Chapter 6 - Six
Suzy, still fuming about the incident of the wall, stomped across the plush carpet of her room. This whole situation was ridiculous! Marrying a complete stranger just to save her father’s sinking finances? Unacceptable!
Lost in her frustration, she didn’t hear the soft click of the door opening. Suddenly, a sharp slap across the face sent her reeling. Suzy spun around, hand flying to her stinging cheek, to find Countess Helene standing there, her face contorted in a mask of fury.
Suzy’s jaw hung slack. This wasn’t part of the plan! No one, not even her most obnoxious high school bully, had ever dared to hit her. A wave of hot anger crashed over her, momentarily pushing aside the confusion.
"What the..." she sputtered, her voice trembling with fury. "Who do you think you are?"
The woman, unfazed by Suzy’s outburst, drew herself up to her full height. "You insolent child," she declared, her voice dripping with disdain, "you will address me with respect!"
Suzy stared at her, dumbfounded.
Helene’s nostrils flared. "you are a disgrace! A scandal waiting to happen! Do you have any idea what you’ve done by climbing walls and cavorting with strangers in alleyways?"
Suzy blinked.
"Don’t you understand, you silly girl? Your little tantrums are jeopardizing everything! This marriage to Duke Ryan is our only hope! The only way to save this family from ruin!"
Just then, the door flew open again, revealing Doris, her face pale with fear. "Milady Countess, please!" she cried, rushing towards Suzy and the Countess. "Forgive her! She doesn’t know any better!"
The truth, cold and hard, slammed into Suzy. Cassandra, or rather, the real Cassandra, wasn’t some beloved daughter. She was a constant reminder of Count Edmund’s infidelity, a living embodiment of his shame. Countess Helene, it seemed, never forgave her husband for his affair, and all that resentment was now being directed at Suzy, the innocent bystander in this twisted family drama.