Daughter of oblivion: Claimed by four alpha(s)-Chapter 173 - 171: Angry Leo

Oliver spat straight into her face. "She’s a hundred times better than you."

Jianna froze. Her eyes widened in shock.

Without thinking twice, she slapped him hard across the face.

"How dare you?" she screamed. In one swift movement, she pulled a gun from the back of her short trousers and pressed it against his head.

"Do it," Oliver snarled, blood in his mouth from the impact of the slap, his eyes burning with defiance. "I dare you, bitch."

Jianna’s hand trembled as she breathed heavily. Her face twisted as rage and something darker fought for control.

Oliver laughed bitterly. "What?" he taunted. "You can’t?"

With a frustrated cry, Jianna yanked the gun away from his head and grabbed at her hair, pacing like a caged animal.

"This isn’t over," she hissed, her voice shaking with fury. "You’ll crawl back to me. I always get what’s mine."

Then she turned and stormed out of the room, and slammed the door.

====================

In the cafeteria, the group sat quietly, Felicia, Armand, Alaric, Levi, and Leo clustered around the same table. Their trays filled with different dishes.

"So Athena didn’t come to school because she’s embarrassed," Alaric finally said slowly, "or because she’s scared she’ll get expelled?" He shook his head, clearly struggling with the idea. "That doesn’t sit right with me."

Felicia scoffed, crossing her arms. "Then explain why she’s been gone for a whole week," she shot back. "People don’t just disappear like that for no reason."

Armand leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. "Still doesn’t make sense," he said. "The Athena I know isn’t the type to fuck someone and then brag about it publicly. That whole thing felt... off."

Levi nodded in agreement. "Exactly. She didn’t even tell anyone she had a boyfriend until the guy literally showed up at school. That doesn’t sound like someone who wants attention."

Felicia rolled her eyes hard. "Or maybe," she said coolly, "we just don’t know her real nature."

Leo’s head snapped toward her. He frowned, his voice sharp. "Felicia, can you just stop."

She turned to him instantly, irritation flashing across her face. "Stop what?" she demanded.

"What did she do then, Leo? Enlighten me. Because from where I’m standing, everything points back to her."

Leo clenched his jaw. "What she did," he said slowly, "was mind her business. And somehow that still turned into everyone tearing her apart."

Alaric looked between them, uneasy. "Guys, this is getting out of hand," he muttered. "None of us know what truly happened. We’re all just guessing."

Leo turned fully to face Felicia, his chair scraping softly against the floor. His jaw tightened.

"Did you ever stop to think," he said slowly, deliberately, "that she might have been framed?"

Felicia let out a sharp scoff, folding her arms across her chest. "Framed? Please." She shook her head, incredulous. "Why is Athena always the victim in everyone’s story? Is she the only student in this school people supposedly have a problem with?"

Leo opened his mouth to fire back, but she didn’t give him the chance.

"This is the same Athena who turned the cafeteria upside down on her very first day," Felicia continued, her voice rising. "The same Athena who got drugged and somehow ended up making out with Eryx. Why her? Why does drama always find her? You don’t find that suspicious at all?"

Levi frowned. "That doesn’t..."

Felicia cut him off again. "No. You all keep defending her like she’s some helpless saint. I think she likes the attention. She gets it, feeds on it, and now that it’s blown up in her face, she can’t handle it."

Leo slammed his palm lightly on the table. "That’s bullshit."

Felicia’s eyes snapped to him. "Excuse me?"

"I think you’re just jealous," Leo shot back without hesitation. "And you hate that people actually care about her."

For a split second, Felicia looked genuinely stunned. Then her lips curled into a cold smile. "Jealous? Of her?"

"Yes," Leo said firmly. "Jealous that no matter how hard you try to paint her as some attention-seeking mess, people still give her the benefit of the doubt. Jealous that when something happens, the first thought isn’t ’Athena planned this,’ but ’Athena didn’t deserve this.’"

Armand shifted uncomfortably. "Leo, maybe we should..."

"No," Leo said, not taking his eyes off Felicia. "Someone has to say it."

Felicia laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You’re blinded, all of you. You see what you want to see. That girl walks around like she doesn’t care, like she’s above everything, and somehow everyone falls for it."

"And you see what you want to see too," Leo replied. "A villain where there might just be a girl who keeps getting dragged into messes she didn’t start."

Alaric leaned back, rubbing his chin. "Still... it is strange that she hasn’t shown up at all. Athena isn’t the type to hide."

"Exactly," Leo said quickly. "That’s my point. If she were guilty, don’t you think she’d come in swinging? Explaining? Defending herself?"

Levi nodded slowly. "He’s right. Athena isn’t a coward."

Felicia’s gaze flicked between them, irritation flashing across her face. "Or maybe she finally realized she went too far."

Leo shook his head. "Or maybe she’s hurt. Or scared. Or dealing with something none of us know about."

The table fell into an uneasy silence.

Leo exhaled, his voice quieter now. "You don’t have to like her. But stop acting like she deserves whatever happens to her."

Felicia looked away first, her fingers tightening around her tray. "Believe whatever you want," she muttered. "When the truth comes out, don’t say I didn’t warn you."

Leo leaned back in his seat, eyes dark.

"And when it does," he said, "I just hope you’re ready to admit you were wrong."

Felicia rolled her eyes hard at Leo’s words, her lips curling as if she had a thousand insults lined up and ready to fire. She was just about to open her mouth when her phone vibrated on the table. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

She frowned, snatched it up, and glanced at the screen and picked up the call.

All the color drained from her face.