Chapter 121: An eye for an eye.

July 25 2026, 10:02am.

Another slap to her face jolted her out of her reverie and without warning, she crashed to the floor. Her body slammed against the ground with a loud cracking sound which made her wince.

The pain made her cry out in anguish and with every bit of her last strength, she desperately crawled towards her father. Her fingers dug into the bottom of her father’s pants as she cried;

"Father... dad, please!"

He didn’t move. He didn’t even look at her.

"Please, Dad, believe me. You raised me. Your blood runs through my veins so you should know me better than anyone. I never pushed Elara! I would never hurt her because I have always seen her as my sister!"

"Oh quit lying!" Tristan hissed from where he stood with his arms crossed over his chest. His voice was cold, and seeing him like this, discarding her like she was trash and protecting Elara even in her death, made Nyx’ara wonder if he was really doing this because he believed she was capable of hurting her stepsister, or because he loved her.

Love loved her.

Not the usual sibling kind of affection that should exist between them, but something that should feel more like an anomaly than anything else.

Nyx’ara could remember when she had snuck into his room with the hopes of surprising him only to walk in and hear the sound of his shower running and thinking that he was the one— the only one in the shower— she had innocently waited in his room, patiently.

That is until she began to hear pounding sounds. It was the unmistakable sounds of skin slamming against skin.

A couple of seconds later, his bathroom door flung open, and because the shock had caught her off guard, she didn’t even know when she ran to hide in his closet.

She had hidden herself thinking that he was probably naked, but goddess, that was far from the truth.

The scene that befell Nyx’ara instead was something that had etched its way into her skull, branded itself into her soul, and fractured whatever was left of this perfect family image that she had in her mind.

It was Tristan alright, and it was Elara... and they were going at it like animals, kissing and fucking without a care in the world.

Nyx’ara never saw Tristan the same way after that day, especially since she would always catch the lingering looks he occasionally shared with Elara. Sometimes she would catch them sneaking in and out of each other’s rooms. But she never cared or thought too much about it... until now—

She snarled; "Oh, I’m not! I have always seen Elara as my sister! I am not you who has other intentions towards her!"

And as soon as she screamed out those words, the room quietened. Her father and his wife turned to look at Tristan then at Nyx’ara in confusion, but before anyone could recover... could speak, Celine cried out;

"Oh, you despicable despicable child! You’re so incapable of love that you would turn a harmless affection between siblings into something twisted!"

But Tristan did not respond right away.

He knew what she was talking about.

Nyx’ara saw the moment the weight of her words settled in his mind, and saw the way his eyes thinned into fierce slits before something akin to madness crept up his features. In blind rage, he picked up a ceramic bowl from the shelf, raised it high and— she didn’t expect that he would do that— aimed it straight at her head.

The object shattered against her skull, immediately tearing off a large chunk of her skin. Blood poured out of the cut, pouring down her face and into her eyes.

And no one flinched.

The white-hot pain made her body thrum violently. The intensity of the pain made her clutch at her head and scream out in anguish.

But no one went to her aid. Her father still wouldn’t move an inch.

Due to the extreme blood loss, her vision slowly began to go blurry and at this point, it was almost impossible to keep her swollen eyes open.

She fell limply, struggling like someone who was already on the verge of giving up— which she was— when suddenly, a sweet mouthwatering scent hit her nostrils. It smelled of pineapple and bergamot, and it immediately made her wolf go wild.

Her broken wolf twisted achingly somewhere deep in her soul, forced her way to the surface, and whined;

"Mate!"

And at the sound, Nyx’ara stopped crying. Her breath hitched when Flynn, her mate and Elara’s boyfriend, walked into the house with the sure strides of a predator stalking its prey. His Alpha aura was overwhelming, pressing down at her with oppressive force. His face was a mask of indifference and his cold eyes landed on her... only for a second before disgust took over.

She felt her body vibrate as his eyes raked across her entire body slowly... deliberately. He hissed; "You killed my chosen mate."

’But I am your fated mate!’ She wanted to scream back at him, but deciding that that would only sound vain, she simply lowered her head instead and stuck to her truth.

"I didn’t!" She whispered,

For a moment, Flynn did not move or say a word. He simply stood there and watched her.

He suddenly marched over to Nyx’ara’s hunched-over frame before him. She was bleeding from literally everywhere, making her look even more pitiful than she always does. However, he cared less about how she looked as he forced her up until she was craning her neck to meet his gaze and then he growled;

"Stop lying!"

"I am not lying," her voice was tiny but there was no hint of dishonesty in it. This realization made Flynn realise that she was either so good at lying or she was telling the truth.

He settled for the former.

His fingers dug into the skin of her chin, drawing blood. But despite being held this tightly, despite the obvious pain lancing through her body, she still met his gaze squarely and hissed;

"I did not do it."

That irked him. Something about her stubbornness made him see red and without a thought, he closed his fingers around her neck, pulled her a few inches into the air, and flung her away, causing her already battered frame to break even further.

It wasn’t until he did this that he realized his error; but at this moment, it was already too late. She was already glaring at him in shock and betrayal... shaking her head violently as she backed away from him like one would from their tormentor.

Something in her gaze made his heart twist painfully but before he could react, Celine cried out, successfully turning everyone against her one more time.

She shrieked; "She killed Elara, she deserves this!"

Nyx’ara had seen the conflicted expression so she knew that he believed her.

That moment of confusion gave Nyx’ara all the strength she needed. She turned to Flynn and cried;

"Believe me, Flynn. I tried to stop her from jumping. She is my sister whether anyone says otherwise or not and I would never hurt her!"

At her utterance, he paused, let his eyes rake over her battered body one more time and then he clapped his hands.

Two bodyguards materialized out of nowhere.

At first, stupid Nyx’ara almost believed that the bodyguards were here to save her. That this was Flynn’s way of protecting her from her stepmother. But to her utmost surprise, he pointed once at her and hissed;

"Pick her up!"

The two grabbed both of her arms and with so much force, forced her to her feet. The action sent her body protesting in pain, especially her ribs from where Tristan had kicked her earlier.

The semi-healed scars on her back from two days ago tore open from the brute force and a cry of agony tore through her dry lips when she felt warm liquid trickle down her back.

Blood.

Her blood.

She could smell it.

"Nyx’ara, you killed my chosen mate out of jealousy. You have committed a grave crime and for that, you shall be punished accordingly."

His words made her breath hitch in her chest and panic like no other crashed into her with so much force, she felt her whole body tremble.

"I swear on my mother’s grave! I didn’t do it! Believe me, Flynn."

Flynn knew her well enough to know that she would never swear on her mother’s grave if she wasn’t telling the truth. He knew her well enough to know that she never swore.

But he still decided not to listen to her. He didn’t even spare her another glance as he snarled; "Get this bitch out of my sight! Make sure she is severely flogged until we can all see her bones and when you’re done, drag her into the darkest of cells until we are certain of what to do with her! Understood?!"

—That however was the last thing Nyx’ara heard before she jumped right out of sleep with her heart racing and her clothes stuck to her body due to her sweat.

Her eyes widened in shock and she pressed her hand to her chest, sighing because she had not been transported into the past. If anything, she’d been reminded of the injustice she suffered.

... and she must make them suffer as well.