The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 87: She had a talent for screwing me over

The silence that followed was quite deafening

I said it. I finally said it.

This wasn’t the way I had planned to introduce Damar to the tribe as my spouse, but it came to this in the end.

I can no longer sit back and watch them throw accusations at me while treating me as nothing but an uninvited wild beast.

He was my husband, and that was enough reason for him to come into the tribe.

But I had underestimated Veyra’s ability to make a mess out of even the most logical statement.

As long as it was from me, as long as I was the one making the comment, she would find a way to twist it into a big mess.

Veyra laughed.

It slipped out of her suddenly, light and airy, as if she’d just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. She wasn’t even pretending to be gentle at this point, as if she was genuinely amused.

They all turned their heads toward her, wondering what was so humorous in my words that made her laugh.

Then, covered her mouth, as if realising that she shouldn’t have laughed, but still smiling, and shook her head slowly.

"Oh," she said softly. "So that’s it."

Her words made me feel uncomfortable. I clenched my fists, thinking, ’What must I do to win?’

I have the power of thought; I can stand up for myself, and I can definitely outsmart her. But then, how was it that she always had the advantage over me?

How was it that she always found a way to say a word that compromised my situation and left me with no better options?

How was it that she was such a clever, two-faced, annoying, and hateful bitch?

"What is it, Veyra?" Zevak asked and her eyes slid back to me, no longer trembling—only amused.

"It’s just I found sister Arinya’s situation funny." She said and chuckled. "You went out and found a feral snake beastman to call your spouse," she said, her voice gentle, almost pitying. "Just because no one in the tribe wanted you."

My chest tightened and I frowned.

I knew it. Whatever she was going to say from her mouth was no good.

She had a talent for screwing me over.

It’s no wonder the real Arinya could never win against her, especially when the entire village had her back.

"That’s... sad," she continued, tilting her head. "I know you’ve always been desperate for acceptance, sister, but even so, this is too low."

"What did you say?" Fenric asked, his eyes darkened into a scowl and his fangs bared.

But Veyra simply hid between her brothers, letting the seed she had sown grow into a wild plant.

"A snake," Zevak said. "Of all things."

Ashren crossed his arms. "Now it makes sense. She’s been bitter for years. Getting rejected, looked down on... Of course, she’d plot revenge once she found something dangerous enough."

Veyra nodded, as if their words merely confirmed her own thoughts.

"And now," she said calmly, "she wants us to believe that she didn’t bring him here on purpose?" Her gaze flicked briefly to Kaelor. "That she didn’t use him to attack you?"

Kaelor stiffened. He saw the direction things were going and decided to speak up.

"Hey, I already said–"

"Brother," Zevak pressed, stepping closer. "You’re injured. You were attacked. Don’t let pity cloud your judgment now. Do you truly believe that the snake attacked you just because Arinya shed a few tears? If it’s like that, then the entire tribe would’ve been devastated by snakes every time she felt wronged."

Ashren nodded. "If you start speaking in her favor, people will think you’re helping her cover it up."

"But that’s not it at all," Kaelor said. "I did hurt her."

Veyra turned fully toward Kaelor then, her voice softening again.

"You don’t have to protect her anymore," she said. "Even if you did hurt her, I’m sure you didn’t mean it." She glanced at me. "Just a little hurt doesn’t justify the blood you shed. It’s not right."

My fingers trembled.

They weren’t denying his words.

They were burying them.

Kaelor’s jaw tightened, his eyes flickering with conflict.

"She cried," he said again, quieter this time. "Because of me."

He still wanted to do something, while not revealing exactly what he had done. And they were using this to their advantage.

"And that’s exactly why you shouldn’t say anything else," Zevak snapped. "She’s manipulating you. That’s what she’s always done. But no one has ever bought it."

Ashren sneered. "First tears, then a snake. Classic, Arinya. You decided to use your head for once but we still don’t buy it."

Their words pressed in from all sides, suffocating, reshaping the narrative right in front of me.

A snake spouse.

A rejected woman.

A bitter sister seeking revenge.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

Why couldn’t I speak? I had not lost my voice but my insides were tight.

My throat ached like there was a lump buried there.

The words... What could I even say?

Veyra watched me closely, her smile returning, it was small but satisfied.

"You see?" she said gently to the others. "Now that we’ve said it all, she can’t deny it."

Her eyes flicked to Fenric and Damar, dismissive.

"No matter how desperate you were," she murmured, "...this is unforgivable. I can’t even beg for them to forgive you this time because you went too far."

I scoffed, turning my face away.

As if she had ever begged with good intentions, and even if she did, she made sure it was so that they looked at me more distasteful and she... More pitifully.

It made me sick.

Yeah, very sick.

At this point, I could no longer keep my mouth shut.

The idea of solving this situation without causing a conflict flew out of my head.

I didn’t care anymore.

I was tired.

Tired of trying to be logical and calm.

Tired of trying to make them ’understand’.

Tired of letting them be just because I’m a ’civilized’ person.

But no matter what I was going to do, I was going to leave Damar out of it.

There was something I, as well as the original Arinya wanted to do but never got the chance.

"The attitude of your siblings is toxic," Fenric said.

"Yeah, tell me about it." I walked past him but he caught my hand.

"Where are you going?"

"Ah..." I looked back at him, showing no vivid expression, and said, "I’ll just go over there for a second, so just stand there for a moment."