Chapter 130 - 2) Mira
Nera stopped in her tracks, the words hitting harder than she wanted them to. They resonated within her like a thunderclap, echoing in the hollow spaces of her mind.
Indeed she wanted to be stronger than arch-mage, able to create tier-12 mgaic.
Why did I mock her?
Those words felt like a bad taste in her mouth, bringing to the forefront the insecurities she often buried beneath layers of arrogance.
She turned back slowly, her face a tumult of emotions she couldn’t quite sort through.
Pride mixed with anger and a hint of curiosity began to sharpen into a simmering undercurrent that felt dangerously close to fear.
It was a sensation she rarely allowed herself to indulge in, the kind that curled her stomach into knots, something can’t be said aloud but she is just the type of woman to act arrogant on the outside but deep inside they like to be bullied.
"What makes you think," she began, her voice steadier than she actually felt, "that I’d ever be interested in... helping you? Or this... this man? Why should I be someone’s woman? I am an independent woman, I need no man."
Mira shrugged, her casual demeanor only adding fuel to the fire raging in Nera’s chest.
"You are here, aren’t you? Still talking, if you really want to leave you can."
Nera clenched her jaw, the truth of Mira’s words stinging like a slap to the face
She hated how easy it was for the other woman to unravel her carefully constructed facade. "Fine. Let’s say... hypothetically—that I’m curious. What exactly are you proposing?"