Kennard's POV
Lorelei stepped in front of me protectively, her eyes filled with both anger and suspicion as she stared down at my parents.
When she sharply questioned them, they couldn’t even meet her eyes. Guilt was written all over their faces.
“If they won’t talk, then you tell me, Kenn. What happened?” she asked, turning to me with surprising gentleness.
Standing on her tiptoes, she wiped away my tears with soft fingers. “It’s only been a day. What on earth happened to you?”
No... not just a day. It had been three whole years.
When she wrapped her arms around me, her warmth finally cracked something in me. After three long, lonely years, I felt like I could finally lean on someone again.
Choking back my sobs, I told her everything.
“Earlier today, we had just finished horseback riding when a beggar suddenly ran up to my parents and whispered something to them. At first, they looked disgusted. But in the blink of an eye, they were hugging him like he was family, saying they wanted to adopt him.”
I took a shaky breath, then continued, “They even forced me to hand over my company to him. When I got suspicious, I pretended to agree. But they still wouldn’t let it go. They tried to drug me. They even wanted that woman to ruin me. If I hadn’t refused the drink, if you hadn’t shown up when you did—”
I couldn’t keep going. My voice broke completely, and the tears streamed down my face.
As I cried, Lorelei’s eyes went ice-cold.
“You filthy beggar. You dared to hurt my Kenn? You’re dead meat.”
She raised her hand and snapped her fingers. In a flash, a group of bodyguards stormed into the yurt, their eyes sharp as blades, locked on Jefferson.
“No! Don’t hurt Jeff!” my mom protested.
“If you want someone, take me instead!” my dad shouted next, rushing in front of him like hens protecting their chick from a hawk. Even knowing how hopeless it was, they still threw themselves in front of him without hesitation.
Lorelei paused, clearly stunned.
Jefferson, however, stayed calm. He even smirked.
“Aren’t you curious what I said to them? Just one sentence changed everything. Don’t you want to know what it was?”
My gut twisted. I grabbed Lorelei’s hand in a panic.
“Don’t listen to him. Please. Let’s just go... anywhere safe. I’m begging you.”
But she looked at me tenderly, patting the back of my hand. “Don’t worry, Kenn. I’ll listen to what he has to say, and then I’ll take you away. I promise, I’m on your side.”
“No... please, don’t…”
But no matter how I pleaded, she gently pulled her hand from mine and stepped toward Jefferson.
He leaned in and whispered something into her ear.
The moment she heard it, her whole expression changed.
The warmth vanished. In its place was something horrifying—delight, even love—but not for me.
She looked at Jefferson with shining eyes, like he was the only one that mattered. Then she turned back to me, cold and disgusted.
“You think you’re good enough to compete with Jefferson?” Her voice was full of scorn. “Your parents were right. You don’t deserve anything better. You belong here.”
Then, turning to the old widow, she said with a cruel smile, “Do whatever you want to him. Just make sure he never stands up again.”
My heart shattered. I begged her to remember what we once had, to show a shred of mercy.
But she didn’t even flinch. She just laced her fingers with Jefferson’s and walked away, leaving me with nothing but the sting of her betrayal.
The old woman cackled, her fingers already tugging at her clothes.
And just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I heard Jefferson’s voice outside the yurt, calm and mocking, as he repeated that same sentence.
So that was it. That one line.
Those four little words.
I finally understood why they turned on me, why everything fell apart.
