Chapter: 38*****“You've lost him, and this time, there is no coming back from this one,” the mirror taunted, and Kaidën groaned, his fingers bleeding as he pressed against the cracked surface.“He hates you, just like Mom and Dad did,” the voice of his younger self slithered through, urging Kaidën to push against the mirror.Why does he end up replacing these mirrors each time? He kept leaning into this torment like it was his salvation? Did he enjoy this torture? The way they taunted and haunted him? Was this his own version of hell?“There is nothing left for you, Kaidën. You should walk away… he will never remember who you are, nor will he ever return the feelings your damned soul holds for him,” they continued.Asher couldn't bear it anymore. The scent of blood had grown stronger, both from the bruises he had inflicted on Kaidën and those he was now inflicting on himself. His head began to ache once more, painfully replaying Emily’s cries as they dragged her away, the way she ha
Chapter: 37 ****** “Welcome back, my heart,” Kaidën smiled when he recognized the familiar eyes staring back at him. The hatred and disgust were evident; clearly, he wasn't the one Asher wanted to see, not by a long shot. “You've been gone a while,” he attempted to say, pushing himself off the wall and striding smoothly toward Asher, who remained silent and unmoving. Once he was close enough, Kaidën placed a hand on Asher’s cheek and gently caressed his face. Asher's tense muscles relaxed slightly, but then he recoiled from Kaidën’s touch as if fire had erupted from where his fingers grazed. “What am I doing here with you?” Asher demanded, a sudden bitterness in his voice. Kaidën observed him, noting how he clenched and unclenched his fists, as if debating whether to beat Kaidën into the ground or push his way out of wherever they were. “I brought you somewhere safe. You were back there in the old shed; I had to bring you home,” Kaidën finally replied, a rip starting to tear with
Chapter: 36 ***** Years later, Kaidën saw him again. This time, he was homeless, sleeping on the streets. His father hadn’t been locked up in jail for long for the murder of his wife; because her body was never found, and whatever had happened didn’t matter much to Kaidën. As soon as he left the camp, he sought Asher out once more, this time as a man on a mission: to find Asher, to keep him, to protect him. Kaidën would do anything for him. Kaidën secured a flyer and laid it out where Asher would stumble upon it the next morning, and he did. Kaidën looked after him, kept him safe, and even went so far as to keep an eye on his sister. During a brief visit to Father, while taking a break from the hellish camp, Nine took him to an auction. There, he spotted the small, frightened girl. The birthmark on her neck was unforgettable, identical to the one on his Heart's. Elis noticed him shift in his chair and tried to stop him, but Kaidën wouldn’t give up. He rose from his seat, leap
Chapter: 35 ******* That night, the clouds gathered as if to mourn with the boy who had just lost his sister, the one reason he had endured this torturous world at the hands of cruel people. Night after night, he sat with sagging shoulders hunched over the little picket fence, tears streaming down his face, blending seamlessly with the rain droplets as he cried with the clouds. It ached Kaidën’s heart to watch him suffer in this way. If he must cry, then it should be him who made Asher cry—not them, and certainly not over Emily. Kaidën knew that Asher loved his sister; after all, she was his family, the only one who didn’t hate him, who didn’t beat him, the one who didn’t starve him. From the very first day Kaidën had set his eyes on Asher, hugging his sister tightly in that little shed, he knew his life had altered forever. Asher had invaded his heart without even knowing it, pushing away all the ache, all the pain, the years of fear and torment, and then Asher had gone and settle
Chapter: 34*****The salty air of the harbor felt heavy against Kaidën's skin as he approached his private boat, the sleek vessel glinting under the waning sun. Waves lapped gently at the hull, but the atmosphere felt charged, with something sickening. Ross, his bodyguard, the one idiot who was meant to look after Nox, instead dared to call to inform him that he had knocked his Heart out cold. Ross paced back and forth on the deck, his brow furrowed, eyes darting nervously as if expecting an unseen predator to pounce.Kaidën's face was a mask of calm, betraying nothing of the storm brewing within. He climbed aboard, his boots thudding softly against the polished wood. The boat smelled of leather and the faint, salty tang of the ocean. But something foul lingered beneath, a reminder of chaos that had unfolded just hours before.There was a clear sign of struggle. Knowing Nox, he must have put up the fight of a lifetime, still, Ross had no reason to lay hands on Nox.As he stepped furt
Chapter: 33 ***** Tonight would be no quiet night, he knew, but the voices refused to silence. They taunted him, pushing him to the edge, driving him to madness. "Stop fighting it!" they sneered. He winced, their venomous words seeping into his veins like a snake's bite, poisoning his last shred of control and unleashing chaos. Kaidën groaned, turning toward the shattered mirror, its broken pieces mocking him on the dirty floor. "You can't even keep him safe!" they jeered. He groaned again, turning away. "Lies!" he retorted, his hand clenched around a knife, the blade digging into his palm. Blood spilled, droplets rolling off the self-inflicted cut, slowly falling into the dirt. "I will keep him safe!" he seethed, his breathing ragged, eyes darkening. "He's mine to protect; I won't let any harm come to him!" The voices erupted into laughter, their mocking tones piercing his ears like a bluster of jingling bells. "If that were true," they echoed, "why do you keep letting F