Chapter 213: The Universe Isn’t To Blame A squeeze strangled my chest, and I wasn’t sure I was breathing anymore, at least for an entire second. The couple faded away, just as my parents did. I was six when my entire world was taken from me, when the sirens whirred as the cops drove to the farm land. Little me had no idea what was going on, only that Gramps had to leave and Granny held me through the night, weeping. I knew something was wrong, but I just didn’t know what. As I stared at the two caskets, slowly descending into the dug ground, I asked where my mom and dad were. They are in a better place. Granny said. A better place? Wasn’t there a better place with me... W-With their daughter? How could they go and leave me behind? I was angry, and as the days turned into months, I grew angrier. When I became a teen, I was the girl who lost her parents in a tragic car crash; the gloom followed me wherever I went. I poured everything into my study, trying to live, trying to exist. But behind closed doors, I was still that little girl who hated the world for taking my parents away from me. I hated them for leaving. And as I grew older, there was no anger anymore, there was just this locked pain I tried so hard to seal and toss the key to the abyss. I drove into responsibilities, convincing myself that the weight on my shoulders was better than the pain in my chest. I existed for my grandparents, and being in pain wasn’t gonna help me do that. I loved, love, and my heart got torn to shreds, yet that... pain was far too big. It’s suffocating. I blamed the universe, but it wasn’t the universe; it was man. A man took my parents from me—a man. I uncrossed my legs and pushed off the bench. With my hands buried in my pockets to keep from the cold, I trekked the street. After an hour or so, I found myself at a pawnshop. I eyed the building from a distance before I closed in on it. I opened the door to get in, and the bells hung above chimed. My eyes scanned the entire area; it was like I had stepped through a time machine. So many outdated old things, and they were aesthetically pleasing to the eye. I traced my finger on the shelves, observing. The mean-looking man at the desk watched me briefly before going back to his cleaning. I gulped, bidding my time, acting as if I was looking at a sample. After a while, and making sure no one was coming in at the moment, I neared the desk. I dropped a stack of cash on the table, and the man stopped his cleaning and looked at me. "I need a gun." "Do I look like I sell guns, sweetheart? Look around you." "I bet you do," I replied. "Nothing in this city is exactly clean. It’s corrupted and rotten." He eyed me and then the cash. "What do you need a gun for?" "Protection." ~☆~ I stood at the entrance for far too long, my spirit whirring loudly to the point I felt like walking away from this. But how could I? My parents’ killer was in there trying to make a full recovery. I saw a recent article yesterday. Apparently, it was possible to extend his life. Even on his deathbed, that piece of waste still wanna live. He’s gonna keep living while my parents are nothing but bones. That wasn’t fair. I flinched when I felt a hand slip to the small of my back. Like a robot, I turned to Ares. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖 His expression was the usual impassiveness before he set his gaze on me. I gaped at him blankly and found the strength to speak. "I heard the news. Why didn’t you tell me?" "It was not of importance." I peeled my eyes away, feeling like sand had filled my mouth. "How cruel. He’s your father." "It’s cold. Let’s get inside." He led me through. I instantly caught sight of the men lingering around every corner. I wasn’t sure I would have made my way through without being under their watchful gaze. We ambled straight into the elevator, and Ares pressed a button for the top floor. His hand felt like a brand on my back, but I remained still. "What were you doing at a pawnshop?" I froze. "Following me?" I asked with irritation. "I warned you." I didn’t even know I was being watched the entire time. Ares was becoming a fucking shadow, and it just sets me off like a bomb. I stepped away, giving a foot of distance, I eyed as the veins in his hand bulged, flexing from the loss of touch. Slowly, I dragged my gaze up, but he wasn’t looking at me; my piercing glare must have forced him to. He must have really scrutinized me now, because his eyes narrowed as if he couldn’t get that much read on me. The elevator dinged, and it took a while before I was the first to break the spell, attempting to leave. But the doors closed unexpectedly when Ares pushed a button. My back pressed against the wall as he towered over me, his eyes roaring a load of things he couldn’t express in words. Ares King has never been a man of words. "Why are you so obsessed with me?" I asked softly, as I moved my hands and placed them on his chest, peering at him through my lashes. "You ended the contract, yet here you are. Don’t you think I deserve an explanation?" His nails pinned down my waist, and I gasped when he yanked me closer, leaving not an inch of space, as if it wasn’t meant to be tolerable. "You’re giving me a whiplash..." I grounded out. "You’re making me lose my fucking mind," he seethed to my face. "Good." He kissed me, and I let him.