Chapter 5

Elna POV:

The mention of Garrison' s name was like a magic spell. The cautious smiles of the sales assistants turned into obsequious grins. Their previously discerning eyes now held a calculating gleam as they ushered Katia and her friends towards the most expensive racks. They brought out champagne. They brought out jewelry. It was a carnival of excess, all at my expense.

The pile of clothes, shoes, and accessories grew into a small mountain. My mind, usually so orderly, struggled to keep track of the escalating cost. It had to be tens of thousands. More.

Finally, Katia, beaming, presented the grand total. The assistant, her voice overly sweet, listed a figure that made my blood run cold. It was astronomical. A number I didn't possess.

"Elna, darling," Katia said, her smile unwavering. "It's your turn. Pay up."

My throat was dry. "I... I don't have that kind of money," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

Katia' s smile faltered, a flicker of irritation crossing her face. "What do you mean you don't have it? Garrison gave you unlimited funds, didn't he?"

"My cards are probably blocked," I explained, my voice flat. "I've been... away."

A ripple of unease went through Katia' s clique. They looked at me, then at the mountain of merchandise, then back at Katia, their eyes wide. This was not the humiliation they had anticipated. This was a potential embarrassment for them.

"She's lying," Tiffany hissed. "She always makes excuses."

I stood my ground, my posture stiff. The cold, hard core of defiance from earlier resurfaced. I wouldn' t be bullied into this. Not anymore. Not for them. My gaze met Katia' s, unwavering. I felt no fear, only a strange, quiet resolve.

Katia' s face flushed. Her perfect façade was cracking. She hated being undermined, especially in front of her cronies. With a frustrated sigh, she snatched Garrison' s black card from her purse. "Fine! I'll pay for it myself! You' re just pathetic, Elna."

She slammed the card onto the counter. The sales assistant, ever the professional, swiped it smoothly. The transaction went through. Katia managed a strained smile as she signed the receipt, then glared at me.

As soon as the threat of financial embarrassment was averted, Katia' s friends regained their swagger. They surrounded me again, their whispers sharp as needles.

"Still the same Elna, always so useless," one girl sneered. "Remember how she used to just take it? Never fought back."

"Yeah, she' s pathetic," another agreed. "Let's remind her what she really is."

Katia' s eyes gleamed as she caught their drift. She grabbed my arm, her grip surprisingly strong. "Come on, Elna. Let's have a little private chat."

She dragged me towards the back of the boutique, past the fitting rooms, and into a pristine, white-tiled bathroom. Her friends followed, blocking the entrance. The fluorescent lights hummed, casting a harsh glow.

Before I could react, Katia ripped at the emerald dress, tearing the silk. Her friends joined in, their laughter echoing in the small space. My dress was in tatters, revealing the simple undergarments beneath. They laughed louder, pointing.

"What's this, Elna?" Katia sneered, her fingers tracing a faint, old scar on my arm, a relic from a childhood accident. "Trying to hide your imperfections? You're not so perfect without Garrison's money, are you?"

Her friends chimed in, mocking my body, my lack of curves, my general "unattractiveness."

"And look at her face," Tiffany said, poking my cheek. "Still so blank. Doesn't she feel anything?"

"Oh, she feels something," Katia hissed, her face inches from mine. "She feels nothing for Garrison, I can tell you that. He told me himself. He said she was cold. Distant. That's why he needed someone like me. Someone warm. Someone real."

She leaned in closer, her voice a venomous whisper. "He told me he hated how you never reacted. How you never cried. He said it made him feel like he was with a doll. But with me... with me, he feels everything. He feels alive."

My chest clenched. His words then, Empty. A void. Now echoed by Katia, twisted into a weapon.

"You know," Katia continued, a cruel smile spreading across her face, "he even said you were like a neglected pet. He kept you out of pity. But now he has me. And I' m certainly not a pet." Her eyes glittered with triumph. "I'm his future. You're just his past. His mistake."

Suddenly, a commotion came from outside the bathroom door. Voices, hushed and urgent. Katia' s face hardened. She signaled to her friends.

The door burst open, and one of her friends, a wide-eyed girl named Jessica, stumbled in, holding something. It was a small, white rabbit. Its fur was matted with what looked like blood, and one of its ears was torn. Its tiny body trembled in her grasp.

"Look what we found in the alley!" Jessica giggled, her eyes bright with malicious glee. "Someone abandoned it. It's so cute!"

My breath hitched. The rabbit looked terrified, its eyes wide and pleading.

"Hmm," Katia mused, her eyes fixed on me, a cruel plan forming in her mind. "Elna, darling. You're so good with animals, aren't you? So empathetic. Why don't you... comfort it?" She snatched the rabbit from Jessica' s hand and thrust it into my arms, its small body shaking.

"Show us how much you feel, Elna," Katia sneered, her voice cold. "Kiss it. Lick it. Make it feel loved." Her friends snickered, their eyes fixed on me, waiting.

I froze, the trembling rabbit in my arms. My mind recoiled. This was beyond humiliation. This was... grotesque. I clutched the rabbit instinctively, trying to shield its injured body. The animal whimpered, its fear palpable.

"What's wrong, Elna?" Katia taunted. "Can't bring yourself to show some affection? Or is it that you only care about yourself?" She grabbed my jaw, forcing my head down towards the injured rabbit. "Do it! Or we'll tell Garrison you abused it."

The malicious gleam in her eyes, the insistent pressure on my head, the whimpering animal-it was too much. A wave of nausea washed over me. My hands shook. I tried to pull away, to protest, but their laughter filled the small room, deafening me.

I closed my eyes, a single tear tracing a path down my cheek. I was powerless. Again.

"Enough!" Katia' s voice cut through the air, her tone sharp. She snatched the rabbit from my grasp, tossing it carelessly to one of her friends. "She' s not worth the effort. Let's go. I'm bored."

They left me in the bathroom, my clothes torn, my body shaking, the phantom touch of their cruelty lingering on my skin. I sank to the floor, my mind numb.

Hours later, Garrison returned home. He found Katia in the living room, weeping hysterically, her arm bandaged. She was curled up on the sofa, looking fragile and tormented.

"Garrison, darling!" she sobbed, rushing into his arms. "It was Elna! She... she went crazy! She attacked me!"

"What happened?" Garrison demanded, his face a mask of concern. He held her close, stroking her hair.

"She found out I paid for her shopping, and she just... snapped!" Katia wailed, her voice muffled against his chest. "She said I was trying to replace her, that I was a fake! She grabbed my arm, she twisted it! She even tried to... to hit me!"

She pulled away slightly, revealing a deep scratch on her arm. "Look! She did this to me!"

Garrison' s eyes blazed with fury. "Elna did this?"

Katia nodded, her face streaked with tears. "She was muttering about how she wished I was dead, how she wanted to... to see me suffer."

Just then, Mrs. Higgins, the long-time housekeeper, appeared at the archway, wringing her hands. "Mr. Crawford, sir, I heard... I heard Miss Elna raising her voice. She seemed very upset. And then... I heard a struggle. I saw her... she had Miss Katia by the arm, sir."

My heart sank. Mrs. Higgins. She was loyal to the Crawfords, always had been. Her testimony would seal my fate.

Garrison' s eyes, already burning with rage, intensified. He looked at me, standing frozen in the doorway, my torn dress barely covering me. His face was a thundercloud. He believed them. He believed her.