What on earth had driven him to oppose me and start defending Elara?
I let the pain overwhelm me and told Ansel, word by word.
"Unless she dies before my eyes, I will never forgive her!"
Ansel's forehead was throbbing and he was visibly about to lose his temper. The muscle in his jaw flexed. His hand dropped to his side, fingers curling once, twice. The hallway seemed to narrow around us.
This was the same look he had when he used to rage at Elara and her mother on my behalf.
"Serafina! How did you become so bitter after just two years in Palermo? If you can't find it in yourself to forgive her, then at least apologize to Elara! I can't stand the thought of people in every family from here to the old country mocking my blood-promised as a spiteful, resentful woman!"
"Your mother's decision to end her life was her own weakness. If she had considered your youth, your father wouldn't have had to remarry! Don't blame all your misfortune on Elara and her mother. Vittoria made mistakes, but she didn't deserve to die! If you, like your mother, are going to stubbornly wallow in your misery, then it's no wonder you're plagued by nightmares!"
He practically spat out the word nightmares through gritted teeth.
The revulsion that flashed across his face was clear to me.
So, the person who swore to protect me for life was now clearly fed up with being haunted by my nightmares. The man who controlled half the waterfront, who had soldiers kiss his ring and call him Boss, could not stomach the sound of me screaming in my sleep.
In the end, all my misfortune and pain had become the sword he used to wound me, leaving me scarred and broken once more.
Once, the man who would feel heartache and tear up at the mention of my nightmares no longer held me close and promised.
"Serafina, as long as I'm here, no nightmare or monster can hurt you!"
He had once used his love and care to pull me out of the abyss, but now he was the one who had shoved me back in.
For Elara's sake, he said I deserved it!
Trembling uncontrollably, I could no longer cling to the hallway wall and staggered backward. Somewhere deeper in the compound, a door closed. The silence that followed was the kind that fills a room after a gunshot.
Ansel quickly steadied me, only to see that my knee was swollen and bruised.
He immediately crouched down to inspect the injury.
"How did you hurt your knee so badly?"
"Forget it. If you won't apologize, I'll do it for you, but you mustn't be so disrespectful in the future."
I wrenched my hand away with all my strength, my face ashen as I pointed toward the door.
"Get out! All of you, get out!"
Ansel, recognizing my vulnerability, tried to soothe me with a comforting embrace.
But Elara, tears streaming down her face, bowed deeply.
"Serafina, I'm leaving now. Please, don't torment yourself over this."
Her head tilted slightly to the right, her expression softening into something that looked almost like compassion. Then she turned to leave, spinning too quickly, crashing into the doorframe and falling sideways.
Ansel instantly released me and rushed to catch her. They both tumbled out into the hallway together.
Despite everything, Elara's head still struck the doorframe, instantly turning red with a hint of blood seeping out.
Ansel scrambled to his feet, cradling her as he rushed towards the elevator.
"Elara, does it hurt? I'm taking you to see a doctor right now!"
The doorway finally fell silent.
My heart sank to the depths.
After ten years of knowing each other and ten years of love, a decade of blood promise, we had reached this point of estrangement. The compound settled around me, indifferent. The hallway light hummed. I stood alone in the doorway of a home built with my father's treasury, wearing the silence like a shroud.
I took out my phone and booked a flight for the day of the Blood-Bound Union.
