Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]-Chapter 263: A lying b*tch

Seraphina’s POV

It took me a full minute to even process what had just happened. freewebnσvel.cøm

The sharp sting across my face pulsed through every nerve in my head, and I could still hear the echo of the slap across my ear like a fire alarm.

For a moment, all I could do was blink—at the pain, at the embarrassment, and at the complete disbelief that someone had just laid their hand on me in the middle of the hallway.

And not just anyone. Iris. That little smug-faced, blue-eyed pest with her fake smile and irritating smirk.

She turned and started walking away like nothing had happened. Like slapping me was just another bullet point on her daily to-do list. Like I didn’t matter, and something inside me snapped.

All the restraint I had shown so far in Elysium, being Seraphina Hook, all the peace I had been trying to maintain, and all the maturity I thought I needed to uphold—it cracked.

My chest rose and fell as I breathed in deeply, and without thinking twice, I dropped my bag against the wall and stormed toward her.

She didn’t even hear me coming. My hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of her hair, and I yanked with every ounce of frustration and fury that had been building up since the day she showed up at Elysium.

Iris gasped in surprise, stumbling back toward me as I forced her to turn around. "You think I’m scared of you, you stupid bitch?" I hissed.

And then I kneed her, right in the stomach.

Her breath hitched instantly. She bent over in pain, one arm cradling her torso, and I didn’t stop. My grip tightened in her hair, and I shoved her hard into the wall.

Her body smacked against the surface and slumped to the floor. I didn’t care. In fact, I couldn’t bring myself to care.

"Stupid bitch," I growled, my voice low. "Stupid. Bitch."

I didn’t care if anyone heard. I didn’t care if I sounded unhinged. She wanted crazy? I could do crazy.

"Come on then," I snapped, stepping over her. "Do your worst, you stupid bitch. Isn’t that what you didn’t want to hear? Well, you remain a stupid bitch, and I dare you to do your worst!"

She tried to get up, maybe out of pride, maybe out of stupidity, but as soon as her hand reached for the ground, I stomped it down with my shoe, pressing hard enough to make her cry out in pain.

"Stay down," I warned her coldly. "Like the stupid bitch you are."

And after that, I walked away.

I walked back to my bag, calm as ever, as if I hadn’t just launched an attack in the middle of a school hallway. My heart was still racing, and my palms were shaking slightly, but I felt better—just a little.

I had barely zipped up my bag before I heard the loud voice of a teacher behind me.

"What is going on here?!"

I didn’t turn immediately, and I didn’t need to. I already knew what that voice meant.

Trouble.

I turned slowly, meeting the eyes of the startled History teacher, Miss Callen, who was already helping Iris to her feet. Her expression twisted as she looked between the two of us, taking in the scene with a clearly bewildered look on her face, almost like she couldn’t believe what was happening.

"Principal’s office," she snapped, pointing her finger at me. "Now. Both of you."

I didn’t argue. I didn’t even open my mouth. I just picked up my bag properly and started walking down the hall. Iris was right behind me, probably still cradling her bruised pride more than anything else.

She didn’t say a word either, and that silence between us only made everything feel heavier.

My face still stung, but I didn’t regret what I did, not even a little.

She had humiliated me, she had stalked me, she had disrespected every boundary I tried to set, and now? Now she had gotten exactly what she wanted—a reaction, and I gave it to her.

I knew I was going to get in trouble. Maybe even a suspension, hopefully not, or maybe a warning that could end up on my record, but strangely, I didn’t care.

Iris needed to be put in her place.

Still, as I walked to the principal’s office, I couldn’t stop the wave of nausea that started to build in my stomach. Not because I was afraid of the consequences—but because I knew Electra was going to find out about this.

And she would probably be amused, or worse... proud.

***

When the door to the principal’s office opened and the teacher motioned for us to go in, I stepped inside first, my chin held high. If Astor was going to look down on me anyway, which I expected, I might as well give her something to judge.

As expected, she didn’t even try to hide the displeasure on her face. Her cold eyes swept over the both of us, and then she turned to Iris with a frown that barely masked her curiosity.

"Miss Aurelian, you only transferred here a few days ago," Astor said, folding her hands on her desk. "How is it that you’re already being brought to my office?"

Iris didn’t answer right away. She stared at the floor with this pitiful look on her face, like she was trying to conjure tears on command. I didn’t need a crystal ball to know she was getting ready to put on a show.

She seemed like the type—charming when she needed to be, vicious when no one was looking.

Astor’s eyes flicked toward me next, the edge of her lip curling slightly. "And you, Miss Hook... I would expect more maturity from you, especially given your current position as a soon-to-be princess of Aldoria."

I gave her a tight-lipped shrug. "With all due respect, Principal Astor, I don’t think becoming a princess means I have to start accepting slaps to the face like they’re a handshake."

There was a brief, pregnant silence, and then Astor slowly turned to Iris. "Is this true?" she asked.

And then came the performance.

Tears welled up in Iris’s eyes like she had rehearsed them. Her voice trembled in just the right way. "I—I didn’t do anything to her," she said, her gaze trembling. "She just got upset at me and lashed out. I was only trying to be polite and sit beside her. I don’t even know what I did wrong."

I blinked. The sheer nerve. The bold-faced lie.

"Oh, you’re good," I muttered, arms folded across my chest.

"Excuse me?" Astor snapped.

"She slapped me," I said firmly, "outside the classroom, completely unprovoked. That’s why I reacted. I don’t normally throw people into walls unless they give me a damn good reason."

"I didn’t slap her unprovoked!" Iris insisted, turning to Astor with a wide-eyed, tearful expression. "She just started yelling at me for no reason during class and then attacked me after. I swear, I don’t know why she hates me so much."

I wanted to scream.

Instead, I looked at Principal Astor, whose expression was unreadable now. Her fingers drummed slowly on her desk, her gaze flicking between us. It was obvious she didn’t believe me, or worse, she didn’t care.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺