CHAPTER 47: WHAT WAS SHE TALKING ABOUT?

Asher’s POV

I didn’t know how to react.

Was this really happening? And right under my roof?

Servants harassed her? They barged into her room and tried to touch her?

Getting neglected was one thing... being left out or even being treated coldly... but this?

They were molesting her and violating her?

I felt the patient I had tried to build since I entered this house was snapping.

My fists clenched, and my jaw locked so tight it hurt. If I could... I would rip their throats out. Kill them one by one and smile while doing it.

They walked around this mansion like they owned the place, while Sera... my sister... was hiding in fear.

I had already killed dozens of them in my mind before her voice pulled me back.

"However... you might not know that... in this house..." she said, her voice soft but clear, "...you were the only one who protected me."

Me?

I stared at her, totally stunned.

I? Protected her? When?

All I remembered was being an asshole. All I had ever been was cold and distant toward her.

All I was... was a stranger who shared blood, but no warmth.

I looked at her, my eyes full of questions, but she lowered her gaze and went on.

"But no one dared to do anything when you were home," she said, her voice trembling along with her body. "So... I always waited for you. Every day. I waited for the sound of the main gate opening... for your footsteps in the hallway..."

Her voice cracked a little as she kept going.

"Because other than that small room that sheltered me... You were the only one I could lean on. Even if I never said it... even if I thought I hated you sometimes... You were the only person I looked forward to in this hellhole of a house."

I didn’t know when, but my tears had already started falling. I didn’t even realize it until I tasted the salt on my lips.

Just what was I even hearing?

Seraphina... My little sister... What kind of hell had she lived in, right under my nose?

The more she talked, the more distant her voice felt, like she wasn’t here anymore. Her body was trembling so badly, I was scared she would faint again right in front of me.

"And then... when you were gone... they sent me to the mental hospital," she said, her voice so low I almost missed it. "That Jim... He... he did all sorts of things to me. I... I was just an autistic person. I was just an autistic person, I could use my brain, but neither could I talk nor fight...

Her lips quivered.

"They... they filmed me... dragged me into dark rooms where I couldn’t even scream. It was so filthy... so disgusting... It was so painful that I wanted to die."

My whole body froze.

What was she talking about? Wasn’t she rescued?

Didn’t Lucien save her? Wasn’t she herself planned an escape?

What mental hospital? What dark rooms?

Was she confusing something after all that trauma?

I couldn’t breathe. My fists were already clenched so tightly that my nails were cutting into my palm.

"And then you came... with Second Brother... you saved me, but..." She stopped for a second, her eyes glazed. "You saved my body, but my soul was already gone. After that, they threw me back into that room like nothing happened."

"The room... that was once my heaven had become hell!"

Her voice cracked.

"And this time... even you didn’t look at me. You avoided me like I didn’t exist. So... the servants knew no one would protect me. They didn’t just touch me—" she choked, "they did all sorts of things to me."

Her hand trembled as she raised it.

"Look," she said, showing me her palm. "They burned my hand with a hot iron..."

Then, before I could stop her, she turned around and slipped the back of her top down.

"Here... see... they burned me with cigarette butts. Even bit me..."

I quickly looked away, as almost her whole back was exposed.

She turned back and pointed at her neck.

"Here... they bit my flesh. You see this mark?" Her voice shook desperately. "I don’t wear clothes that show my skin, not because I’m shy... but because I can’t let you all see these scars and feel that I am filthy."

I didn’t want to look... but I did. And surprisingl,y there was... nothing.

Just clean skin.

There were no burns, no bruises, or even bite marks.

Just her trembling hands and her teary eyes.

What was happening? Why was she saying all this?

Was she hallucinating?

No... this wasn’t some lie.

This was trauma. It was her deep, buried trauma that was surfacing like poison.

Maybe the scars weren’t on her skin... but... They were carved deep into her soul.

But wait!

Something didn’t add up...

She had never even met Second Brother. Not even once and never had seen his face. All he ever did was send her gifts from abroad.

So, where the hell did he come into the picture?

Why was she saying he helped save her?

My thoughts froze when her voice cut through again, sharp but shivering.

"You... You never believed me once..." she said with a shaky breath, staring right at me. "I kept telling you... it was Melissa... she did everything to me..."

Her voice cracked more with each word.

"She sold my videos to the dark web... threatened me that... if I spoke up... she’d show the world what a freak I was."

I swallowed hard, but it did nothing to ease the burning in my throat.

"It was her... and Jim... her cousin," she spat, voice dripping with pain and rage. "They were the ones. They did all those sick things to me. They ruined me. They ruined everything."

She looked so small and fragile that my heart broke into pieces.

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Dang! I almost teared up writing this Chapter... You guys, comment and tell me how it was!