CHAPTER 362: THE HARD WAY

Ciel threw his arms around Lexie, his small body trembling as he buried his face into her shoulder. His voice was choked with emotion, almost a plea.

"Please come so quickly, Lexie," he whispered, clinging to her as if letting go would shatter him entirely.

Lexie held him tightly, her hands stroking his back soothingly, though her own tears threatened to fall. "I will, Ciel," she murmured, her voice trembling with emotion. "I promise I’ll come as soon as I can."

Reluctantly, Ciel released her, his fingers lingering for a moment before Isiah’s firm hand on his shoulder guided him toward the door.

Ciel hesitated, casting one last tearful glance back at Lexie, before stepping out of the room and closing the door softly behind him.

The room fell into silence.

Lexie exhaled shakily, her heart aching as she stared at the closed door. But before she could process her emotions, the sound of a chair scraping against the floor snapped her attention back to the present.

Isiah had taken a seat next to her, his movements deliberate and fluid, like a predator sizing up its prey. He leaned back in the chair with an air of unsettling calm, his piercing gaze fixed on her.

Lexie shifted slightly, uneasy under the weight of his stare. Her voice was quiet, almost hesitant, as she said, "You’re leaving."

Isiah didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, his sharp eyes boring into hers with an intensity that made her breath hitch.

For a moment, it felt as though he could see right through her, peeling back every layer she had carefully built around herself.

His gaze was cold, calculating, but beneath it was a flicker of something she couldn’t place—something deeper, more dangerous.

After a long silence, he spoke, his voice a low murmur that sent chills down her spine. "Would you survive such a trip to the next region?"

Lexie’s breath hitched, her eyes widening in sheer disbelief at his words. For a moment, she thought she had misheard him, her mind struggling to grasp what he had just implied.

Her heart thudded wildly in her chest as her lips moved soundlessly, searching for words that wouldn’t come.

"You..." she finally managed to whisper, her voice trembling with a mix of hope and confusion. "Are you... asking if I could come?"

Isiah didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, his piercing gaze never leaving hers, as though weighing her every reaction.

Lexie felt her pulse quicken, her body frozen in place. This wasn’t what she had expected—not after weeks of silence, of feeling abandoned and cast aside.

"You’d barely last a day in your condition," he said flatly, his tone devoid of emotion.

The bluntness of his statement made her flinch, but it was the possibility hidden in his words that left her reeling.

"Are you..." she stammered, her voice breaking, "offering to take me with you?"

The silence that followed was deafening. She searched his expression for any hint of confirmation, her hands gripping the edge of the bed as though it were the only thing grounding her in that moment.

Isiah’s eyes locked onto hers, unblinking, his expression hard and unreadable. He leaned forward, his voice low and deliberate.

"You think you could survive the next region, Lexie? You can barely hold yourself together here. You’d crumble the moment things got tough—if the journey didn’t kill you, the region itself would."

He straightened, his gaze never leaving hers, a cruel edge to his words. "I’m not offering you a hand, Lexie. If you come, it’s because I won’t waste my time convincing you otherwise. But don’t think for a second it’s out of kindness. I don’t care if you break along the way—or worse."

His lips curled into a sneer. "You’re weak, pathetic, and utterly useless to me. You’d be nothing but dead weight dragging us down. So, if you’re stupid enough to come, then you’ll deal with the consequences. But don’t expect me to save you when it all falls apart."

Turning slightly, he added coldly, "Pack your things, or don’t. Either way, I don’t care ."

She immediately stood from the bed and went to the bathroom.

Lexie’s heart pounded as she stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at her reflection, the truth of the moment settling deep within her.

She took a deep breath, her fingers trembling slightly as they traced the outline of her face in the mirror. She looked like someone on the verge of breaking, as if the slightest touch could shatter her, but she wasn’t backing down.

"He doesn’t mind if I join," she whispered to herself, though the words tasted bitter on her tongue. "That’s progress."

She couldn’t afford to, not now. She had made a decision, and she was going to follow through, no matter the cost.

Lexie emerged from the bathroom dressed in practical attire, her movements deliberate but strained.

She’d exchanged the frailty of her nightgown for dark, fitted pants, a simple white blouse tucked neatly beneath a sturdy dark jacket.

The ensemble was modest yet functional, suited for travel or hardship—a silent declaration that she wouldn’t be left behind, no matter what.

Isiah glanced up at her as she entered the room, his eyes quickly assessing her. He didn’t show any sign of surprise, as if he had expected her to show up like this—dressed and ready, or at least pretending to be.

"Since you’ve chosen the hard way, don’t you ever bring up emotions again. Don’t cry to me about feelings, don’t whisper about love, don’t even think about it. You’re here because you pushed your way in, not because you’re wanted."

He straightened, his eyes narrowing in disdain. "So keep it to yourself, Lexie. All of it. I don’t want to hear it."

Without waiting for her response, he turned sharply, his long strides cutting through the room like a storm gathering force

. The door swung open with a loud creak as he moved out, and before she could say anything, it slammed shut behind him, reverberating through the walls like thunder.