The Scarred Queen's Rise (Athena) novel Chapter 371

Chapter 371

Athena turned in surprise to see a dashing woman leaning against a pillar. She had her arms crossed as she cast a mocking glance their way.

Naturally, the object of her scorn was Willow.

The woman stood alone, wearing an arrogant look, as she chewed a piece of straw between her teeth.

Seemingly quite pleased with her handiwork, she provocatively tilted her chin at Willow and sneered, “Right, Miss Monson?”

Willow felt as if she’d been stripped naked, her face burning crimson with shame.

At this moment, she wished the ground would just swallow her whole.

That single address of “Miss Monson” utterly mortified her.

She wasn’t related to the Monson family by blood, as she was only their adopted daughter. The real Miss Monson was Athena.

Willow’s tears streamed down her cheeks, and this time, they were undeniably real.

Willow wanted to step forward to confront her, but another noble lady grabbed her wrist tightly and shook her head urgently. The lady advised, “Willow, don’t argue with.her. She’s an infamous wild card, and her father is Alfred Beren from the Ministry of Finance.”

The last three words were barely more than a whisper, yet each syllable was chillingly distinct.

Willow’s eyes widened instantly, her gaze at the woman now filled with terror.

Alfred had a dreadful reputation in court, and all loathed him.

Yet when it came to his daughter, he was a total pushover, a true softie.

If his precious daughter were ever wronged, Alfred would camp outside the offender’s door and relentlessly reprimand them for days.

Willow prided herself on her noble standing, and she couldn’t stoop to arguing with a woman like that.

Besides, she knew she’d never win.

As such, all she could do was bite her tongue and swallow her indignation.

Natasha Beren seemed utterly unfazed by the crowd’s stares, wearing a taunting grin. She asked, “What’s this? Cat got your tongues?”

She stood there slouched, her words dripping with aggression. The mere sight scared all the onlookers, so what noble lady would ever want to talk to her?

To them, she was like the plague, and they couldn’t wait to get as far away from her as possible.

Even Janice knitted her brows and tugged at Athena’s sleeve. “Let’s go sit by the pavilion,” she whispered.

Seating areas were arranged around the grounds for the noble ladies to socialize over coffee.

Athena’s eyes sparkled with peculiar interest as she gazed at Natasha. Turning to the others, she said, “You all go ahead. I

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have some words to exchange with her.”

Janice looked startled, unable to fathom why Athena would have anything to say to a woman like that.

Yet she couldn’t sway Athena’s mind, so she simply gestured to the others and said, “Let’s go ahead, everyone.”

The group of noble ladies then followed Janice’s lead and departed.

“Why the hell are you such a pushover? Getting bullied and not even fighting back?” Natasha strode up to Athena, glaring at her with open irritation as she spoke.

Towering half a head above Athena, and with her unmistakably masculine demeanor, anyone unfamiliar with her would easily mistake her for a man.

Athena smiled at her and said, “You haven’t changed a bit since we were kids.”

When they wrere young, Athena and Natasha had played together during her maternal grandfather’s birthday celebration.

Alfred had brought Natasha along to offer his respects on that special occasion.

At that time, Athena had received a muskmelon from her grandfather and she had eagerly offered it to Michael only to be coldly brushed off.

Michael knocked the muskmelon to the ground, leaving Athena heartbroken as tears streamed down her face.

It was at that very moment that Natasha showed up.

Back then, she said the exact same thing: “Why the hell are you such a pushover?”

After all these years, Athena found it oddly endearing to hear those words again

Athena looked at her with curious eyes and asked, “So, I heard you’ve been off adventuring all these years and just got back?”

Having her childhood playmate suddenly show up and stand up for her, Athena couldn’t help but feel a strange warmth toward Natasha.

Chapter 372