All Chapters of CRY OR BETTER YET, BEG: Chapter 211 - Chapter 218

ZAYNE’S POVMy heart skipped the moment those words left her lips. She was staring at me, our eyes locking for a long moment.I knew she was only pretending to care for me, pretending to only remember me as her beloved Titan and no memory of my cruelty towards her.I just knew this was part of her plan to make me pay for all the evil I had done to her. And I was gladly submitting to it.Because maybe if I let her go through with it, she would finally forgive me… even if I was never given another chance.Even if she still decides to end me.I just want her forgiveness.“Titan?”I blinked and glanced down at her.She made a sad face.“You haven't given me an answer. Don’t you love me?”I looked away.It hurt that she would go this far just for revenge—pretending to love the same man she had once hated so deeply and sworn to end.I told myself I would enjoy this little pretense and live the lie, just to experience this joyful, happy side of her.But knowing it was all fake made it even

I followed her gaze and found a woman with hollow cheeks clutching her thin child to her side and immediately fled.A short distance away, a man with a missing hand sat slumped against a wall, staring at nothing. He had not yet noticed my presence. He clutched a rusted tin plate in his remaining hand, his fingers gnarled and trembling from cold or hunger.Maybe both.Aria’s hand slipped from mine.“Give me some cash, please,” she said quietly.I pulled a thick wad of bills from my inner pocket—more money than most people in this city would see in a decade and placed it in her palm without hesitation.Whatever she wanted, she could have.She walked toward the beggar man with one hand. Seeing she was about to interact with a slave, my securities moved to intercept her.“Let her do as she pleases,” I ordered.They stepped back at once.The old man looked up at her, his eyes were rheumy and tired.Aria bent gracefully and placed the cash gently onto his plate.“Please,” she said softly.

“You don’t even know his name,” I said quietly.Aria turned back to the trembling attendant.“What is your name?”“K-Kael,” he stammered. “Kael of the Fern District. I’ve been in service to Master Heston for forty-three years, my lady. Since I was eight.”That face she made after hearing that gave me chills.I could tell she must have remembered how she, too, had been owned from a young age.“Kael,” she called softly, taking his gnarled hands in hers. “You are no longer a slave. Lord Zayne is going to give you your freedom this minute.”She looked at me.Waiting.The weight of her gaze pressed against my chest. I thought about my father. About the capital. About the riots that would surely follow if word spread that I had started freeing slaves.But I had a point to prove.I would leave this all behind soon enough, one way or another.This date was the beginning of a new life I wanted to live before handing the city over to someone capable.I sighed.“Do you have any blank paper and p

Kael finished packaging everything I had chosen. It looked like an infinite stack of boxes.My assistants were called in, and they carefully carried the packages out to the car.“You have my eternal gratitude, my lady. Both of you. I’ll never forget this day as long as I live,” Kael told us then gave a low bow.“Take care of yourself, Kael,” I said, and I meant it. “Don't forget to show that paper to anyone who gives you trouble. Lord Zayne’s signature carries weight.”“Of course… I will do just that, my lady.”Before I could turn around, he suddenly fell to his knees and bowed his head low,his body trembling."Kael? What's wrong?"His voice shook as he began.“I know I am ungrateful to ask for this after all you’ve done for me… but my only daughter, Maki, was taken to the capital as a… slut slave at the age of five. My only wish is to see her again. I don’t know—” His voice cracked as he broke down crying. “I don’t know if she’s dead or alive. Please, Lord Zayne…”One of the guards s