickly unraveled.
"Enough!" A deep, angry voice sliced through the turmoil.
Cielle turned toward the sound, her eyes locking with Laurent. His jet-black gaze met hers, coldness simmering beneath the calm of his expression.
"Are you done causing trouble? Cielle," Laurent’s voice, laced with hostility, cut through the room, though his tone remained unnervingly composed.
Magnus seized the moment to pull Margaret to her feet, her knees still trembling. His face twisted with anger as he shot Cielle a look of disdain. "You made your sister kneel to you? You must think you’re mighty now."
"Cielle, you’ve always been so obedient, so sensible. What’s happened to you these last few days?"
"Your sister almost died. Why can’t you just get along with her instead of trying to push her away?"
Cielle’s fists clenched tightly, her nails digging into her palms, drawing blood without her even noticing.
She forced herself to hold steady, her voice stubborn as she replied, "I didn’t! She’s just pretending, making it all up herself!"
Margaret's sobs only grew louder, her voice thick with anguish as she cried, "I didn’t! It’s because you hate me! You told me to jump off the second floor to prove myself to you!"
Her words left everyone in stunned silence.
"Cielle! I can’t believe you’d be so cruel! She’s your sister!"
Magnus, shaking with rage, lunged toward Cielle, grabbing her by the neck and slamming her against the balcony. His roar echoed in the tense air. "Why don’t you jump?"
"Yeah, easy for you to say! Why don’t you jump?"
Cielle shook her head frantically, her voice trembling as she tried to explain, "I didn’t say that!"
"Then how do you prove it? Want me to jump?"
Cielle’s heart skipped a beat. She glanced at the two men in disbelief, the weight of their words sinking in. Her eyes widened, her voice shaky as she asked, "Jump? You want me to jump?"
"Margaret, if I jump, will you finally let me go?"
Exhaustion clung to her, a deep fatigue that had nothing to do with her body and everything to do with the empty trust that had dissolved between them. She just wanted to escape their toxic fight.
Laurent stepped in, placing himself between them as he tried to reason with her, "Cielle, stop making a scene."
"I’m not making a scene.”
"If I jump, you’ll never have to face me again."
Before anyone could react, Cielle shoved Magnus aside. She placed her hands on the balcony railing and without a single moment’s hesitation, she jumped.
Laurent and Magnus stood frozen, their expressions empty, their eyes wide in disbelief. The world seemed to slow around them as they processed the weight of what had just happened.
Had they truly misunderstood her all along?
Panic seized them both. They rushed forward, their hands reaching for her sleeve, but they were too late.
Cielle hit the ground, her body shuddering from the sharp, brutal impact, pain coursing through her.
Magnus rushed to her side, his voice sharp with panic, as if the world around him had shattered. His eyes were filled with worry, a storm of emotion swirling within them. "Are you trying to kill yourself? Cielle, have you completely lost your mind?"
Cielle clenched her ankle, forcing herself to endure the searing pain. She lifted her gaze to meet Magnus’s, her eyes hardened with defiance. "Isn’t this exactly what you wanted to see?"
Both Magnus and Laurent stood frozen, their hearts heavy with guilt, a knot tightening painfully in their chests.
The silence that followed was deafening. Then Margaret hurried to Cielle’s side, her panic written all over her face. Tears glistened in her eyes as she helped Cielle to her feet, her voice trembling. "Sister, why would you do something so foolish? Even if you hate me, you can’t toy with your own life!"
Cielle shot her a cold glance but remained silent, the weight of her pain overshadowing everything else.
The sharp agony from her twisted ankle was too much to bear. She tried to rise, but the effort was futile. She collapsed back to the ground, helpless and defeated.
