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CHAPTER 16
~Spring's POV~
I turned my head slightly, inhaling again. And that's when I caught it.
Aside from the pepper, Rose's scent clung faintly to the air, like she didn't even bother to cover her tracks. Of course, she was not expecting me to be anything more than human.
Immediately, Jade's voice rose in my mind. "She was here. While you were bathing, that girl… Rose, did this."
I moved toward my vanity table. My hand hovered over the familiar powder case—the same one I used every morning—and I flipped it open.
Inside, the powder was laced with red grains of finely ground pepper mixed with the pale cosmetic.
It wasn't obvious unless you knew what to look for. I ran my finger along the edge, lifted it to my nose, and immediately winced.
"She wanted to irritate my skin and eyes," I murmured. "Rose, that sneaky wench, wanted to blind me."
Ignoring her, I took my cream and sniffed it. Thankfully, she didn't tamper with it. I creamed up and wore my undies and innerwear.
I turned toward my uniform and paused. The one I had carefully prepared smelled faintly of pepper and Rose.
I reached for my wardrobe to get my spare uniform, only to see it ripped to shreds. Clean tears down the sleeves, and the skirt frayed as if clawed.
I didn't react like she wanted—anger, sadness, no. All I did was smile because now I understood her better than she realised.
And she didn't know me at all anymore.
I turned and opened one of my drawers in the closet, picking out a backup uniform. Spring had pressed it out a week before and kept it there when she got a new one.
I avoided the powder and left it sitting on the table like a trap I had never triggered. But then something caught my eye.
On my dresser sat a small box wrapped elegantly with a tag that read 'from Kaius' on it.
My lips curved upward. But when I brought the box close and caught the faintest trace of Rose's scent on the ribbon… I knew she had tampered with it, too.
Inside was another powder compact clearly meant to match the one that had been ruined.
I didn't touch it.
I set the box back down gently, applied hand sanitizer to clean my hands, turned, and dressed silently.
Today was going to be a no-makeup day. Not that Spring's face needed it anyway.
I tucked my earphones into my pocket, picked up my bag, and went downstairs. The house was quiet, save for the soft rustle of staff moving around, preparing for the day.
As I stepped into the living room, I paused.
Piled on the table, wrapped in silver, gold, blue and pale pink. There were several gifts all addressed to me.
Spring Kaine
Bags from the top designer brands, jewelry boxes tied with silk ribbons, and three new laptops lined up against the wall, each tagged with a different brother's name.
I stood there for a second, my heart full in a way I hadn't expected.
This, alongside the huge sum of money they each sent me, made my cheeks heat up.
Spring had felt like a background character in this family for so long, like she was just someone they were obligated to keep around.
But this time, they remembered and celebrated her. In the past, since Rose came, no one celebrated Spring's birthday.
Jade purred softly inside me. "Seems to me like you are not alone anymore. And your place here is yours."
I ran my hand lightly across the top of a box from Eryx, then the bag from Rhys.
I didn't need validation to remind me I had been seen. And now… now it was my turn to show them who they were dealing with.
Especially Rose, because this birthday is one she wouldn't forget.
I turned to one of the maids just as I stepped out. "Please take all these to my room," I said softly, motioning to the table with gifts. "And… lock the door once they're inside. No one is to enter until I return."
She bowed quickly. "Yes, Miss Spring."
"Please collect the ripped uniforms from my wardrobe and chair and the small powder box on my dresser. Remove the wrappings from the powder and add everything to the uniforms. Then, pack them nicely like new clothes and drop them off at Ms. Rose's room with a note saying, I returned her gifts as a token of appreciation."
The maid looked kind of shocked, but I still smiled.
"Also, be careful with those clothes and don't get them on your skin. I'd use gloves if I were you."
I didn't wait for a reply. I turned on my heel and walked out the front door.
The ride to school was quiet since none of my brothers were home to drop me off and Rose had also left early that morning.
My… Spring's parents had been away on a business trip for two weeks.
The moment I arrived at school, I made my way to the finance office and used part of the money my brothers sent me to buy three new uniforms—one for now and another for next time—because people like Rose and her little friends didn't run out of cruelty easily.
I left the building feeling... calm, but that didn't last long. As I stepped back into the hallway, heading toward my locker, I heard it.
"Spring!"
I turned toward the familiar voice, but then my nose picked up on a rotten smell, and immediately I moved.
That half-second of reaction saved me. The next thing I knew, a splash came from the side—a bucket of milky, rotten eggs, chalky water hurled in my direction.
I stepped back just in time, the water missing me by inches, only to land instead on someone else.
I lifted my head to see who the unfortunate scapegoat was when my eyes locked on Madelyn.
A smirk spread across my face as I thought, 'Payback is a bitch.'