The Scarred Queen's Rise (Athena) novel Chapter 34

Athena suddenly turned to face him, her icy stare making Matthew freeze. He had never seen her look like this before–so fierce, so wild. She looked like a cornered animal, small but unyielding, baring her claws in defiance.

While he was still caught off guard, Athena lunged at him.

By the time Matthew came to his senses, her hands were already clamped tightly around his throat.

Her knee pressed hard into his chest, pinning him down.

Maybe it happened too fast, or maybe he just hadn’t expected it from her–but for a long moment, Matthew simply stared at her in stunned silence, forgetting to fight back. His face quickly flushed red.

From nearby, Willow’s panicked scream rang out. “Athena, no–stop!”

She cried out as she grabbed Athena around the waist, trying with all her strength to pull her back.

Siena and Aliza were stunned for a beat, then rushed forward–though not to help Athena. Instead, they pleaded with her frantically, “My lady, please let go! You’ll choke Lord Matthew to death!”

In desperation, Aliza even tried to pry Athena’s hands apart.

“Out of my way,” Athena snapped, her voice sharp as ice.

The two maids froze, too frightened to make another move.

She looked determined to kill Matthew. No matter how hard Willow pulled, Athena refused to loosen her grip.

Matthew’s eyes began to roll back.

Suddenly, Willow seemed to remember something and cried out, “Joseph! Help! Matthew’s going to die–Athena’s killing him!”

Joseph finally snapped out of his daze and rushed forward–but when he saw the scene in front of him, he froze, not knowing how to intervene.

In a panic, his eyes landed on a vase on the table. He grabbed it, raised it over his head, and shouted at Willow, “Move!”

Startled, Willow let out a scream and yanked her hands away.

Crash! The vase shattered against Matthew’s head–just as Athena rolled away at the last second, narrowly dodging the blow.

Matthew didn’t make a sound. He slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Willow and Joseph both stood frozen in shock. Blood began to trickle from Matthew’s forehead. Joseph’s face went white.

He pointed a trembling finger at Athena, his eyes filled with fear and disgust. “You… you wicked woman! How could you just dodge like that?”

Athena spat out a mouthful of blood, laughing wildly. “Lord Joseph, instead of wasting time blaming me, maybe start thinking about how you’re going to explain this to Lord Henry.

“House rules clearly forbid fighting. You just smashed a vase over Lord Matthew’s head. Pretty sure that means you’re in for a beating.”

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Chapter 34

1- I didn’t mean to….” Joseph’s voice trembled, and he looked like he might burst into tears.

He dropped to his knees beside Matthew, hands shaking as he tried to stop the bleeding. “Matthew, don’t die… please don’t die… I didn’t mean to hurt you…”

Willow was crying too, her face streaked with tears. She turned to Athena, heartbroken. “Athena, how could you do this? Even if Matthew was wrong, you didn’t have to choke him! Joseph only hit him by accident while trying to save him!”

“Who said I choked him?” Athena looked up slowly, her tone calm and cool. “Do you have proof?”

Willow froze, clearly caught off guard. She looked at Athena with a mixture of fear and disbelief, her voice trembling. “I… Joseph and I both saw it…”

“Oh, you saw it?” Athena let out a cold laugh. “What exactly did you see? Did you see Lord Matthew storm into my courtyard and beat me until I coughed up blood? Or was it when he smashed my table to pieces?

“Maybe you’re mistaken. Maybe what really happened was that Joseph and Matthew were fighting over that vase in my room. Joseph accidentally hit Matthew. Isn’t that right?”

Her smile sent a chill down Willow’s spine. She bit down hard on her lip, her eyes rimmed red. Her fingers, clutching her handkerchief, had gone completely white.

Athena was threatening her.

There was a big difference between a fight and roughhousing. Fighting broke the family rules–and the punishment was harsh. Willow wouldn’t walk away clean.