Proper Humiliation [2]

"You'll only get dirtier by talking to her," Leo said, his voice sharp and cold.

"She's not someone you should waste your breath on. Just pathetic."

Kiera's shoulders stiffened like someone had jammed a knife straight into her spine.

It wasn't just an insult—it was complete rejection.

As if even acknowledging her would somehow lower him.

As if she wasn't even worth feeling angry at.

For a moment, she just stood there, frozen, her mouth slightly open like she was trying to say something—

—but no words came out.

She looked like she couldn't even breathe properly.

Then, in a whisper so small I almost didn't hear it from behind the fence, she said,

"...I'm not pathetic."

No one responded.

No one even looked at her.

The sharp-eyed girl just smirked and crossed her arms, turning away with a bored shrug.

Like Kiera's pain was nothing more than background noise.