Chapter 78 - 80
Botan POV
The sharpness makes her flinch, her fingers tightening around mine like she could soothe the raw edges. I feel the weight of her reaction, and a bitter laugh threatens to escape, but I swallow it back. I exhale slowly, retreating from the edge of my anger.
"I tried to protect her," I say, my voice quieter now, almost to myself. "But there’s only so much a kid can do against a grown man." The images rise, searing, but I push through. "One night, it was too much. I left that house crawling, nothing but a scared little shit."
Her eyes brim with a pain that isn’t hers but feels just as real. "And you never saw them again?"
I look at her, the words stuck somewhere between honesty and evasion. Finally, I answer. "Haru scraped me off the streets. Gave me a life, a purpose. And when I’d grown enough—taller, stronger—I went back. Got my mom out of there and put her in a penthouse near mine in Tokyo."
She hesitates, her breath shaky, her gaze steady but unsure. "And... your dad?"
The silence that follows stretches tight, a thread about to snap. My jaw clenches, my stare fixed on hers, measuring what to say, what to leave buried. Her breath catches and something flickers in her eyes—fear.
I hate it. Hate seeing it directed at me, the one thing I never wanted to inspire in her. But the truth lingers, heavy, and unspoken.
"Botan... did you—"
"I didn’t kill him."
She deflates but she still remains wary. I look away, my appetite evaporating. She tries to suppress the tension by selecting a dish and pouring a portion of pasta—penne alla vodka—her favourite dish. All of them are tailored to her preferences. I don’t realize how long I’ve been trapped by my own thoughts until I notice Avara is halfway through her meal.
"You’re not going to eat?" she asks softly, her voice drawing me back.