I am the Queen

As Evangeline's clothes fell on the ground one after another, her brain was formulating ideas. She could fight her way out, but what will happen to Lilybella? A simple shock or slip of irritation and her head might roll on the ground. She didn't want to take that chance.

The only way she could do was wait for the aftermath, which was the safest. They would leave once they got what they wanted. She'd then mobilize the Cole to stop any pictures or videos from leaking, and that would be the end of it. The hardest was the present.

"You really have a nice body. I bet many will pay a high price for these videos," Gina said, grinning from ear to ear as the only piece of cloth left was Evangeline's undergarment.

"Let's just get this done and over with," Evangeline said. Though her fingers were shaking, she removed the clasped of her bra.

"Wait!" Ann interfered and went to Gina's side. "This is too easy for her. She doesn't even look bothered by it!"

Gina's brow rose, "What do you want then? You said to hurry up."

"Yes. But what I want is to see her suffer."

Gina sighed and raised her hand. "Fine. Two minutes and will resume filming."

Gina went at the back while Ann approached Evangeline, radiating with nothing but hatred.

"Let me guess. You're going to slap me to death?" Evangeline taunted with a smirk.

SLAP!

"That's for what you did, you bitch!" Anna said and continued to slap Evangeline on the face.

"This is for me! For my father and mother! For the family you ruined! For my future that you ruined! My life that you ruined!"

"T-teacher . . ." Lilybella choked, crying as she closed her eyes. She couldn't stomach to see the always proud and arrogant Evangeline being beaten to the ground.

Ann stopped as she caught her breath while Evangeline was on the ground with a swollen face and busted lips. She looked at Nina and hollered, "What are you doing? Don't you want your revenge?"

Nina hesitated.

"Think of what this bitch did to you! To your family! What you have suffered," Anna urged.

Thinking of what she went through, the anger and hate blazed in Nina's heart. Because of Evangeline, everything she had was gone. Her family was torn apart. Her future no longer in her grasp. Evangeline had ruined her life for just a simple prank.

Nina rushed in and kicked Evangeline's stomach, screaming and crying, "it's because of you! It's because of you that mother is gone! It's because of you my life, our life is ruined!"

Gina sighed and shook her head. "So much for her face."

"What are you doing?!"

Everyone stopped. Lilybella looked at the two men in front of them, and her legs turned jelly with relief. "Y-your Highness . . ."

Daniel looked at everyone. Horror struck him as he spotted Evangeline on the ground almost naked. His gaze then shifted to Lilybella and the knife on her neck. "What is this?"

Gina sighed at the sky. Shit! They waited long for this opportunity since they got hold that Evangeline would soon go abroad. By that time, it would be impossible for them to do anything. Their only chance was this trip. But it was ruined. No thanks to the two newcomers. "This does not concern you. So you guys move along now."

"This concerns me because the one you're pointing a knife is my fiancée and the one you're beating is my friend," Daniel enunciated per word. His limbs were trembling. If not for the knife on Lilybella's throat, he'd rush in and put some sense into the girls' head.

"Who are you? Don't you know what you're doing is illegal?" Max said. He didn't like Evangeline and definitely didn't care about Lilybella. But hurting them was out of the line.

Gina clicked her tongue as the others wavered. There was no choice. They had to go back. "Let's go."

At the signal of their leader, Lilybella was release, and she immediately went into Evangeline's side.

"What?! NO!" Ann protested. Her bloodshot eyes shot to Evangeline on the ground, who was still conscious, looking at them with her half-closed swollen eyes. "This bitch still has to suffer the same way we did!"

Ann continued to beat Evangeline on the ground without caring about anything while Lilybella tried to shield Evangeline with her body. Ann had lost everything. What more could she lose?

"Stop!"

Daniel said, but the words didn't just come from his mouth.

"E-Eric . . . ," Evangeline whispered before her consciousness faded.

"Oh my god . . . what happened here?" Satele said through panting breathes. She had no time to rest ever since she saw Evangeline surrounded by girls she didn't know. She climbed down the mountain as fast as she could. She was about to report to the teachers when she bumped first into Eric.

At the side, Eric couldn't believe what he saw. He was frozen on the spot. Something was consuming him. Something dark, and he couldn't control it. The next thing he knew, he rushed to Evangeline and punched Ann straight on the face.

Ann staggered backward and fell, clutching her nose as her eyes almost popped from their sockets. She cried as she crawled away from Eric, who was punching Nina on the face.

Everyone watched in shock as Eric grabbed Ann by the collar and punched her again and again.

"Eric, stop!"

At this point, both Daniel and Max rushed in to stop Eric from beating the two. He might kill them if this continued.

"You're going too far, man. No matter what, they're just girls!" Max scolded, holding Eric's arm while Daniel held the other.

". . . Girls . . . ," Eric mumbled.

Daniel and Max felt fear, so primitive more so than the wild animals they used to hunt.

"A good fuckin excuse," Eric hissed, no longer struggling from Daniel and Max's hold. "Just because they're girls, they can beat up anyone, and a guy can't hit her? I say fuck that shit!"

Eric's eyes looked at the other women as they helped Nina and Ann to their feet.

"It doesn't matter if they're girls! Their fuck up attitude will never change. The only way is to make them kneel to a much stronger force!"

Daniel and Max were stunned. They never saw Eric so angry before. Heck, they never even saw him complain.

"Hurting a girl's face this brutally, what kind of an asshole are you?" Gina spat.

But she almost went down on her knees when Eric's eyes locked into hers.

"What kind of an asshole are you then? Ganging up on a single woman?" Eric then struggled from Daniel and Max's hold once more. "Bitches like you won't know what you did until someone put you in their place!"

Daniel's hand tightened around Eric's arm as he felt his anger radiating even more so than before. Daniel felt like Eric would really kill them if he didn't do something to calm him down.

"Eric. Stop it. This is not the time to beat those girls. You should be focusing on Evangeline."

". . ."

Daniel and Max breathed a sigh of relief when Eric no longer struggled. For a time, it was quiet. They let go of Eric when they knew he regained his calm. Somewhat.

Eric's face was blank as he approached Evangeline, who was unconscious on the floor. His emotions were hidden behind his silence as he looked at her sorry state. Her clothes were nowhere to be found. Then his eyes shot to Nina and Ann and to every girl.

"Remove your clothes," he commanded.

". . ."

". . ."

The girls trembled.

"Don't make me beat you to death," Eric said.

The women hurried as they removed their clothes, traumatized by the promise of pain in Eric's eyes.

But when Eric received their clothes, he threw them in the river. And as if nothing happened, he removed his shirt and draped it all over Evangeline.

In silence, he carried her all the way back down while the onlookers watched him in both fear and amazement.

Daniel shook his head as he approached Lilybella and pulled her by the arms.

"Are you okay?" Daniel's eyes looked much softer. The usual jolly girl looked like a drenched cat. She was shaking too much that she couldn't get up.

"Come on. Stand up," Daniel said, voice tender as he circled his arms around Lilybella's waist.

But Lilybella was still in a daze to noticed Daniel's change of attitude.

"What about them?" Max asked, eyeing the girls from the side. Some already fled the scene, while the others were ready to dash for it.

Daniel shot the girls a glance before he decided to shake his head. "Forget it. Lilybella and Evangeline took priority. We'll deal with them afterward."

Make no mistake, he was angry. Surprisingly so angry. The blood on Lilybella's neck made his temper sore. A mystery he didn't want to uncover.