Under the Veil I Rule
Chapter 139

"Amara, you can't seriously be this shameless, can you? Hanging out with some random guy while clinging to my family's money?"

Amara had always thought of Hogan as a complete idiot, constantly reminding herself not to get upset over the words of a fool, not to stoop to his level. But each insult from him cut deeper than the last, and no amount of self-soothing could dull

the sting.

"Get the hell out of here! This is my room, and I don't want to see your face. Leave!" she shouted, her voice imbued with anger.

Ignoring his nonsense, Amara focused on kicking him out. Hogan's temper flared, but just as he was about to hurl more insults, his phone buzzed. Liliana's name flashed on the screen, and he forced himself to calm down before stepping out to take the call.

A few moments later, there was a knock on the door. This time, it was Keith's voice. "Ama, open up."

Amara wiped away the tears that had escaped, glancing in the mirror to ensure she looked composed before opening the door.

"What brings you here? Don't you have an event today?"

"Finished up and came right over," Keith replied, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.

"Saw some strange guy leaving your room just now. Who was that?"

Keith's question brought Hogan back to the forefront of her mind, and with it, all the frustration she felt.

Growing up, Amara had been bullied countless times by Elowen and Fiona. But Elowen only dared to insult her behind her back; never would she risk Larry overhearing. Yet, since marrying into the Everly family three years ago, people like Hogan and Celeste didn't hesitate to publicly scorn her.

Amara was at her wit's end, her patience worn thin by both old grievances and

new.

"Ama, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Keith asked, alarmed as she suddenly started to tear up. He instinctively reached to wipe her tears but paused, remembering his hands weren't clean. Instead, he grabbed a few tissues and gently dabbed her eyes.

"I can do it myself," Amara said, taking the tissues and drying her tears.

Calming down a bit, she explained, "The guy you saw was Hogan, Finnian's cousin."

At the mention of Finnian, Keith's brow furrowed. "What was he doing here? Was he bothering you?"

To Keith, Finnian was a beast, and the Everly family was even worse. He immediately assumed Hogan had bad intentions.

Amara nodded. Keith was one of her

closest friends, and there was nothing she couldn't share with him. She recounted everything that had happened over the past few days.

Keith hadn't realized that the trouble started because of him. He cursed himself for putting his arm around Amara's shoulder in public. If only he'd spoken up for her without the physical gesture.

But what had done was done, pointless to dwell on it. Keith claimed, "They're bullying you, huh? I'll deal with them right now."

With that, he rolled up his sleeves, ready to confront them. Amara was startled, quickly stopping him. "Don't be rash!"

She had been all in fury, but seeing Keith so worked up, she felt amused and exasperated at the same time.