NB: The following scenes in Madelyn's POV may have some effects on readers; skip if you wish.
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CHAPTER 56
~Madelyn's POV~
The words struck me like lightning as a silent thunder roared in my ears, the reality of her command sinking in.
I searched her face for a flicker of mockery, a sign that this was a twisted joke.
But there was none. Only amusement—and expectation. My tongue turned to dust in my mouth. My chest ached.
Never in my life had I faced this kind of embarrassment.
Not like this. Not so… public, s-so raw.
The disgrace was something else entirely—it clung to my skin like filth I couldn't wash off.
As I knelt there, still hunched slightly from the lingering ache in my chest where Vice President Lilith's aura had knocked the air out of me, I dared to look up—and immediately wished I hadn't.