"What is going on here, and why are you on the floor crying?" demanded Nicholas, his voice taut with anger as he gazed at his sister.
"Oh, brother, your slave here slapped and pushed me to the floor because I scolded her for coming late to her duties," Jasmine, tears streaming down her face, choked out her explanation.
Nicholas's attention shifted to the trembling Elizabeth, his gaze burning with fiery wrath that threatened to scorch everything in its path. "How dare you lay your hand on the princess? Have you lost your mind, slave?"
Elizabeth recoiled from his harsh words, the weight of his accusation pressing down on her. She stood there, her eyes wide with shock and confusion, still reeling from the manipulation of the situation by Jasmine.
"Are you deliberately ignoring me?" Nicholas's lips twisted cruelly as he addressed Elizabeth, who couldn't tear her eyes away from Jasmine, still on the floor. "How dare you?"
