Chapter 198 Proud Marchioness
_Brielle’s POV_
I stood outside the bathroom door for a few seconds, taking a series of long breaths to settle my racing heart. I reached up with trembling fingers and carefully smeared the dark mascara around my eyes, rubbing them hard until they looked completely red, raw, and puffed up.
I squeezed my eyes tight, forcing real hot tears to fall down my cheeks, before turning on my heels and walking slowly down the long hallway toward the grand ballroom.
The burning sensation on my left cheek was throbbing with a stingy pain, but the red handprint was bright and impossible to miss against my pale skin. It was absolute perfection.
The moment I pushed open the double doors of the ballroom, the background music came to a complete stop. The timing could not have been better if I had scripted it myself. I put on my best hurt helpless expression and took a few staggering steps into the crowded room.
"Oh my goodness, Brielle!" a lady standing near the entrance suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs. "What on earth happened to your face?!"
Because the music had just faded out, her loud piercing scream echoed straight across the cavernous ballroom.
Every single person in the room turned their heads sharply in my direction. Instant whispers broke out across the crowd like wildfire as people caught sight of my smeared makeup, my tear-stained cheeks, and the massive angry red mark covering the side of my face.
I quickly looked down at the floor, wiping a fake tear from my eye with a trembling hand.
"I am fine," I said softly, letting my voice shake just enough for everyone standing near me to hear every word. "Please, do not worry about me at all. I just encountered a little problem back in the restroom. It is really nothing serious."
I glanced through my lashes across the room and spotted Alaric standing near the open terrace doors. His dark eyes locked onto my bruised face, and his brows pulled together in a dangerous frown.
At that exact second, my mother rushed through the parting crowd straight to my side. The moment her eyes fell on the handprint marring my cheek, she let out a horrified gasp.
"Who did this to you?!" my mother screamed furiously, her voice drawing the rest of the high-society guests even closer to us. "Look at your face, Brielle! It is completely ruined!"
Alaric walked over with commanding strides, his powerful aura cutting through the room as the crowd scrambled out of his way. He stopped directly in front of us, his frame looming over me as he looked down at my swollen cheek with an unreadable expression.
"Brielle," Alaric questioned firmly, his deep voice carrying a tone that demanded an immediate answer. "What happened to you?"
A small wave of triumph washed over me. I knew right then that my trap had sprung perfectly. Everyone in the city’s upper class was watching us, and Alaric was forced to address the open violence right here in front of the entire pack elite.
I opened my mouth, letting my voice shake as I looked up at Alaric with wide, teary eyes filled with fake innocence.
"I only had a small exchange with Rowena in the bathroom," I blurted out, sniffling softly and dabbing at my nose. "I told her a few things, but there is really no need for anyone to bother Rowena about it. She was clearly in the wrong for doing this to me, but I truly do not want to cause a scene at my own homecoming party."
I took a small step back, clutching my tissue tightly in my hand.
"Please, everyone, do not worry yourselves," I added, looking around at the shocked, murmuring faces of the guests with a brave smile. "I will just go straight up to my room and treat the mark myself. I am a trained doctor, after all. I can handle a minor injury."
My mother was practically shaking with rage beside me, her knuckles white. Just as I turned around toward the grand staircase, her eyes caught movement near the hallway archway. She raised her hand, pointing an angry trembling finger toward the ballroom doors.
Rowena had just walked into the hall, looking completely calm and composed, as if she hadn’t just brutally slapped someone across the face minutes ago.
"You!" my mother shouted at Rowena, her icy demeanor completely shattering in front of everyone. "How dare you lay your hands on my daughter like this in our own home?!"
Rowena didn’t look flustered or nervous at all. She walked toward the center of the room, her blonde hair swaying over her back as she stopped a few feet away from us.
"I struck your daughter because she crossed a line that should never be crossed," Rowena said calmly, her tone steady. "Brielle insulted my dead father and my brothers. She insulted my family name."
I quickly shook my head, fresh tears spilling over my eyelashes as I looked at the crowd with an expression of pure distress. "I did not mean it that way at all!" I cried out. "I was only speaking casually about the past! I had no idea Rowena would become so deeply angered that she would physically strike me!"
Rowena let out a cold smirk. She completely ignored my tears and slowly walked straight over to where I stood. She stopped directly in front of me, her eyes fixing onto mine with an icy glare.
"Kindly stay away from me, Brielle," Rowena said, but her words was harsh. "Do not speak to me, and do not ever bring up my family again."
My mother stepped directly between us, glaring at Rowena with pure hatred now.
"You think your high position gives you the absolute right to put your hands on my child?!" my mother hissed, her teeth grit tightly as she stared Rowena down. "Brielle did not use physical violence against you! She only used words from her mouth! You had no right to hit my daughter to this extreme extent over simple words! You will apologize to Brielle right now!"
The entire ballroom went silent, you could hear a pin drop on the floor. Everyone held their breath, waiting eagerly to see how the proud Marchioness would handle the aggressive demand for a public apology.
Rowena stood tall, her shoulders back and her head held high as she met my mother’s hateful glare without a flinch or trace of fear.
A cold smile touched her lips in return, "I would rather eat broken glass than apologize to Brielle Logan," Rowena said boldly.
The entire crowd gasped aloud, completely stunned into silence by her harsh refusal.