Rebirth Of The Forgotten Heiress - Chapter 45: Chapter 45

Rita was speechless.
Yalena kept crying out in distress for the two to stop fighting. Hearing their exchange, she choked back her sobs and tugged at Rita's sleeve. She said, "Please, Rita, just stop talking."
Rita said, "Stop talking? Look at her. Those two are locked in a fight, and she's just standing there enjoying the show."
Quinlyn shot Rita a sideways glance and said, "Tell you what, I'll go break up the fight, and you can dance to liven things up. How about that?"
Rita snapped, "You!"
"Well, I'll take that as a yes," Quinlyn declared, then barged straight into the fray. She thought, 'Breaking up a fight? Piece of cake. Playing nice won't cut it. But fighting fire with fire? That'll do the trick.'
Licking her lips with a sly grin, Quinlyn strode up to Zachary and Xavier, who were tangled together like mating snakes. Taking a deep breath, she rolled up her sleeves and reached out with both hands.
The others couldn't separate them because they dared not use real force, afraid of hurting these two heirs and bringing unnecessary trouble to their families. But Quinlyn wasn't like the others.
Quinlyn grabbed the two by their hair.
Teenage boys at this age always preferred to keep their hair a bit longer so they could style it in all sorts of flashy, attention-grabbing ways, which worked perfectly to Quinlyn's advantage.
Quinlyn grabbed a person's head in each hand, her grip vice-like as she used all her strength. The pain was written all over their twisted faces.
She flashed a polite smile and asked the two, "So, gentlemen, would you rather keep your hair or keep fighting?"
In unison, both Zachary and Xavier snarled, "None of your damn business." Their ferocious expressions were all bark and no bite.
If someone cared about them, their feelings would be shattered by now. But not Quinlyn, who had a tough heart.
Quinlyn didn't bat an eye; instead, she feigned understanding and said, "I see. So you've chosen to lose your hair, then."
With that, she clenched her fingers tight and, in a swift, forceful motion—like yanking weeds from dry ground—gave a sharp tug on their full heads of youthful hair.
With a brutal yank, Quinlyn sent both boys howling in pain. Their agonized shouts were so loud they startled an entire flock of birds from the trees.
Quinlyn beamed, her eyes crinkling with mirth, and teased, "So, have you two come to your senses yet, my good boys?"
Five minutes later, the two "good boys" sat on either side, clutching their heads while shooting Quinlyn intermittent glances. Their eyes flickered with a volatile mix of resentment and fear.
Quinlyn sat in the chair with regal dominance. Holding a glass of red wine in her left hand and a skewer of grilled shrimp in her right, she was completely indifferent to the wary glances the two boys kept shooting her way.
After polishing off the last grilled shrimp skewer, Quinlyn let out a satisfied burp and shifted her gaze to Rita.
Seeing Quinlyn look her way, Rita instinctively reached up and touched her hair, as if to make sure it was still all there.
"Girls don't look good bald, you know. Don't worry, I won't touch your hair," Quinlyn said with a smile, her gentle expression almost convincing.
Had Rita not just witnessed what had happened, she might have believed Quinlyn meant it kindly. After what had just happened, she felt Quinlyn's smile was anything but friendly.
Quinlyn smacked her lips and said, "Now, about that little bet we made earlier, time to pay up."
Rita thought, 'Just as I thought, she's up to no good.'
Quinlyn gazed out the window and said, "What a gorgeous moon tonight, and what a splendid feast we've had. Now that we're full and content, it's only fitting to enjoy a beauty's dance under the moonlight. Don't you agree, Rita?"
Before Rita could respond, Yalena couldn't take it anymore. She stormed up to Quinlyn and snapped, "Quinlyn, what the hell are you trying to do? Must you always humiliate people like this?"
Quinlyn let out a thoughtful hum. She thought, 'Novels, if you want to hold onto the protagonist's spot, you've got to keep asserting your presence. In this regard, Yalena is nailing it. She makes a splash at every turn.
'She could've just stayed in her room, wallowing in self-pity since this wasn't even her business tonight, but no, defiantly, she barged out and instantly turned the whole situation up a notch, sending the tension straight to a boiling point.
'Originally, it should have been Yalena stepping forward to mediate between the two, but I hijacked the situation, leaving her silently sidelined. And now, she pops back up again.
'Her timing is impeccable. Zachary is her canon love interest, while Xavier is her devoted follower. No matter how she responds, their eyes never leave her, especially since they'd just fought over her.
'Forbidden fruit is the sweetest. Who knows? Maybe this little scuffle is all it takes for Yalena to carve out a place in Zachary's heart.'
Yalena seemed to have picked up on this, too. She started acting even more like a self-righteous crusader, brandishing a shield of justice.
Quinlyn echoed mockingly, "Humiliate?"
Yalena snapped, "Yes. You did the same thing to Xavier before. Must you constantly prove you're better than everyone else? Do you have to step on others and act superior just to make yourself feel good?"
Quinlyn nodded and drawled, "What an excellent point. Then how about you dance instead?" As she spoke, she stroked her chin and looked Yalena up and down, her expression unimpressed.
Yalena balled her fists, her self-righteous "Justice Warrior" mode kicking in. She snapped, "Quinlyn, how could you..."
Before she could finish, Quinlyn cut her off bluntly. She said, "Enough. I know your dancing is pathetic compared to Rita's decade of professional training. But don't worry, I'll lower my standards for you."
Yalena was speechless. She thought, 'So now if I don't dance, it automatically means I can't dance? That I'm worse than Rita?'
By now, the pain had sobered Xavier up quite a bit. Rubbing his aching head, he said hoarsely, "Quinlyn, don't make things so hard."
At his words, Yalena's expression softened.
But just then, Xavier added, "Yalena really isn't much of a dancer. If you want to see someone dance, I'll do it instead."
Yalena was speechless.
Disdain practically oozed from Quinlyn's expression. She felt an itch to throw hands again.
Xavier's dancing skills were quite impressive. His entire dance training consisted of the basics he learned in kindergarten. If he could still wiggle through a morning exercise routine after all these years, that was already impressive.
After finishing the morning exercise, Xavier tried to show off with a slide forward. But his foot slipped and he lost his balance, tumbling straight ahead.
Quinlyn caught Xavier just in time to keep his head from hitting the ground, but his legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees dramatically at her feet.
Xavier's face morphed through every shade of humiliation.
Quinlyn paused, then tactfully said to help Xavier save face, "Settling two bets at once, now that's what I call generous."
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Xavier abruptly sprang to his feet.
Yalena opened her mouth, wanting to say something to soothe Xavier's wounded pride.
But before she could, Xavier took a step back, then turned and stormed off to his room without so much as a backward glance. The violent slam of his door sent a visible shudder through everyone present.
Yalena's outstretched hand remained frozen mid-air.