Jennie could feel the weight of every gaze in the room without lifting her eyes to meet a single one of them. The murmurs had faded into a suffocating silence now, thick and expectant, pressing against her skin as though the entire room was waiting for her to breathe wrong.
At her feet, Sophia remained kneeling.Her shoulders trembled beneath the fragile restraint holding her together, fingers curled tightly against the polished floor until her knuckles lost their color. Each breath left her unevenly, quiet but painfully audible in the stillness. The composure Jennie had entered the room with had dissolved so completely she could barely remember what it felt like.
Still, Sophia looked at her,not with anger,not even with fear.But with something far more dangerous. Hope. As though Jennie alone stood between her and ruin.Across from them Young Master Jacob watched in silence, one hand resting lazily against the arm of his chair while his attention remained fixed entirely on Jennie. There was amusement in his gaze, but beneath it lingered something sharper, something infinitely more interested.
He noticed everything,She stood too stiffly beside Emily, hands clasped so tightly in front of her that the delicate bones of her fingers pressed visibly beneath pale skin. Every few seconds her thumb dragged nervously across the side of her knuckle before stopping again, as though she kept catching herself fidgeting, the way her brown eyes faltered for half a second after he told her to choose Sophia's punishment. The slight hitch in her breathing. The faint color draining from her face as the reality of his words settled over her.A quiet thought crossed his mind then
"Personally, I would not have minded seeing Sophia's head presented neatly before me, but frightening my little kitten too quickly ,would ruin the fun." The corner of his mouth almost lifted.
Jennie swallowed hard, her throat tightening visibly, and Jacob's curiosity deepened instead of fading. Fear did not suit her the way defiance did, yet there was something captivating about watching her struggle between mercy and survival.
So I waited ,
And because I waited, the entire room waited with me.
Jennie inhaled quietly.
"If…"
The word nearly disappeared.
She stopped immediately afterward, her heart shape lips pressing together in frustration at herself. I watched her gather courage in tiny pieces ,the faint lift of her chin, the way her shoulders straightened despite the nervous tension trapped inside them.
"If she truly regrets what she did…"
Sophia's fingers twitched violently against the floor,Jennie noticed it too. Jacob saw it in the flicker of hesitation crossing her face.
Then came the mistake.
"Then she should apologize properly."
Sophia froze.
Not dramatically.
Just… still.
So still the room itself seemed louder around her.Jacob leaned slightly into the arm of his chair, watching carefully now.Jennie finally looked at Sophia directly. There was nothing cruel in her expression. No satisfaction. No malice. Only uncertainty twisting softly between her brows as though she was trying desperately to choose the gentlest option available.
"Not just to me," she added quietly. "To everyone here."
A staff near the door lowered his eyes immediately.Another shifted almost imperceptibly.Sophia didn't move neither.She remained motionless for one long second before her breathing changed.
A shallow inhale.
Then another.
Her shoulders tightened first, pulling inward faintly like she'd been struck somewhere invisible. One of her hands slid slightly across the marble before stopping abruptly, fingers spreading against the floor as though steadying herself.
Ah this would be interesting .
There it is.
Jennie saw none of it.
She looked almost relieved after speaking, like she believed she had found a solution.Humans mistook mercy for kindness too often.
Jacob had seen people beg before.He had seen men dragged across marble floors with blood filling their mouths. Seen women collapse at his feet until their sobbing turned incoherent. Fear was ordinary in this house. Humiliation even more so.But this was different because Sophia was proud even when Reg spent the night breaking each of her bone, she didn't cry, she just healed herself over and over . And pride, once cracked open carefully enough, was far more beautiful than fear.
Jacob leaned back slightly in his chair, grey sapphire eyes fixed on the woman kneeling beneath Jennie as silence stretched mercilessly around her.
Sophia had not moved after Jennie's sentence,not immediately.
Her body remained rigid at first, like something struggling to survive the first strike before the pain fully arrived. Then slowly, almost imperceptibly, her shoulders began to shake.Jacob noticed the exact second realization settled into her ,not punishment but submission publicly in front of the staff,in front of guards,in front of him.
Most importantly In front of Jennie.
A faint sob escaped Sophia's throat before she bit it back quickly, but not fast enough. The room heard it. Jacob saw the humiliation flood her face instantly afterward, saw her fingers curl harder against the polished floor until her knuckles whitened.
Interesting
Jennie shifted uncomfortably beside Emily .She still did not understand what she had done, rather the damage she was doing .Jacob's gaze drifted toward her briefly. Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her dress now, eyes uncertain, lips parted slightly with visible regret already beginning to creep in.
Too late for that.
Sophia inhaled shakily.
Then lowered herself completely.
Not elegantly,
Not gracefully,
Her forehead touched the cold marble with a soft sound that echoed through the silence far louder than it should have.
Jacob saw several servants immediately lower their eyes.No one wanted to witness this directly.Sophia's breath hitched the moment her head bowed fully to the floor. Her composure fractured visibly after that. A trembling sob slipped out before she could stop it, muffled against the marble beneath her lips.
Jennie startled softly at him.
I almost smiled.
Sophia tried to speak, but the words tangled inside broken breathing first.
"I…" Another unsteady breath. "I sincerely apologize to Young Miss Jennie…"
Her voice was barely holding together now.
The humiliation had settled into her skin completely.Jacob watched her fingers tremble violently against the floor, watched tears gather beneath her eyes before slipping silently down the bridge of her nose onto the marble beneath her face.
Beautiful.
Not because she suffered.
Because she hated suffering in front of witnesses.
"And? Speak louder if you don't want your throat ripped out " Jacob asked coldly .
Sophia flinched slightly.
Her throat worked visibly before another sob escaped her despite the desperate restraint tightening every muscle in her body.
"I behaved shamefully ….I apologize to every staff here…Am sorry …" she shouted in between sobs
The staff remained deathly silent around the room.No one dared breathe too loudly.
Sophia swallowed hard, but her voice only weakened further.
"I forgot my place…"
The final words shattered something inside her.Jacob saw it happen.
Her shoulders collapsed inward after that sentence left her mouth, as though the weight of hearing herself say it had become unbearable. Tears slid freely now, one after another staining the marble beneath her bowed head while quiet sobs escaped no matter how fiercely she fought them.
Jennie took a small step forward instinctively.
"That's enough," she said quickly, her voice softer now, almost distressed.
Sophia's crying immediately stilled.
Not entirely but enough for Jacob to notice.
Interesting again.
Even humiliated beyond repair, she still listened for Jennie's voice first.Jacob rested his knuckles lightly against his desk , studying them both carefully.
Jennie looked horrified now, more pale,not triumphant ,not satisfied,
,just painfully human.looking like she regretted everything.
And Sophia battered and broken looking even while kneeling still tried to preserve some dignity. Her back remained straight despite the trembling beginning to betray her shoulders. Both hands rested against the polished marble floor, fingers curled slowly tighter and tighter until the tendons beneath her skin became visible.Sophia looked at Jennie like she wanted to carve that softness out of her with bare hands.
Their eyes met for only a second.
Jennie froze.Because even through tears, humiliation, and trembling breaths, the hatred inside Sophia's gaze remained alive.
Sharp enough to cut.
Jacob smiled then.
Slowly.
There it is.