Chapter 36 Truth
Finished
Cassius remembered Bastian telling him she was malnourished and anemic. He bowed his head, ashamed, voice hoarse. “I do
“Malnourished. Malnourished because you starved me,” she said flatly. “Another one of Matthias‘ ingenious ideas, and Ivy backed it all the way through.
“And Wesley flogged me so many times my skin nearly disintegrated into atoms. Maybe it didn’t seem like much to you, but even once is too much.”
The beatings never stopped. Even though Ivy treated her wounds with the best care, scars remained–faint pink lines crossing her back.
The scar on her belly was left untreated. Ivy wanted her to remember her sins, so the Larks forbade any doctor from fixing it
She carried so many injuries–inside and out–that sometimes she forgot them all. The audacity of Cassius, promising hell for everyone who’d hurt her. He’d be sending his whole family to the gallows.
JAzalea’s next words came cold and steady, just as he expected.
“So who’s going to be struck first by the … hammer of justice? Ivy and Matthias? Perhaps you will starve them, until their organs fail? Or Wesley, where you can flog him until his skin disintegrates into atoms as well?”
She paused, a cruel smirk curling her lips as she pointed to her scarred belly. “Or maybe you want to take a knife to yourself first? Do it, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll consider coming home.”
She stepped out from behind Hubert, closing the gap with each step.
Cassius refused to meet her eyes, unable to face the burning hatred glaring back at him. Not long ago, those very eyes had shone with nothing but awe and respect for him.
A sharp, bitter sting spread across his tongue and lips–a hollow ache he couldn’t place. Somehow, everything had shifted. and he didn’t even know when.
“Azalea, I…” His voice came out ragged, dry, cracking with every word. He wanted to say more, to explain, but the words caught in his throat.
I only want to bring you home.”
“You call that place home?” Azalea’s face twisted into a mocking, bitter grin.
“Torture chamber, more like, if you ask me. What do I get if I go home, anyway? Another three years of torment by your and your family’s hands?”
Cassius froze, the color draining from his face in an instant. He stumbled backward, defeated, realizing now that those years hadn’t just been tough for her–they had been pure torment, pure cruelty.
“Cassius, Cassius, Cassius, Azalea said again, the sarcasm sharp and cutting in her voice, “Every single torment and every single scar you left on me? I remember them perfectly, as if they only happened yesterday.”
She let her clothes fall back down as she stared at him with icy eyes, unwavering and cold.
“So, Cassius, have you made up your mind yet? Who’s going to be the first sacrifice to the altar? Or we can always cut to the chase and put Sydney through the whole gauntlet of the torture all of you inflicted on me.”
It wasn’t just Cassius who was shocked by Azalea’s words. Even Hex, who had only learned snippets from their boss‘ orders, was shocked by her story.
What Azalea described was nothing less than abuse.
Hubert’s faint smile disappeared completely when he saw the scars etched across her skin. He had Levi investigate her past three years, but paper only told part of the story. Seeing the injuries with his own eyes hit him like a blow to the gut, darkening his mood instantly.
5:58 PM p p.
Chapter 36 Truth
e
He narrowed his eyes at Cassius. The Larks. Interesting people, to say the least.
Cassius felt his heart wrench painfully. He hadn’t realized she held onto every detail.
Finished
“You can’t do it, can you? Then get the hell out of my sight!” Azalea’s voice rose sharply, and she turned her back without waiting for him to respond.
Cassius made no move to stop her. He had lost the will to hold her back.
Hubert lifted his eyelids lazily, smirking. “Always working an angle, ickle Cassius.”
There was cold amusement curling at his lips–being that ruthless to his own sister took a certain kind of talent.
Cassius felt like his chest was being crushed under Hubert’s sneering words. He watched the car disappear into the distance, his spirit shattered, before he trudged back inside, every heartbeat sending sharp stabs of pain through his chest.
Tears slipped out quietly, without warning or control.
He was terribly, horribly wrong. Years of mistakes, and he never saw them.
He had fooled himself into thinking he was teaching Azalea how to deal with real life by letting Sydney treat her like scum But he forgot that Azalea wasn’t an object–she was a living, breathing person who could feel pain.
He refused to face his mistakes, so he blinded himself, convincing his mind that Azalea was to blame.
And then, once again, the terrible, twisted scar haunted his thoughts like a nightmare he couldn’t escape.
Azalea’s eyes fluttered open in the hospital, her face pale and drained of all color, terror flashing in her gaze the instant she saw him.
“Cassius, I’m sorry… I never meant to lose track of Sydney. Please don’t leave me behind. I promise I’ll do a better job next
time.”
Her entire body shook uncontrollably, trembling like a fragile leaf getting blown by a gust of fierce wind.
Cassius felt an icy chill seep deep into his bones, sharp and merciless.
Bastian probably had more weight in Azalea’s heart than he did.
The gall of him, thinking little acts of kindness could win Azalea back.
A harsh, bitter laugh escaped him. Then, something inside snapped..
Like a man possessed, he sped home, completely oblivious to Sydney’s greeting as he passed by her.
Once inside his room, he pulled out the tie Azalea had once given him. Running his fingers over its back, he felt a tiny raised stitch. Squinting, he read the delicate words embroidered there:
“Always Stand Proud, Cassius!”
Send Gifts
186
。
2/2
5.58 PM p p.
Betrayal Made H
