--- [Cinder’s perspective]
Compared to the others in my new family, my life has been great.
They have all experienced so much suffering, so when I compare my problems to theirs, I almost feel guilty…
I was born into a rich family in the middle area.
While some people out there are starving, my every need was met.
So many people out there don’t have time for anything other than work, yet I could spend all my time on my hobbies.
I had good friends, and I got a good education.
It was everything you could hope for.
I was the exact person society was built for.
Everything was going exactly the way I wanted it to…
Until a few months after I turned 17.
My father was the owner of the largest food production company in my city.
I was going to inherit it when he retired, but those plans quickly changed when he got a certain offer…
Another gigantic food production company from a different city got in contact with him.
They wanted to merge, making it one giant mega corporation that spans multiple cities.
The terms of the deal were as follows:
After the merger, only our name would remain, but they would be the ones in charge.
On top of this, my father would get a massive payout and 50% of what it earned every year for as long as he lived.
The decision was easy for him.
He was already starting to get old, so he wouldn’t be able to manage the company for much longer anyways.
Getting this much money, while also keeping his legacy, was a best case scenario for him.
I didn’t particularly mind the deal either.
I was his only child, so I would eventually inherit all the money.
With that, I would never have to work a day in my life.
No, not just me…
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But my entire bloodline for generations to come.
We would be one of the wealthiest families on the planet, without having to do any work.
But…
There was one more condition to the deal that I wasn’t aware of until the merger happened.
The owner of the other company had a son around my age.
We would have to get married…
They had many reasons why it they deemed it ‘necessary’.
It was to symbolize the merging of our companies!
It was to justify them remaining the owners!
But, they were all bullshit reasons…
The real reason?
The son thought I was cute, and wanted to own me…
Just like every other spoiled rich kid, he couldn’t bear the thought of not getting everything he wanted, so his daddy made sure he wouldn’t have to.
They gave us an absolutely insane deal, and it was all so that I could be his…
My father accepted the deal without even telling me about that part.
Why?
He probably knew I would refuse if I had a choice, so he made sure I didn’t.
I didn’t love him…
I didn’t even know him!
The rest of my life would be spent with some rich douche who thought women were objects to be owned.
I couldn’t bear the thought of it, so I ran away.
I abandoned my family, my friends, my wealth…
Everything was left behind.
Naturally they came chasing after me, but I never stopped running.
There was one time when they got especially close to catching me.
That was the day I met them…
Just as I was about to get caught by the agents they had hired, a group of just three random people stopped them.
They saw what was happening, and they intervened.
Those people turned out to be Edward, Lady Alice, and Lord Arthur; my new family.
Even though what they had experienced was much worse than what I had, even though I was a spoiled rich kid…
They still accepted me.
They still treated me the same as everyone else.
--- [Alex’s perspective]
They’re all alone now.
Illian is fighting that crazy woman, Lett is fighting the twins, and Shin is taking care of the woman at the entrance.
We’ve split up too much.
After I find Illian and make sure he’s okay, we’ll meet up with the others and get the hell out of here.
“And who do we have here…” – Edward
It’s…
Edward!
“You…!” – Alex
“I’ve been looking for you, Alex.” – Edward
…
“Get out of my way.” – Alex
He doesn’t move, instead he just stares into my soul with those dead eyes.
It almost feels like there’s no one in there…
“You know I can’t do that.” – Edward
“I’m saying this for your own sake… I’m afraid of what I might do to you, knowing you’re the one who kidnapped my friends.” – Alex
Before responding, he takes a deep breath while maintaining eye contact.
“Alex, we need your help.” – Edward
“Oh, fuck off.” – Alex
Is he serious?!
Me help them…?
After all they’ve done to us?
Hah!
What a joke…
“I’m not joking, Alex. We need your help… And we will get it…” – Edward
He’s…!
No.
I need to calm down.
I take a deep breath and focus only on the air going in and out of my lungs.
I can’t afford to make any dumb decisions clouded by anger.
Not when my friends are in danger…
“Your ability is exactly what we’ve been looking for all this time… It’s what we need to save Alice.” – Edward
“Look… I don’t give a shit about you and your buddies. You kidnapped my friends! You hurt them… You fucking tortured them! Now let us go, and leave us alone.” – Alex
“Alex… Please. If you just willingly help us out, we’ll let you all go. We won’t hurt you or your friends any more than we already have. No more of your friends will have to die…” – Edward
“More…? D… Die…?” – Alex
His dead look gave it all away.
He’s serious…
The thing I just tried to avoid, letting anger cloud my judgement…
It all went down the drain.
He killed one of them…
That’s unforgivable.
With every passing moment, the anger just continues to grow.
It’s taking over every fiber of my being.
Edward needs to die!