I took one deep breath, then pushed the door open.
The moment I stepped outside, all eyes turned to me. The argument halted mid-sentence as my mother's face twisted with a mixture of triumph and calculation. The four men who had become my world formed a protective semicircle, their bodies instinctively shifting to shield me while still allowing me to speak.
"Lilianna," my mother called, her voice instantly transforming into the concerned, maternal tone she reserved for public performances. "Darling, I've been so worried about you."
I felt rather than saw the alphas tense around me, their protective instincts flaring at her false sweetness. I moved forward, placing a gentle hand on Christopher's arm as I passed him. His muscles were coiled tight beneath my touch, but he let me step forward.
"Mother," I said, my voice carrying across the lawn with surprising steadiness. "I think you should leave."
Her smile faltered for a second, “I am just worried about you….I have the right to be here to make sure you are alright.”
I held my ground, feeling, rather than seeing my alphas shifting protectively closer to me. The cameraman my mother had brought along swiveled to capture my appearance.
"Don't," I said, my voice carrying across the yard with unexpected strength. "Don't pretend this is about concern for me."
My mother's expression hardened for a fraction of a second before softening again, awareness of the camera clearly influencing her performance. "Sweetheart, you're confused. These men have—"
"Have done nothing but care and love me.” I told her and could see her lip curl slightly in annoyance. I knew she was taken aback by me arguing with her.
"These men have given me more respect in the past few months than you gave me in twenty-three years," I continued, my voice growing stronger with each word. "They asked what I wanted. They listened when I said no. They gave me space to heal from what you did to me."
My mother's mask slipped completely for a moment, her face twisting with fury before she caught herself. "What I did? Lilianna, I gave you everything—"
"You gave me nothing but criticism and control," I interrupted, shocking both of us. I'd never cut her off before. "You told me I was worthless unless I could secure a beneficial mating. You put me on heat suppressants after my first heat and I haven’t had one since. Those suppressants were harmful to me. If I stayed on those I could have lost my ability to have children.”
My mother's face flushed with anger. "That's ridiculous! Those suppressants were prescribed by our family physician—"
"A physician you paid to ignore the side effects," I cut in, my voice steadier than I'd ever thought possible when confronting her. "Dr. Chen confirmed it. Ten years on those suppressantshas damaged my system. I may never have a normal heat cycle again."
I could feel the tension radiating from the alphas behind me, their protective instincts flaring at this public acknowledgment of what had been done to me. The cameraman shifted, adjusting his angle to capture both my face and my mother's reaction.
"You're being melodramatic," my mother snapped, momentarily forgetting her audience. "Everything I did was for your own good.”
"You monitored my food, my weight, my friends," I continued, finding strength in finally saying these things aloud. "You scheduled my life down to the minute. You made me believe I was nothing without your approval."
"That's not true," my mother hissed, her composure cracking. "I was preparing you for the real world—"
"You were preparing me to be traded like property," I countered. "You were grooming me to be a bargaining chip in your social climbing. And when I finally found happiness on my own terms, you couldn't stand it. Not when they didn’t give you what you wanted them to give you." I paused letting my words grip hold. "Because this was never about my happiness," I continued, my voice growing stronger with each word. "It was about what I could do for you. What connections I could bring, what doors I could open."
My mother's face contorted with rage, her carefully maintained facade crumbling. "You ungrateful little—" She caught herself, eyes darting to the camera. "These men have poisoned you against your own family."
I felt Miles step closer behind me, his presence solid and reassuring. I didn't need to look to know all four alphas were there, supporting me without taking over.
"The only person who's ever manipulated me is standing right in front of me," I said, my voice unwavering. "You've spent myentire life convincing me I was only worth what I could provide to our family's status. These men showed me I'm worth so much more than that."
I felt Julian step closer behind me, his warmth radiating against my back without touching me. His silent support gave me courage to continue.
"Tell me, Mother, why is Karen here?" I asked, turning my attention to the assistant who was trying to shrink behind my mother. "Is it because she's the one who leaked some of the rumors? Or did you leak some of the recordings she did when we argued. Did she leak the whole thing? Did everyone hear me begging you? OR when you hit me? Kneel on glass? Or when you made me throw up the cake I ate at an event but I wasn’t supposed to have it?”
I spit those facts one after another, noticing the tensing of the men after each new fact that was told.
I watched as Karen's face went white, her eyes darting nervously between my mother and me. The cameraman had stopped pretending to be discreet, now openly filming the confrontation.
"Don't be ridiculous," my mother snapped, but I could see the calculation in her eyes as she gauged how much the cameraman had captured. "You always had such a flair for dramatics."
"You can deny it all you want," I said, feeling a strange calm settle over me. "But I'm not afraid of you anymore. I'm not the scared little omega who would do anything to avoid your disapproval."
I felt Christopher's hand brush lightly against my back—a silent reminder that I wasn't alone. The touch gave me strength to continue.
