Susie fell flat, the impact of this hit being stronger than the first.

"Let’s throw her in the pot already." Elias said, irritated. "She does not have anything useful to say." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Sienna tapped his arm slowly. "I know. But I still wanted to hear her out for a moment. Call it closure for any residual feelings." She looked at Susie without any warmth in her eyes. "Did you have to take it this far? Did you have to target my child?"

Susie laughed, laying on the ground where she had landed. "How else was I supposed to make you feel pain?" Her voice became shrill and loud, "Why? Why did you get lucky? Your family was the poorest in our neighborhood. Your mother was a farm worker that earned pennies. Other children were unwilling to be your friends.

Only I opened up to you. I invited you into my home, let you sleep over when your mother was working night shifts. My parents fed you." She cackled, twitching as if her body was being shocked by lightning. "And you...what did you do for me in return? Even if I was not the perfect friend, I still lent you an umbrella when it was raining on your end. How did you repay me for my kindness? You stopped answering my calls as soon as you tied the knot with a fox lord.

You couldn’t even spare a job for me in your new home or the businesses your husband’s family owns. I called you when my mom needed surgery and you blocked me directly. You are the worst person in the world, Sienna Miller. So, why can’t I hate you? Why are the gods so unfair? Why do good things happen to a wretch like you?"

She broke down in tears, screaming loudly, unleashing so much pent up anger from the depth of her heart.

Sienna straightened. "Now that you have finishing airing your grievances, I will tell you why I cut you off. Yes, you are the only person that bothered to befriend me, but it was not because you wanted to be my friend. It was because you wanted to bring me down. My family was poor, but I have always been pretty. Everyone around us knew it. And you, Susie, always hated it.

After befriending me, you went around introducing me to everyone as your poor friend, stomping on my self esteem bit by bit. If you gave me a dress or a hair clip, you practically screamed it from the balcony of your house. You always made sure that I dressed in dull colors while you wore bright ones to appear more attractive than me.

Any boy that liked me, you would go around my back to ruin my name and image and take their affection for yourself. When I got good grades, you hinted to others that I might have cheated, making them loathe me. When I decided to dance my way out of poverty, you tried to talk me out of it. When it failed, you decided to start dancing as well.

You didn’t have natural talent like me, so your mother signed you up for classes I could not afford, and bought you outfits and shoes that you rubbed in my face pretentiously. Still, I trained day and night, acting blind and deaf to your actions. When I started live streaming myself dancing, you did the same. But your popularity was not as high as mine, so your hatred for me deepened. So much so that you put a nail in my shoe to cripple me!"

Someone gasped.

"Let go of me." Mrs. Miller screamed.

When Sienna looked back, she saw her mother tightly gripped in Jorik’s claws.

Susie’s manic screams came to an end, replaced by laughter. "You knew..." she said in disbelief, in a low voice.

Sienna nodded. "Of course I knew. But when you are poor, it is not as if you have many options. I needed nutritious food in large portions and you provided it. Even if I had to tolerate everyone knowing that it was charity, I didn’t care. I needed new clothes and you provided them. What did it matter if they were dull colored? At the end of the day, I didn’t have to wear hand me downs or patched ones. My mother could also save more and pay other bills that mattered.

All those beautiful hair clips, shoes, bracelets....all of it. I accepted them because I wanted to. When you realized I could get good grades, despite telling everyone that I cheated, you went ahead and asked me to tutor you privately so that you could surpass me. In return, I asked for text books I could not afford and you provided them. I even let you get better grades than me so that your mother could increase the tutoring fee she was paying me.

Do you know why I played along when you suggest that we start dancing as a duo?"

Susie’s face had a look of shock and despair. But it was nothing in comparison to the flabbergasted looks on the people around.

"Wow...who was playing who?" Corven Junior whispered.

Soren sniggered. "Of course it was my sister. I love her just the way she is. But she should come with a warning label for those who think they can destroy her. She is selfish and always puts herself first in every situation. Her selfishness was limited to me, whatever she took from the Wiener’s I also got a share. My sister used to say that a starving dog has no right to reject free meat." He raised a finger. "Unless its going to kill you."

Someone laughed.

Meanwhile, Sienna delivered the final blow to Susie. "Signing up for the contest needed money, costumes needed money, good shoes needed money. I needed to look presentable. If I was dancing alone, it would be hard but with you, a foolish cash cow, things would be smoother. You rubbed it in my face as you swiped your daddy’s card and bought me what I needed. You even told me thank you in front of the saleswomen just to humiliate me. But like I said, I didn’t care about that, only the end results.

Tickets for the ship taking us out of Lost-born city to Clawspire were expensive and you Susie, just had to have the best. You didn’t pay for just any tickets but first class ones. So what if you made me push your suitcase as if I was your servant? So what if you shouted at me to hurry up or sneered at me? All I needed was a way out of Lost-born city and you provided it."

Sienna leaned back in the chair, and Elias put a cup of tea brought by Shalin into her hands. "Do you get it now, Susie? You were not the hunter, I was."