Chapter 289: What Do You Want from Me?
Electra’s POV
Jella’s eyes narrowed the moment I spoke, and the disgust on her face deepened, like I’d just spit on her shoes.
I had asked her plain and simple if she wasn’t planning on killing me, but she didn’t respond, not a word, and not even a twitch. She just stared at me like I was something she wished would disappear on its own, and before I could say anything else, my father, after sitting in silence like a moron, finally found his voice.
"How... how are you feeling?" he asked.
His voice was quieter than I expected and a little shaky. Almost like he didn’t know how to speak to me anymore.
"You must still be a little unwell."
I let out a soft, humorless laugh and folded my arms. "I’d be much better if I were still asleep," I said. "Maybe even enjoying a nice dream or two, if I hadn’t been dragged here with my friends."
He gave a small nod, like he understood, and for a second, I thought that would be it, but then, suddenly, he stood up. He pushed back his chair and walked toward me, and I stiffened, wondering why the hell he would want to get up.
My eyes narrowed as I took a step back. "What do you think you’re doing?" I asked, wary.
He didn’t answer right away. He just kept walking until he was right in front of me. Then, to my shock, he took my hand, gently and carefully, and then he said, "Thank you for not dying, my child."
I froze because what?
I looked down at our hands and then back up at his face, trying to figure out if this was some kind of weird joke, because if it was, it wasn’t funny.
This man—this man—stood by just nights ago while Jella talked about ending my life like it was a casual decision, like it was paperwork that needed to be signed.
He’d said nothing, he hadn’t stopped her, and he hadn’t defended me, but now, now he wanted to thank me?
I snatched my hand back and stepped away from him. "Are you being serious right now?" I asked.
He blinked at me.
"You didn’t say anything," I said. "That night, when I was unconscious, and when you thought I couldn’t hear you. You just sat there while she talked about killing me like I was already gone."
"Electra—"
"No," I snapped. "Don’t ’Electra’ me. You let her say it, and you didn’t stop her. You weren’t against the idea."
I turned to Jella. "And you, what, now you want to act like none of it happened?"
Jella still didn’t speak, but her silence said enough. She couldn’t care less if I overheard her, and I couldn’t say I was surprised.
I shook my head, stepping further back, just enough to feel the wall behind me.
"What do you want from me?" I asked, quieter this time.
They said nothing.
"Because you didn’t come here just to see if I was okay, and I’m pretty sure that you don’t care that I almost died, so why are you here?"
I exhaled slowly, fighting to keep my voice calm.
"I’m tired," I said. "I’m so, so tired, and if this little surprise meeting is just another setup for guilt or threats or whatever else, then I’m really not interested."
Astor hadn’t said anything for a while now, but I saw her glance between all of us like she didn’t quite know whose side she was supposed to be on.
I looked back at Vale. "Say what you came to say, or let me go back to my room."
He opened his mouth, but I raised a hand to stop him.
"But whatever you say, don’t thank me for surviving, and don’t act like we’re suddenly okay now. That’s not how this works."
Vale was about to say something until Jella stood up with a suddenness that made Astor flinch slightly behind her desk.
"You want to know why we’re here?" She snapped, finally breaking the tension. "We’re here to see if you were actually awake, Electra, and to find out what the hell happened to you."
"All this nonsense about how we wanted you dead?" she scoffed. "That’s not my business. I don’t care what you think you heard. So instead of standing there whining like some bratty child, how about you go back to your room, change into some decent clothes, and get ready to leave? We’re heading back to the palace immediately."
I blinked, stunned by her nerve, and then something inside me snapped too.
I lifted my chin. "No."
Her eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"
"I said no," I repeated, louder now. "I don’t want to go back to the palace. I only just woke up from a very serious illness, Jella. I’m not going to a place that drains the life out of me faster than any illness ever could."
Her face tightened. "I don’t recall asking what you wanted. This isn’t about your comfort, Electra, this is about image. Do you have any idea the kind of mess your disappearance has caused? What kind of embarrassment your survival now brings to those who thought you were gone?"
"Embarrassment?" I echoed. "Are you kidding me?"
I took a step forward, pointing to my chest.
"I’m barely recovered, and for some reason, you think I care about the royal family’s image?"
"You’re a princess, and protecting the image of the royal family should always be your priority," she hissed.
"No," I said through clenched teeth, "that’s your priority, and not mine."
She waved a hand in the air, clearly over the conversation. "Just do as you’re told, and don’t make this harder than it needs to be."
"Oh, I’d love to see you try to drag me out of here," I said, taking a step closer, and whispering so only she could hear me. "Go ahead. Touch me and see how fast I make you pay for it."
I could see her about to fire back, with her jaw tightening, and her shoulders squared, but before either of us could take another breath, my father finally spoke up.
"That’s enough, you two," Vale said.
Jella looked at him sharply, and I turned to him too, my heart still pounding in my chest.
"She’s still recovering," he said, looking between the two of us. "We shouldn’t be forcing her into anything yet."
Jella opened her mouth to argue, but he held up a hand.
"I said that’s enough."
Then he turned to me. "I’m sorry," he said. "For waking you. I just needed to see with my own eyes that you were really awake."
I stared at him, not sure how to respond. "You’ve seen me," I said. "Can you leave now?"
He hesitated. "For now, we’re going to let you get some rest, and when you’re ready, we’ll talk about what comes next."
I said nothing and just nodded stiffly because that was the best I was going to get.
Jella didn’t look pleased, but she didn’t argue. She just sat back down slowly, the disappointment written clearly on her face.
"Principal Astor," my father said, turning to the headmistress, "thank you for informing us. I trust you’ll ensure Electra has everything she needs while she’s recovering."
"Of course," Astor replied quickly.
He looked back at me. "We’ll give you a few days, and then we’ll send for you."
I didn’t respond.
I just turned around and walked straight to the door, gripping the handle harder than necessary before opening it and storming out.