The slap echoed through the café walls. It left her mark on his cheek, a red handprint that told exactly how hard it was.
Tears started falling down her already ruined face again. She said with pain and rage crashing together behind her voice. "I was a fool."
She stood up. Clenched her fists so tight that her nails drew crescents into her palms.
"I should have known. I should have understood why every woman of influence in this world seemed to gravitate toward you. It wasn't coincidence. It wasn't charm."
Her voice cracked.
"It was your plan all along."
She continued before he could speak. "You plotted it from the very beginning, didn't you? You needed people with power. With armies. With thrones. Because that's what a champion with a genius mind would do in order to win. Collect weapons."
Her eyes were burning. "And we were your weapons. We were just pawns sitting in your palms. You never looked at me or even Nerith as persons with a heart."
