Aria almost withered under her father's enraged gaze but with a quick shake of her head, she was able to shake it off. She took a step forward and with an unusually cold tone, she shot back
"What? You forget the face and voice of your daughter?"
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Some had already begun backing away, recognizing who she was. Others simply stood frozen, too shocked or intoxicated to react. All eyes were on them now.
Gerard's face twisted with raw disgust. His gaze moved from her wings to her chest, then back to her eyes.
He spat onto the marble floor.
"That Samael brat went against his word. Instead of making you better, he made you worse. What the fuck did he do to change you into this?"
His voice dripped with venom. To him, she wasn't even human anymore. Not a person. Just a failed product. A deviation. An insult.
The silence that followed was heavy.
Aria felt her fingers twitch at her sides. Her wings pulsed behind her with restrained fury.
