Right then, the woman’s hand shot up, ready to strike.
Elliana moved like lightning, catching the woman’s wrist mid-air before the slap landed.
With a subtle twist, Elliana applied just enough pressure to make the woman wince. “Let go of me, you crazy freak!” the woman screamed. Unmoved, Elliana locked eyes with her. Her voice didn’t rise-and it didn’t need to. “Say you’re sorry to my friend.”
Refusing to retreat, the woman let loose a flood of nasty insults. “Apologize to that nobody? Please. She’s nothing. I shoved her. Big deal! If I feel like stepping on her face next time, I will. You two are bottom-feeders. How dare you demand an apology?”
“‘Bottom-feeders?” Elliana’s voice dropped as she echoed. Her eyes sharpened instantly, the glint behind them now laced with something meaner-something ready to bite. She’d heard that insult one too many times-Paige and Kiara had weaponized it back then, and it had scarred her deeply. Hearing it now lit a fuse she barely kept in check.
Elliana’s fingers clenched tighter, this time with full intent.
“Ow-hey!” the woman shouted, her confidence cracking.
The woman flashed her teeth, words laced with venom, as she blurted out, “You pitiful little waitress, you’re doomed! Do you even have a clue who’s sitting out there? He’s in a whole different world than you. Cross him, and you’re toast! I’m his woman. Come at me, and he’ll make you regret ever showing your face! Let go, you psycho waitress!”
Elliana’s smile was cold, her voice colder. “No, sweetheart. You’re the one who is finished.”
No amount of screaming helped. Elliana’s grip was locked in place, unshaken and merciless.
“Can’t wait to see how he reacts once I’m finished putting you in your place,” Elliana remarked, her eyes glowing with fire.
With one swift yank, Elliana tore straight through the woman’s fabric-clean, brutal, and loud enough to echo off the kitchen walls. What was left behind was bare skin and stunned silence-the woman stood stripped of everything but her humiliation.
Elliana hadn’t stopped at the dress-nothing was spared, underwear included.
The nude woman collapsed in a frantic heap, screeching as she scrambled to cover herself. “You’re out of your mind! How dare you!”
Hailee stood frozen, eyes wide, struggling to process what had just happened.
Without blinking, Elliana reached for the nearest pot-hot, bubbling chicken soup-and calmly tipped it right over the shrieking woman’s head.
Steam hissed from the woman’s skin as the boiling soup hit, instantly blooming red across her arms and shoulders. “Ah!” she screamed, writhing in pain.
Screaming and wild-eyed, the woman tore out of the kitchen like a woman on fire-naked, humiliated, and oblivious to everything but pain.
Hailee could only gape-outside waited a crew of hardened men, and this woman had just exploded into their midst wearing nothing but steam.
“Elliana-go! Use the back door!” Hailee shouted, panic rising fast. Hailee grabbed Elliana’s hand and tried to pull her toward the back, her heart pounding. “Please! If he sees this, you’re screwed!”
But Elliana yanked her hand free and walked toward the front entrance without a word.
“Elliana, what are you-?” Hailee called after her, confused.
Hailee didn’t understand the plan, but she followed. She always did.
The commotion had already drawn the attention of everyone outside. And then-bam-out came the woman, screeching, naked, and flailing like a banshee let loose. All eyes were locked on her. The stunned silence was deafening. It looked like she’d gone swimming in a soup cauldron-and left her dignity behind.
Then came Elliana, emerging calmly like a queen exiting a war zone.
She flicked a glance around and shrugged. “Yep. That was me.”
The woman, now stripped bare, had shed every trace of her seductive allure. No one was eyeing her hungrily anymore-just grimacing.
Elliana, however, remained effortlessly composed. Tossing aside her apron revealed a knockout silhouette so breathtaking that it froze every gaze in place.
A ripple of bewilderment passed through the crowd as people exchanged looks-what the hell had just happened?
Myles was the first to recover, snatching a tablecloth and rushing over to shield the woman.
Blindsided by Elliana’s fearless confession, the woman crumbled, her pride in shreds. She turned toward Cole, her voice shrill and desperate as she whimpered for sympathy, “Mr. Evans, that lowly waitress just snapped-she’s trying to steal you from me! Out of pure jealousy, she tore my dress and threw boiling soup on me! You have to do something about this!”
Gasps rippled through the crowd as all eyes swiveled to Elliana. No one expected the gentle waitress to turn savage like that. Over a man, no less. She’d just gone full rogue. Then again, who could blame her? Cole was rich, ruthless, and infuriatingly handsome. Women going unhinged for a guy like that? Par for the course.
The crowd swallowed the woman’s sob story whole-everyone except Cole. He wasn’t fooled for a second. He knew Elliana far too well. He still remembered the night he’d tried to sneak into her bed stark naked, only for her to boot him out like yesterday’s trash. She’d made it brutally clear she didn’t want him.
As far as he was concerned, the woman had earned her public takedown the moment she decided to mess with Elliana. He saw straight through the drama, but instead of calling the woman out, he turned to Elliana with a knowing smirk. “Mind telling us what really happened, miss?”
Elliana gave Cole a slow once-over, a teasing smirk playing at the corners of her mouth. “Your date warned me you’d come after me if I laid a finger on her. I’m the curious sort, so I decided to test her theory. Figured I’d find out just how far you’d go.”
Gasps rippled through the crowd. That was her explanation?
Cole let out a low laugh. His wife was truly something else. She was sassy and fiery-and he couldn’t get enough.
Elliana cocked her head, her gaze sharp and unflinching. “You asked what I thought of your date earlier. Well, here it is. She’s absolute garbage.”
Elliana snapped, her voice sharp enough to draw blood. “Some cheap whore who runs her mouth like it’s worth something. That’s the kind of woman you flaunt in front of me? What the hell is wrong with you? Scraping the bottom of the barrel, or just having such lousy taste?” She tilted her head with a venomous smile. “Or maybe your instincts led you to this specific type?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.