Scars Of The Past [Chapter 8]

The crowd buzzed with laughter and clinking glasses, but Akiko heard none of it. Her mind was stuck on Glen’s last words, her fingers cold where his hand had been moments ago. She was alone now — surrounded by strangers, drowning in golden lights and empty conversations.

A few minutes after Glen disappeared into the crowd, Harley returned — a crystal glass in hand, condensation trailing down its sides. Her eyes softened as she approached.

“What’s your name?” she asked, her voice warm, but beneath it… something fragile.

“Akiko,” the girl replied curtly, her tone flat but polite.

“How long have you known my son?” There it was — the faintest crack in Harley’s composure. A flicker of sorrow behind carefully painted eyes.

“About a month,” Akiko answered, her gaze distant.

“Can I ask you for a favor?” Harley’s voice lowered, hesitant now.

Akiko froze for a moment. Glen had made it clear — don’t talk to anyone. But something about the tremor in Harley’s voice… the quiet weight of it… made her pause. That wasn’t the voice of a proud woman. It was the voice of someone drowning in years of regret.

Finally, Akiko gave a small, reluctant nod. “As long as it’s something I can do.”

Harley exhaled slowly, the carefully guarded facade cracking.

“Glen has… a complicated relationship with this family,” she admitted, her eyes glistening faintly. “And it’s my fault.”

She hesitated, fingers tightening around the glass. “I used to compare him to his brother, Marlen. I thought pushing him harder would make him stronger… but all it did was break him.”

Her voice faltered.

“And when he caught me cheating—while his father was sick… I couldn’t face the shame. So I lashed out at him instead.” Her words were barely a whisper now, fragile and raw. “I hurt him… not just with words. I destroyed him.”

Harley’s gaze lifted, locking onto Akiko with quiet desperation.

“Would you talk to him for me?” Her voice cracked. “Ask him to forgive me. I… I’d do anything to fix this. Anything.”

The weight of her confession settled between them. Glen, broken by betrayal. His brother, the golden child who stayed. Their mother — the root of it all.

Akiko didn’t answer right away. Her eyes drifted to the grand hall, to the glittering lights and polished wealth… all of it meaningless compared to the scars this family carried.

“I’ll talk to him,” she murmured eventually, her voice soft but steady.

Harley’s expression collapsed with relief. A grateful, tearful smile curved her lips. “Thank you…”

Then, after a pause, her eyes flicked to Akiko with quiet concern. “Are you… okay? Being with him?”

Akiko hesitated — but the truth was easier than any lie.

“Glen and I come from the same place,” she replied simply. “The same kind of past. Places drenched in pain and darkness. Maybe that’s why… we understand each other a little.”

But it wasn’t the whole truth.

Neither of them truly understood the other. Glen barely knew anything about Akiko. And she… barely acknowledged the world around her, including him. The only things he seemed to notice were that she loved candy… and got tired far too easily.

—--

Up on the rooftop, Glen and Marlen stood locked in a silent war of stares. The cold wind whipped between them, carrying the weight of years unspoken.

“You’re living like a damn demon, Glen,” Marlen spat, arms crossed, his voice sharp with frustration. 

“Come with me. Shut down that ridiculous company of yours. Do you even realize the kind of filth you’re working with? The underground? The criminals?”

Glen’s smirk curled slowly, dark amusement flashing in his eyes. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it with deliberate ease.

“I know exactly who I’m working with,” he replied coolly, exhaling smoke into the night air. 

“And I like it. I’ve lived in darkness for as long as I can remember.” His gaze sharpened, voice dropping low. “If you came here thinking you could redeem me, save me… you’ve wasted your time.”

Marlen’s jaw clenched.

“I don’t care what’s right or wrong anymore,” Glen continued, eyes glinting beneath the city lights. “And you—don’t stand there pretending you’ve ever cared. You’ve always wanted to be the best, no matter who you trampled to get there.”

Marlen’s composure cracked. The years of brotherhood, betrayal, and bitterness boiled beneath his skin.

“Do you really have no shred of humanity left in you?” he snapped. But the words rang hollow. Glen was no longer the boy he once called brother. That version of him had been buried the moment their family shattered.

Marlen stepped closer, fury crackling in his eyes. “I couldn’t care less about your guns,” he hissed. 

“But the underground? You’re already working with law enforcement, Glen. You could run your empire clean. But you’d rather crawl through the dirt with criminals.”

Glen chuckled darkly, the sound low and twisted. “Plenty of people have died because of my brilliant work.” 

His head tilted, the cigarette dangling between his fingers. “I design the perfect weapons to kill scum like you.”

Marlen’s patience snapped. He grabbed Glen by the collar, shoving him back, fingers digging into his neck. His eyes burned with betrayal, with the desperation of a brother who’d already lost too much.

Glen’s hand twitched, ready to retaliate—ready to unleash the violence simmering beneath his skin—but the heavy tension shattered when a soft, familiar voice cut through the rooftop silence.

“Glen.”

Both men froze.

They turned to see Akiko standing near the stairwell entrance, her figure small beneath the city lights, yet her presence pulled all the oxygen from the rooftop. Her expression unreadable, her eyes only for Glen.

“I’m tired,” she said quietly. “Let’s go home.”

Harley had asked her to find Glen before things turned violent. Both brothers had egos too big to back down. And Akiko… was the only thing that could pull Glen back.

“You’re beautiful,” Marlen muttered as he brushed past her, his voice laced with quiet contempt. “Shame you chose someone like him.”

Akiko tilted her head slightly, a faint, prideful smirk curling her lips. “Of course I did. Why would someone as beautiful as me… settle for someone like you?”

Behind her, Glen let out a soft, dark chuckle — low and amused.

“Unbelievable,” Marlen growled under his breath and walked away, vanishing into the sea of glittering guests.

The car ride home was silent. Heavy. Tense.

Once they arrived at the apartment, Glen loosened his tie while Akiko silently helped him out of his jacket — a routine so familiar, it felt mechanical.

“You really had the nerve to talk to a stranger like that,” Glen muttered, almost amused. 

Akiko said nothing. Her fingers lingered briefly at the edge of his collar before pulling away.

“Glen…” she spoke softly, hesitating. “Are you… still angry at your mom?”

The moment the words left her lips, the faint smile vanished from Glen’s face. His expression turned ice-cold, unreadable.

“None of your business,” he snapped.

“She… spoke to me,” Akiko continued carefully, despite the warning in his tone. “She… asked if you could—”

The slap came fast, cruel, sharp enough to snap her head to the side. Tears pricked her eyes, but she didn’t fight. She never did. Because Glen’s rage was like the ocean — you didn’t resist it. You drowned quietly

The sharp sting blooming across her cheek. Her chest constricted, lungs tightening as fear clawed its way up her throat. The world tilted as her vision blurred.

“I told you not to talk to anyone at the party,” Glen hissed, voice low, dangerous. His hand tangled in her hair, yanking her head back, forcing her gaze upward. “Were you even listening?”

Akiko bit her lip, holding back a sob. Tears welled in her eyes, spilling silently down her face. “S-sorry…” she whispered, her voice cracking.

Another tear slid down her cheek as the burning pain in her scalp pulsed with every heartbeat. Eventually, Glen exhaled sharply, his hand releasing its grip, letting her slump to the floor like a discarded doll.

“S-sorry…” she sobbed again, barely audible.

“Go to your room,” Glen ordered coldly. “Don’t come out until I say so.”

Her body weak and trembling, Akiko dragged herself to her feet, leaning against the wall as her legs threatened to buckle beneath her. She didn’t look back as she stumbled to her room.

The moment the door clicked shut, she went straight to the drawer and pulled out a syringe. Her hands trembled violently as she jabbed it into her bruised arm, wincing as the liquid entered her bloodstream — her only escape, her only way to breathe when the walls closed in.

Her mind betrayed her — flashing images of the past. The beatings. The screams. The darkness that never truly left.

Collapsing onto the thin mattress, Akiko reached for Kouma, her trembling hands burying themselves in the dog’s soft fur.

“I should try harder to understand him…” she whispered to no one. Maybe she’d spoken at the wrong time. Maybe Glen was still drowning in the storm of his past.

Her trembling fingers traced the faint scars along her arm. Once upon a time, she'd carved those lines onto her skin — searching for silence… for escape. But death never came. Only pain. 

And now? She was dying anyway. Slowly. Quietly. 

She no longer knew which part of her body hurt the most. Her head? Her heart? Her soul? Everything… Everything felt broken.

—--

Out on the balcony, Glen stood with a cigarette between his lips, the ember glowing faintly in the dark. His sharp eyes swept over the city — a glittering empire of money, power… and filth.

Once upon a time, he'd been a good kid. Sweet, obedient, naive. But that shattered the day he caught his mother cheating — while his father lay sick, fighting for his life.

And the man in their house that day?

Mr. Eloise.

Akiko’s father.

From that moment, Glen had sworn to destroy him. Not just ruin him… annihilate him. Mr. Eloise wouldn’t just lose his company, his money, or his reputation — Glen wanted him stripped of everything. His power. His pride. His precious, carefully crafted life.

He wanted to watch that man starve. Suffer. Lose everything, piece by miserable piece.

And not quickly. No — Glen wasn’t interested in mercy or shortcuts. He wanted Mr. Eloise to bleed slowly. To wake up every morning drowning in regret. To watch, helpless, as everything he built — everything he loved — rotted in front of his eyes.

He wanted Mr. Eloise to crawl — stripped of pride, stripped of power — until he begged for death... and Glen still wouldn’t give it

This wasn’t revenge. It was demolition. Total, merciless, calculated destruction.

And Glen would smile through every second of it.

With a sharp exhale, Glen crushed the cigarette beneath his heel as he stepped back inside. He paused by Akiko's door. His jaw tightened as her terrified face flashed in his memory — the silent trembling, the red mark on her cheek, the cracks in her carefully guarded walls.

“She must've gone through hell growing up in that family,” he muttered.

The room was ice-cold when he stepped inside. He flicked on the light. There she was — curled on the thin mattress like some discarded thing, her small body shivering beneath the threadbare blanket. Pathetic. Fragile. 

"Aiko," he murmured, brushing her cheek.

She flinched awake, shrinking into herself. “Glen…” Her voice trembled, eyes wide with lingering fear, the faint bruise on her cheek still fresh.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered

Glen gently took her hand. “I’m not angry anymore.”

Without effort, he scooped her up, shocked by how cold… how light… she felt. Like carrying a corpse.

“You should’ve told me you were freezing all this time,” he muttered, carrying her into his bedroom.

He laid her down on the king-sized bed, pulling the heavy blanket over them both. His arm slid possessively around her waist. “Sleep.”

“I’ll sleep in my room,” she whispered weakly, trying to push his arm away.

“You don’t want to sleep with me?” His voice was unreadable. Dangerous.

Akiko stilled. “Do whatever you want.”

“Are you afraid I’ll do something to you in bed?” he pressed, gaze sharp.

“I don’t care.” Her voice cracked faintly. “You can kill me now… and I won’t even resist.”

A muscle ticked in Glen's jaw. His fingers tilted her chin up, forcing their eyes to meet.

“What made you so indifferent to everything?” His thumb brushed over the faint cut on her temple. “I thought you were just a cold, quiet girl. But… you used to be sweet, didn’t you?”

“You know nothing about me,” Akiko whispered.

“Then tell me.”

“If I tell you,” she replied, “you might cry.”

A soft, dark chuckle escaped him — rough and low. 

“How dare you…” he muttered under his breath, then kissed her. Soft. Lingering. Possessive.

“…About my family,” he started, but Akiko cut him off gently.

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “I know what it’s like… growing up in a broken home. You’re strong, Glen… for surviving it. For building everything you have now. You didn’t turn into something pathetic like me. You survived. You won.”

Her words hit harder than they should’ve. Glen stared down at her, stunned for a moment.

“Sorry… for interfering earlier,” she added softly.

For the first time, Glen truly… saw her.

Maybe she wasn’t arrogant. Maybe… she was just trying to protect the little pieces of herself that hadn’t been destroyed yet.

His arm tightened around her waist. His voice dropped lower, rough with something unreadable.

“I want to know more about you, Aiko.”