Chapter 101. Reject

Lex’s POV

In the doorway, Sade appeared, her face twisted in righteous fury, a cruel smile curling on her lips. “Isn’t this wonderful!” Her shrill voice erupted from the threshold, slicing through the air like a knife. “The royal family throwing a dinner party for an orphan girl. How touching.”

Every head in the room jerked toward her. Conversations died instantly. The warmth that had just begun to settle instantly froze, tension crackling between every heartbeat like an approaching storm. Even the servants near the walls stiffened uneasily.

Lilly, seated beside me, stiffened. But she didn’t cower. She didn’t lower her eyes or shrink beneath Sade’s venom. Instead, her chin lifted, her gaze steady and defiant under Sade’s glare.

And damn, I admired her for it.

“Sade,” I hissed, rising to my feet, my chair scraping the polished floor. “That’s enough. Leave. Now.”

She stalked further into the room, her heels clicking like gunshots, eyes wild w