Polished Nails and Cracked Egos

The next social event came faster than anyone expected.

A charity gala at the Grand Ormara Hotel, crystal chandeliers, gold-trimmed walls, tables dressed in white silk, and enough bored Alphas and high-bred Omegas to make Krishna want to fake a migraine halfway through.

But no.

Tonight, she showed up.

Not for charity. Not for networking.

Just for entertainment.

Krishna floated through the crowd in a sleek, backless black dress, every inch of her screaming "I'm still here, and I don't care."

Aaron trailed behind her at a respectable distance, dressed clean and sharp, doing his usual lapdog stare anytime someone got too close.

The music hummed low, people chatted fake-niceties, champagne flowed… and on the far side of the ballroom?

The Riley twins stood with Leevah.

All three of them glittering with forced smiles and sharper-than-necessary stiletto heels.

Leevah's laugh? Too loud. Too fake.

Allysa and Alliyah? Watching Krishna like a pair of panthers licking their wounds but too prideful to limp.

Krishna caught the glare they threw her way and smiled sweetly, lifting her champagne glass in a lazy, mocking toast.

Leevah was the first to snap.

With slow, deliberate steps, she crossed the room, heels clicking like gunfire on marble.

"Funny seeing you here, sister," Leevah said, voice dripping venom behind a fake-laced smile.

Krishna didn't even look up from her drink.

"Is it? I was invited. Unlike whatever social virus dragged you three into one corner."

Leevah's nostrils flared, but she kept her composure.

"Still playing savior for Beta trash?"

Krishna tilted her head, eyes going flat.

"Still playing Alpha mean-girl at your big age?"

A sharp inhale from nearby guests.

A few heads turned.

The Riley twins stiffened, but neither dared step closer. Not after last time.

Leevah took one more step toward her, voice dropping low.

"Keep pushing, Krishna. See how far you get without Father's leash around your neck."

Krishna leaned in, barely a breath between them, smile never leaving her lips.

"Oh darling," she whispered sweet and slow. "You think I'm on a leash?"

Her gaze flicked to the twins just behind Leevah.

Both froze under her stare.

Krishna gave them the kind of slow, amused once-over that said: Still sore from last week?

Then…

She simply turned her back on all three of them.

Dismissal. In one move.

Aaron fell into step behind her, grinning like he'd just watched live theater.

Leevah stood frozen. Jaw tight.

And the Riley twins?

Left seething.

Because like it or not…

The Beta girl they all wanted gone…

Was still standing.

Still laughing.

And still playing a game none of them knew the rules to.

Leevah stood frozen for a beat too long.

Her perfectly manicured fingers curled into tight little fists at her sides, her designer clutch forgotten, dangling off one wrist.

She didn't move.

Didn't yell.

Didn't chase after Krishna like her pride was begging her to.

Because somewhere between the fake charity smile plastered on her lips and the slow churning acid in her gut… Leevah remembered something critical:

Krishna had nothing left to lose.

And people like that?

Played dirty.

Unpredictable. Messy.

The kind of opponent who'd set fire to the entire ballroom just to watch you burn with her.

Leevah smoothed her dress with slow, controlled fingers, rolling her shoulders like she wasn't two seconds away from screaming.

Instead… she turned to the Riley twins.

Offered them a brittle, practiced smile.

"I wouldn't waste your time," she said, her tone as light as afternoon tea.

Allysa blinked, confusion flickering across her sharp features. "What?"

Leevah's gaze slid toward the bar.

Where Krishna had already settled herself.

Legs crossed like she owned the damn place. Drink in hand.

That signature lazy grin tugging at her lips like she hadn't just caused another social scandal two hours ago.

"I'm saying," Leevah continued, dropping her voice low, each word like glass beneath bare feet, "she's too bored to care what happens to herself."

Her eyes narrowed.

"But if you hit first? She'll drag you down with her. Publicly. Loudly. And I'm not about to get caught in that fallout for free."

Leevah clicked her clutch shut with more force than necessary… and turned on her heel.

The click of her stilettos rang sharp across the marble floor as she walked away without another word.

Leaving the twins behind.

Simmering.

Alliyah scoffed loud enough for the people nearby to hear. "Tch. Coward."

Allysa crossed her arms over her chest, her jaw tightening as her stare lingered on Krishna's back.

"I swear… she thinks she's untouchable," Allysa muttered, voice low but full of venom. "She's been coasting off pity and scandal for years. About time someone put her in her place."

"Let her run," Alliyah added with a flip of her hair, though the muscles in her jaw ticked. "She's not the one we want anyway."

Allysa hummed in agreement. "Exactly. We'll deal with Krishna our way."

Their smiles returned.

Bright. Polished. Dangerous.

And both turned away, whispering fast and furious, already building the kind of plan only two spoiled Alphas with too much time and no moral compass could cook up.

Krishna?

Still at the bar.

Still unbothered.

Her gaze lazily flicked up just long enough to catch the twins staring.

And when she lifted her glass for a slow, mocking toast in their direction…

Her grin said it all:

Come on, girls. Give me a reason.

Because if the Rileys wanted to play?

Krishna was more than ready to break two Alphas at once…

And this time?

She'd enjoy every second of it.