Chapter 171: Chapter 171: Welcome to the club

Chapter 171 – Welcome to the club

"Welcome to the club."

Isolde’s voice was defiant, her eyes on her mother with every ounce of courage she could summon. But few could understand the dread creeping at the edges of her mind, and out of that dread, a fear so severe it was nearly paralysing, at the sight of her mother standing there, body cloaked in her lightless essence.

And yet Isolde understood with perfect clarity that it was far too late to back down. This was the moment to finally shed an important part of her old self.

"Time is limited." She spoke hoarsely, eyes quivering but filled with a determination Sophia had never once seen in her eldest daughter. "And you know how much Cassius loves me and how the Desdemona are. What would happen if they learned that I — or rather you — had played with the feelings of their youngest?"

"Aren’t you a funny one, Isolde." Sophia retorted, then crouched down. She reached out with her right hand, closed her fist around a handful of Isolde’s hair, and yanked it upward without mercy.

Isolde’s neck cracked. A sharp and biting pain exploded through her neck and spread through the rest of her body like wildfire.

Her mouth fell open in a soundless gasp, purple eyes wide and watering.

"Reassure me." Sophia brought her daughter’s face close to hers, her eyes as cold as though she were looking at a stranger. "Tell me you are not so foolish a woman as to follow through on that threat."

Isolde’s face was a battleground of fury and reluctance, her lips bitten so hard they split, blood trickling down, all to hold back tears.

She was not someone who cried easily.

But her mother always had this ability to pull out the most pathetic version of her. And that knowledge filled Isolde with a surge of pure wrath.

"Do you think I would be the only one in trouble if the Desdemona found out about this plan?" Sophia followed. "Do you truly believe that, fool? The Desdemona do not care to distinguish between the one who gives the order and the one who carries it out. They would kill you first, then come for me."

"So what?" Isolde hissed through gritted teeth. "I can die for all I care. But I would die happy knowing you would follow me shortly after."

"Oh, really?" Sophia smiled with empty eyes. "Shall I simply make the Desdemona’s job easier and kill you here myself?"

Isolde’s body trembled. The words struck her so hard she could hear her own heart pounding, her ears aching with it.

"You... would kill me?"

"Why are you surprised?" Sophia replied. "You just expressed your wish to see all of us dead. Your own family—!"

"What fucking family?" Isolde cut in, then spat the blood from her mouth directly into her mother’s face. "Since when have you treated me like one? Since when? I have not seen my own father’s face in years and we live under the same roof. You, my mother, treat me like worthless trash whose only use is to sell her body for your greedy ambitions. And my sister..."

She laughed, cold and hollow.

"...a sister who despises me. A sister who would not hesitate to participate in my destruction if the opportunity ever came. You call this a family? Is this what family means to you?"

Sophia listened without interruption, her face stained by the spit. She raised her left hand and wiped it away, her eyes entirely unmoved.

"So this is your revenge." She replied evenly. "This is you trying to settle scores."

"No." Isolde replied, her eyes dead. "This was me trying to open your eyes to something that would have destroyed your standing if left unaddressed. This was me — Isolde Amaris, the daughter you treat as nothing — trying to protect your honour by showing you what is happening right beneath your fucking eyes."

She let out a bitter, hollow laugh, a pain so profound it was like poison spreading through her heart.

"But what did I get in return?"

"You tried to open my eyes by threatening me? How original."

"Is there any other way to make you listen to me?" Isolde retorted. "If it were Anesthesia, all she would need to do is ask. And you would agree. For me, I resorted to the only means available to me. Blackmail. Are you going to blame me for that too? Go on."

Sophia tilted her head slowly to one side, looking at her daughter’s bloodied, tearstained face with anger, hatred and pain all twisted together in one expression.

"Fine." She said at last, releasing Isolde’s hair and letting her head drop. She stood, returned to her seat and sat with the same composure she had walked in with.

With a wave of her hand, a fresh tea table appeared before her.

She poured a white, pinkish tea into the cup, then bit her own finger and let a few drops of blood fall inside.

The colour turned pure black immediately.

She pushed the cup toward Isolde, who was still on the floor, face still fierce.

"Drink." She said.

"I would rather die."

"Isolde." Sophia smiled coldly. "Drink, or I will make you drink it. Choose."

Isolde gritted her teeth so hard she heard them crack. She was already beginning to regret the entire thing. Part of her wanted to simply leave this woman to be cheated on for the rest of her life.

But Isolde remembered that she was not doing this only for her mother. She was doing it for Cassius, and she had promised herself she would handle it.

She could not back down.

And somewhere inside herself, Isolde admitted the truth that she wanted to see her mother’s face when she found out. She wanted to watch her realise that the very maid she had chosen to serve her husband had been fucking him while she ran herself ragged for the family.

With that thought, she reached forward, picked up the cup and drank it in one go.

The pain in her neck faded almost immediately. Her split lips closed. The blood on her face vanished as though it had never been.

"Now," Sophia said, resuming her composure entirely, "call whoever you sent to the Desdemona and tell him to stop. You have my attention now. Tell me more about it."

Isolde said nothing for a moment. Then, gathering herself...

"I hate you."

Sophia’s smile did not reach her eyes.

"Welcome to the club."

...

Time moved quickly, and two days passed in what felt like an instant.

Upon learning about the Kanam situation, Cassius warned his siblings as best he could, constructing a carefully crafted story to explain the threat without revealing more than necessary.

Beyond that, he focused entirely on training, taking only one break, and only because Isolde came to see him with Cassie.

The young girl was genuinely cute. And somewhat to his own surprise, Cassius found himself liking her, despite the fact that she had a peculiar habit of wanting to sit on his shoulder.

His new appearance — combined with the eyepatch — left Isolde visibly impressed, complimenting him greatly. She found herself curious about ’characteristics’ too, and expressed a desire to have one of her own.

But during the time they spent together, Cassius noticed a strange atmosphere around Isolde.

Something close to sadness. She said nothing about it, only rested her head on his chest and asked him to stroke her hair.

He had obliged. Understanding that certain things needed time before they could be spoken aloud.

During those two days, the news of the Auction — organised by Meadow Wealth, the youngest of the Wealth Family — spread across the entire Kingdom almost instantly.

An eighteen-year-old had decided to become the CEO of her own company. The Kingdom was stunned. Some people found themselves quietly realising that despite breathing the same air, certain individuals truly lived in an entirely different world.

But for the nobles, especially the Tier Three families and some of the Tier Two, this was an opportunity they had no intention of missing.

The event could very well be their key to success.

Since the Auction was by invitation only, Meadow began distributing those invitations to people she believed would be interested in what was on offer.

The Amaris and the Kanam were among them.

Everything was in place, and the young tycoon was personally overseeing each detail to ensure the Opening Auction would be flawless.

And after those two days, the deadline she had given to Omm finally arrived.

Right now, inside Meadow’s office, the young Shepherd stood before his employer, beads of tense and stressed sweat clustering on his face.

"What is your decision?" Meadow asked without looking up, her eyes fixed on the stack of documents in front of her.

Omm drew a slow breath.

He had asked his parents for advice about the situation.

They had initially been reluctant, worried that more work would cause him to fail the Academy exam.

But once they understood that his entry into the Academy was already secured regardless, Ali and Maryam visibly relaxed, and shared their true thoughts, this time free of worry.

’Sooner or later you will have responsibilities.’ Ali had told him. ’In the Academy, at work or even when you are married and have children. This is inevitable. So if you do not want this job, that is your choice. But do not turn it down because you are afraid of responsibility. That is not the way of a man.’

And his mother, as she always did, had simply smiled and spoken only a few words.

’You learned to understand and guide the sheep.’ She had hugged him gently. ’Now you must learn to understand people. And how hard could that be?’

She had laughed, entirely unbothered.

’You are an experienced Shepherd, aren’t you? Being a Merchant is nothing for my son. Just do not neglect your studies, alright?’

Holding those memories, Omm closed his eyes briefly, then opened them.

His hazel eyes were calmer and steadier. Something in his bearing had solidified enough that Meadow lifted her head immediately, her pink eyes landing on his face.

"I have thought it through and decided to accept." Omm said, bowing his head. "Thank you for the opportunity, Miss Wealth."

Meadow smiled.

"Perfect. You will be excused from the opening Auction itself, but you will come to welcome the guests and stand beside me during the presentation. Because you will be handling everything from the next one onward." She paused. "And tell me, Shepherd, do you have any sense of style?"

"Huh? Style? What do you mean, Miss?"

Her pink eyes glowed with poorly concealed excitement.

"I suppose I will need to remake you from the ground up. Your clothes, your hair, even the way you walk! Everything! Now come with me!"

She stood abruptly from her chair, grinning.

"Let me introduce you to the world of fashion, Shepherd."

Omm immediately began to have a very bad feeling about this.

However it was far too late.

And just like that, Saturday arrived.

All the pieces were in place.

The Opening Auction launched.

—End of Chapter 171—