Chapter 129

“Odalys, what are you doing?”

“Don’t you sober up!” Odalys grabbed Finnian’s chin, forcing him to look her in the eye. “Are you sober?”

Everyone was stunned. They hadn’t expected Odalys to make such a reckless move. At a time like this, most people would have stepped back. But Odalys, without hesitation, grabbed a branch and viciously jabbed it into Finnian’s hand. The branch dug into his flesh, and Finnian let out a low grunt of pain. Blood started oozing from his hand, and the pain made him tremble, as if jolting him into full awareness.

The pain cleared his previously clouded eyes, and he felt more resistance to the effects of the drug Sophia had given him. Odalys wasn’t trying to save Finnian; she simply didn’t want Sophia to get too full of herself. Sophia had drugged Finnian, keeping him disoriented and making him carry out her wishes. Odalys didn’t care whether Finnian would act if he were awake; the possibility didn’t matter to her. But one thing she would never tolerate was Sophia getting too cocky.

“Thank you,” Finnian’s voice was hoarse. He clasped his hand tightly, watching the blood seep from his palm. But his heart tightened with unease. Finnian panicked, but as the pain faded, the image of Sophia began to fade from his mind. It was as though, since arriving, he’d been living in a daze, like he was stuck in a dream. He’d never felt this awake before. He slowly stood up, his eyes sharp and focused. He turned toward Sophia, his gaze cold and terrifying, no longer full of the affection it once held.

6:29 PM

Chapter 129

“You…!” Sophia froze when her eyes met Finnian’s. She felt something slipping out of her control, but she refused to believe it. It was the Love Spell. After Finnian drank it, he would follow whatever Sophia said, doing her bidding. But now, his eyes had changed. Sophia started to panic. Had the injury made him wake up? Did Odalys know this trick and deliberately wake him up, or was it just a coincidence? Sophia thought.

“I don’t know why you wanted me to cut the rope, but I admit this is my fault. I did cut the rope. About half an hour ago, she came into my room and hinted that I should climb out of the window. She kept Francis and Atlas busy outside so they didn’t notice I had left. And well, you all know what happened after I came back.” Finnian’s explanation directly placed the blame on Sophia.

Sophia staggered back, trembling, unable to believe it. She choked back a sob, her voice barely a whisper. “Finnian, why are you teaming up with her to betray me? She hit you and stabbed your hand. She’s the one who hurt you. So why are you turning on me? What did I do wrong? Why are you doing this to me?” Sophia took several steps back, her voice breaking. She was desperately trying to salvage her reputation, knowing that if she didn’t, it would be ruined.

Before she could say another word, Odalys stepped forward, grabbing Sophia’s chin and forcing her to look at her. Odalys stared into Sophia’s eyes, watching the panic flicker in them. “Don’t you know what you gave Finnian to drink!” Odalys asked in a low voice.

Sophia’s mind went blank, everything around her spinning. Francis turned around in shock, unable to believe what he was hearing, and looked at Sophia. The previous day, Sophia had brought a drink to both Francis and Finnian. Francis had sensed something was off and hadn’t drunk it, but Finnian had. At first, Finnian had been dizzy, then he developed a fever. Only today, after Sophia had given him some medicine, had Finnian finally regained consciousness.

6:29 PM

Chapter 129

Thinking back on this, Francis felt a chill run down his spine.

“What are you talking about! We’re on the same team! It’s completely normal for us to share food.” Sophia continued to argue, trying to twist the facts.

Suddenly, Odalys spun around and grabbed Sophia by the throat, lifting her off the ground. Everyone gasped in surprise. They hadn’t expected Odalys to have such strength. But no one dared step forward. Even the production team held their breath. Earlier, Odalys had asked the director to look up the security footage from earlier. The hidden cameras had clearly shown that it was Finnian who had cut the rope. For some reason, the footage hadn’t been broadcast at the time, but they had seen it. Now Odalys was holding Sophia accountable, and the production team dared not speak up. After all, everyone knew that what Odalys said was true. It was more than likely that Sophia had instigated the whole thing.

“Hey, let go! Let go!” Sophia struggled, gasping for air. She kept hitting Odalys’s hand, but Odalys only tightened her grip on Sophia’s throat. Then, with a swift motion, Odalys hurled Sophia into a nearby water bucket. There was a loud splash as Sophia thrashed around, her body slamming against the bucket, causing her intense pain. Sophia felt like her bones had cracked, but miraculously, she wasn’t bleeding.

“Odalys, do you really get some pleasure from bullying me?” Sophia struggled to stand up, dripping wet and looking pitiful. Her waist felt like it was broken, and her arm hurt from the impact.

“Of course, it’s enjoyable,” Odalys sneered. “I’ll let you off easily this time. But if you try something like this again, it won’t just be me throwing you into a bucket.”

Chapter 129

Odalys had deliberately tossed Sophia into the water. To everyone watching, it seemed like a minor thing, but in reality, Sophia had taken a hard hit. She was likely covered in bruises and might have even broken a bone. The pain was deep, bone-shaking, but there was no visible blood. Sophia couldn’t possibly rip her clothes off to show everyone, so she had to swallow her frustration, unable to release her anger. The more she held it in, the angrier she became.

With that thought, Odalys felt a sense of satisfaction as she walked away. As she passed Atlas, she kicked him lightly in the leg. It wasn’t hard, but it caused Atlas, who had been about to go to Sophia’s aid, to stumble back and sit down again. Atlas winced, his face contorted in pain.

Watching the situation unfold, everyone seemed to have figured it out. Though no one said anything, it was clear to them that Sophia had manipulated Finnian. The way people looked at her changed, their expressions more knowing. Sophia stamped her feet in frustration.

“Ah,” Sophia let out a low groan, but no one came forward to help her.

As Odalys walked back, she noticed Stellan was still holding the bucket. Raising an eyebrow, she asked, “Why are you still holding that? Isn’t it heavy?”

“Huh? Oh, I forgot,” Stellan said, realizing it only then. His arm had started to ache from holding it for so long. Quickly, Stellan set the bucket back down on the ground, rubbing his sore arm. He turned to Odalys and said, “Earlier, you suspected someone had tampered with our ropes.”

“Back then, did you know they were going to interfere? Or did you realize Finnian had followed us?” Stellan asked, curious.

When Stellan had tied the ropes earlier, Odalys had warned him that someone would tamper with them. Stellan hadn’t expected them to actually be cut later.

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