Chapter 19 Zachary’s Softened Heart
Archer fell silent.
Zachary’s voice was firm. “Take her away. I don’t want to see this weich ever again.”
Vivian didn’t right as Zachary’s men took her. She only offered a faint, bitter smile.
she pleaded for her family as she was being pulled away. “The scheme against you was all my doing. My family had nothing to do with it.
“Zachary! Punish me however you want, but for the sake of what we once had, I beg you to space my family!”
Zachary’s lips curled into a cold smile “You just reminded me. Why should 1 stop at you? I’ll wipe out the Durm family too,”
Despair swallowed Vivian whole. It was as if she had been plunged into an icy abyss, mimb to everything.
Aether watched the man before her. She knew that compared to the other three members of the Fabled Four, Zachary seemed the most warm and approachable on
the surface.
when it came to cruelty, his methods were just as merciless.
And yet, no matter how ruthless he was, the thought of Vivian being thrown to a group of depraved old men made Aether’s stomach chum
She clenched Zachary’s arm, trying to stop him. “Zachary, don’t do this. Please. At least don’t hand her over to them. That’s too cruel for any woman
Zachary’s expression darkened. “Do you even realize what you’re saying? You’re pleading on behalf of someone who tried to take me down.
“Aether, by begging for her, you’re betraying me too
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
Aether’s fingers trembled as she let go. She retreated step by step and lowered her head, her voice growing softer. “But she doesn’t deserve this.
“She schemed against you because she wanted a future with you. She wanted to be with you so badly that she risked everything. She never really meant to harm you.
“She wanted to trap me with a child to climb the social ladder. What part of that isn’t hamı?
“She only said that, but if you really had no feelings for her, killing her would be as easy as crushing an ant.
“She thought that if she carried your child, you’d only have eyes for her. She was willing to stake her life on that future.”
“Aether!” Zachary roared, his fury exploding. “If you beg for her one more time, I’ll throw you in with her and let those filthy old men have you both.
“After all, aren’t you into men? Shouldn’t you enjoy being with those old grezers? Huh?”
Aether’s eyes bumed red, but no words came out. She felt helpless and powerless. She was nothing in this world, just a speck of dust, insignificant and at the mercy of others.
If someone disliked her, a single sentence could seal her fate, Even restarting wouldn’t change anything. She would still die.
And death wasn’t some numb, unconscious ending. It was suffering. Each of the three executions at the start had been pare agony.
Aetherow she shouldn’t meddle, but whenever she saw others suffering, their pain gnawed at her, keeping her awake at night and weighing her down with guilt.
didn’t want to be like this, but she couldn’t stop herself.
She couldn’t stop the way the empathized too deeply and couldn’t stop herself from seeing the world through others‘ eyes.
When someone was sad, she felt it, too. When someone was in agony, she hurt alongside them.
It was a terrible trait to have
Zachary compered her, fooring her back against the wall. He hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her face up
“Wether, do you see it now? I’m not the kind–hearted man you imagined me to be.
“Now do you realize how absurd it was ever to call me good?”
“Did you really think analweltle do–gooder like you could save me? Would a few self–righteous words be enough to change the entire world?
“Do you think you’re some kind of sor?
“You’ve read too many fairy tales if you think that this world, or the people in it, are anything but rotten.
“Let me make one thing clear. I’m far worse than you could ever imagine. What you’ve seen is just the tip of the iceberg.”
He wanted to berak her, drag her down with him, and drown her in the same despair he had felt–to make her see the vile, hopeless world for what it truly was.
He wanted to twist her, corrupt her, and tum berinto something Just as monstrous as himself.
However, Arther simply said, “I’m sorry. I knew that you had been betrayed before. I low you couldn’t stand it.
And yet, I still defended her. That must have felt like betrayal all over again. I’m sorry for putting you through that.”
Arther tried to understand Zachary, but no one would ever understand her. She understood Vivian and how hard things were for her. She felt the latter’s pain as if
were her owII.
She also understood Zachary and his wounds, his anguish. She, too, felt it just as deeply. But no one understood her, a person who tried to understand everyone else. People like her were mixed as alve, called busybodies, tools who meddled where they shouldn’t.
And if she ever slipped, the world would erase every good thing she had done.
Chapter 19 Zachary’s Softened Healt
