Chapter 488: Kneel

Hayley’s POV:

I threw off my cloak, discarded the witch’s hat, and faced the audience with a commanding air, delivering the lines I had added myself. “Brave prince, you have passed the test. You may choose a day to marry my daughter, and from now on, our two kingdoms will establish diplomatic ties and never be at odds again!”

Jay paused for a moment but quickly understood. He knelt on one knee and clasped his fists. “I see now. I will not fail you!”

Kirsty was stunned, looking at me, then at Jay with confusion. Before she could even react, Jay grabbed her and made her kneel in front of me. Seeing her grit her teeth in pain as she forced herself to bow respectfully to me made me feel much better.

I moved to stand tall in front of her, my hands behind my back, and looked down at her. “Girl, are you dissatisfied with my arrangement?”

I knew the audience would naturally get swept up in the roles they were playing. If Kirsty admitted in front of everyone that she was my daughter, she’d have to carry the label “Hayley’s daughter” for the rest of her college years.

Kirsty hadn’t expected me to improvise. She shot me a startled look, her teeth clenched as she struggled to suppress her anger. Then, she forced a smile and nodded at me. “I’m satisfied. You are the greatest mother!”

This was all her doing from the start. She’d tried to set me up, so I wasn’t going to let her off easily in front of everyone. This was my retaliation—to show her I wasn’t someone she could easily push around.

I nodded in satisfaction, then turned to the audience and confidently delivered my closing line. “Adversity reveals the preciousness of true feelings!”

The curtain fell, and the applause continued long after the performance—a resounding success. Backstage, we removed our makeup, changed clothes, and most of all, took photos together to commemorate the moment.

I was about to change when Kirsty, storming over, blocked my path. With fury in her eyes, she demanded, “What did you mean by that stunt on stage?”

A roar of anger surged within me, but I kept my face neutral, staring intently at her hand. Without thinking, I exuded an alpha presence, and Kirsty instinctively recoiled, releasing her grip.

“That could’ve been considered a performance accident. Do you realize how serious that is?” Kirsty continued, trying to act imposing.

A reasonable voice from the side interrupted, “Alright, Kirsty, but everything worked out in the end. If it…”

“Exactly, I think Hayley did great! She didn’t even rehearse, but still managed to pull it off. That’s already impressive!”

“Yeah, she was just helping out, so don’t turn this into a personal vendetta…”

“What are you talking about?” Kirsty snapped, her eyes reddening. “Who’s turning it into a personal vendetta? I’m doing this for the sake of art! Do you ever understand art?”

“The entire play is supposed to celebrate great love, not individualistic motherly love. Hayley’s completely lost sight of that!”

From the corner, someone piped up, “Enough. Isn’t this just because you’re jealous Hayley stole your spotlight as the lead?”

“Who said that? Come out and show yourself!” Kirsty growled, her sharp wolfish teeth exposed in frustration.

I brushed off the spot where she had touched me earlier in disgust, then, with everyone else silent, I sternly asked her, “Why don’t you explain why, in the final scene, the knight’s sword was aimed right at my left eye?”