Chapter 1.12: I cannot afford mercy

Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse, Narcissism, and Victim Blaming (this is gonna be the real turning point for Leila/readers).

The walk to Alek's bedroom wasn't tense. It wasn't exciting either, the teenager just felt acceptance. All she knew was that the boy wouldn't die. And that's all she cared about right now. Whatever happened to him at the hands of his mother was out of her control. In the past, she would have pushed aside her dislike for him and taken the brunt of the abuse. But she had been in this world for some time now and she had become numb to certain things.

The teenager knew that while Cleo's mother loved and fought for her daughters, she despised her sons. There wasn't any specific reason for it. They didn't look like a past lover she hated. They weren't responsible for their sisters' untimely demise. The woman just didn't like them and made it clear. Back in her world, Leila had firsthand experience with such a phenomenon. She knew what it felt like to want your mother to love you, to hug you.

'It's childish,' Leila reminded herself as the woman patted her hand comfortingly. 'Unconditional love is just a fairy tale.'

That's what drove Alek to have the love of both of his parents eternally. And it made him weak to whatever demands the two had. She wondered how many times he had killed an enemy for them. How many families he had destroyed in the hopes they would open their hearts to them. It made the teenager feel sick. With such a cowardly personality it was hard to remember that the man was a murderer. He was contracted and paid but that didn't make it any better.

The entire family had no soul. They didn't kill for revenge or out of their naivety. No, they were maimed and slaughtered because they believed it was their right. Her gaze drifted to the woman holding onto her and hardened. She was beautiful and had a level of intelligence many women in this world couldn't even dream of. She used that privilege to break her sons down into cold-blooded monstrosities who obeyed her. Leila wanted to say she hated her for that but she couldn't.

Because she was the only one in this damn world who openly showed how cruel she was. No one believed she was a loving mother. Everyone knew she neglected her sons and thrived off of it. The servants, relatives, and associates. They all saw the bruises and heard the screams over the years. And they did nothing, they just sat by and listened. Leila would mourn the child Alek had once been. No one deserved that level of suffering. But the man he had become was someone she'd never sympathize with.

The woman let go of her hand and pushed open the room door. Leila bit her lip as she saw Alek look at her first. There was relief in his eyes, his shoulders loosening as guilt was lifted off of him. But that relief turned into outright terror when he caught the expression their mother made. Even though Alek towered over the woman he cowered. He could crush her with her hands but instead, he panicked.

"I remember telling you to be kind to Cleo," The woman's voice was warm and welcoming as she spoke. She moved to grab the teenager and held her close to her chest. It made her skin crawl. "I told you that she was fragile. And whatever she asked for, give it to her."

From under her mother's arms, the teenager watched Alek struggle to speak. His eyes were erratic as he grasped at empty air. "Mother, I apologize for not watching over her. Cleo wanted to be treated like an adult and I only wished to–"

A harsh, accusatory look silenced him. The man gulped and clamped his lips shut. Leila almost felt bad for him. Their mother was smothering him with the anger she kept under her cold words. He looked like a fish out of water when she was in control. She found herself wondering how in the hell he survived twenty-plus years if he acted like this.

"I don't care what was said," Her tone was emotionless as she looked the man up and down. She scoffed and tightened her hold on the girl. "She is your sister and your purpose is to protect her. Can't you do one thing for me? For your father?"

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That last part made the teenager feel slimy. She didn't expect to be this uncomfortable during the exchange. It gave her too many reminders of her life in the real world and she was grossed out. But she wanted to see how this unfolded. The woman had Alek folding under her within seconds. She was a master at manipulation. Her mother used her skills like she would think to breathe in the fresh air. It made Leila’s thoughts run wild in anticipation.

The older man froze at the mention of their father. He sat so still that Leila wondered if he had gone into some form of shock. The look in his eyes was unrecognizable as he looked downward. Their jade color became overblown as he breathed shallowly. She watched his pale skin become a deep red as he sat there motionless like a statue.

"Yes. I can mother I deeply apologize," The teenager balked at his tone. It made her sudden discomfort grow as she instinctively moved out of the woman's hold. "I want to apologize to my sister too."

'I'm standing right here, why is he asking permission?' Leila had merely met the man's eyes moments earlier. And now he was acting as if she wasn't there, he refused to even look at her.

Their mother tapped a painted nail against her chin. Her face was perfectly blank as she shook her head. "No. You couldn't do one thing for me and because of it your sister suffered." The older man looked confused at her comment.

That confusion soon turned to disbelief as their mother grabbed Leila's arm. The teenager could only wince as she pulled up her dress sleeve. "Because you couldn't follow one simple order, she hurt herself."

There was dried-up blood all over her arm that started to crust on her skin. The dress sleeve was permanently stained with blood and sweat weighing it down. The cut itself was healing but there wasn’t a scab on it yet. Alek stared at everything with the color draining from his face instantly. He looked like he was going to break, his mouth agape as he gave up trying to speak. Instead, he just sat there with their mother glancing at him with her cold gaze. The woman was waiting for a reaction that was never going to come.

Leila felt like she had just watched a massacre. The teenager tried to say something. But she had no words. She never would have expected the woman to flaunt her wound to him. It was smart, the man would become riddled with guilt at the sight. But Leila was shocked that the woman told him she did it. Not that she tripped or fell. No, she told him that had harmed herself because of him. Just as the teenager had been planning to do earlier. The woman was an absolute beast at her craft, she was coldhearted in a way she’d never encountered before.

'She beat me to the chase.' Leila wasn't mad or even hurt by her actions. The man meant nothing to her and she shared that feeling with the assassin. But she was still uncomfortable with the way everything was turning out.

She was being used as a prop for the women's game with her son. It pissed her off, she was sick of being treated like a piece of meat. She had no doubt she was genuinely angry about her injury but she cared more about hurting the man. The cold mask she wore masked the thrill his pain brought her. Truly, it was sickening to know that a mother could thrive off of the destruction of her blood. If Leila didn’t need the woman to survive, she would be the second person on her kill list. A mind so manipulative was deadly for anyone who didn’t control it.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" The man was beaten down verbally by the woman's icy tone.

'He's going to shut down completely if she doesn't stop.' The teenager didn't see any point in that.

She wanted Alek in pain and shutting down would make him numb to the world. Which makes the entire conversation pointless in the end. The girl felt no satisfaction watching the confrontation with Alek's current state. She decided to step in. If she acted like she was concerned over him he'd snap out of it. And he would think that she cared about him. She sighed and took a minute to prepare herself.

"Mother please stop saying such cruel things," Leila made sure to sound desperate as she ran to the man. She forced a few tears to fall down her cheeks as she did so. "Brother has learned his lesson. It's my fault that I was hurt, not his!"

The teen wrapped her arms around the man and sniffled. Her face was hidden behind his back so she stopped crying. Instead, she focused on playing up her desperation to comfort him. She positioned herself in a way that would perceive her as shielding him. Their mother would think her infatuation was strong enough that she'd defy her. It was risky but the teenager was her beloved daughter. Anything she did wrong was instantly forgiven.

"Sister…" Alek was shocked by her actions and hesitantly hugged her back.

"Brother made one mistake! I swear mother, I'll make sure he never disappoints you again." She sobbed while feeling her chest become wet. Good, he was starting to tear up. "So please, stop punishing him and punish me instead!"