"Everyone, rest assured. As long as I'm at that school, the mistress's brat will never set foot inside those gates again! I've already submitted the expulsion paperwork to the principal. Carly can forget about ever coming back!"
The words had barely left her mouth before the crowd erupted in cheers and agreement.
"School is a place for proper education! We can't let someone like her ruin it! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and I won't have my child corrupted!"
Maria's face spread into a satisfied, self-assured smile as she basked in every last syllable of flattery.
I stood there, and the scene before me felt like something from a fever dream.
She truly believed her husband was some powerful, untouchable figure, worth parading around like a trophy for all to see.
What she didn't know was that without me, that brilliant husband of hers would still be groveling at someone else's feet, begging for scraps.
I was the one who'd lifted him to the top. And I could just as easily crush him back down to nothing.
I reached out and pushed the villa door wide open.
Someone spotted me. The roaring, festive atmosphere died in an instant, snuffed out like a candle.