Chapter 77

"She's been stepping on us long enough-why should we let it slide? Rodger will make sure she pays for it,"Sebastian urged before climbing into the car and speeding away with Violet.

They arrived at the hospital and went directly to Rodger's room.

Rodger glanced up, surprised to see his younger brother seething while Violet looked as if she had been wronged.

"What's going on with you two?" Rodger asked, his brows knitting as he studied their faces.

The bandaged wound on Violet's arm immediately caught his attention. He scrambled out of bed so fast he nearly lost his balance.

"Careful, Rodger," Violet said quickly, reaching to steady him.

"Your hand..." Rodger's voice faltered as he gently took hers, his heart tightening at the sight.

His grip hardened, and fury clouded his features. "Who did this?" he asked, his voice breaking through clenched teeth, eyes reddening with anger.

Though she saw how upset he was, Violet still spoke softly. "It's nothing. Don't be angry. I fell on my own..."

"That's a lie!" Sebastian cut her off, unable to hold back.

He had expected her to reveal everything to Rodger, but even now she was trying to protect Emilia.

If that wretched woman had even a fraction of Violet's grace and warmth, putting up with her would have been far less of a burden.

"Who did this?" Rodger's face grew darker when his eyes shifted to Sebastian's injured hand. His frown deepened."You're hurt too?"

"Yeah. It was Emilia..." Sebastian launched into an explanation, telling him how she had found out about their trip to the dance academy and picked a fight.

He carefully left out the part where Emilia had actually earned her way in. In his mind, there was no way she had truly succeeded on her own. It had to be dumb luck. In his eyes, details like that were unimportant to Rodger, hardly worth his concern.

"Her again!" Rodger exclaimed, anger boiling over.

She kept pushing, testing how far she could go. Emilia's refusal to give up her place as his wife was the only reason she created such outrageous scenes. Not only had she refused to finalize the divorce, but she also kept clashing with Violet, as if making trouble would somehow guarantee her place in the family and drive Violet away.

It was nothing short of venom.

How blind and absurd she was, acting as though schemes and defiance would make him choose her. If that was her plan, then Emilia was living in a fantasy. His heart belonged to Violet, and there was no chance he would ever fall for Emilia.

"Rodger, what are you going to do about this?" Sebastian asked.

If Rodger stayed passive, he planned to take action himself. He refused to accept that Emilia was beyond his reach.

"Give me a moment to think," Rodger said, casting a quick, worried glance at Violet's scraped hand.GO fetch some ointment for those scratches.I need to clean them."

"Alright," Sebastian responded and left the room.

When Rodger reached out and brushed Violet's arm, she flinched and drew in a sharp breath."Ouch!"

Only then did Rodger notice the raw scrape along her elbow, and seeing it pulled at his chest with sudden sympathy.

"Why didn't you tell me? I never saw this. Were you planning to hide it? Do you have any other injuries?"Rodger asked, his voice rough with both anger and worry at the way she acted like it was nothing. ...I was scared you'd blame Emilia,"Violet stammered,deceitful tears welling and making her seempainfully fragile.

Those tears were a tool she knew how to use.Carefully wielded,they could chip away at Emilia's positionuntil she was gone.