"I asked you to continue what you were saying."

Salena broke down. Tears rolled down her cheeks without stopping.

Her chest felt tight, and her thoughts were a mess. She did not know what else to do.

Fear and pain pushed her forward.

"I'm… sorry, Ed," she cried. "I'm really sorry. Please don't look at me like that."

She walked toward him and held his hand, gripping it as if it was the only thing keeping her standing.

"Don't touch me!"

Edward pulled his hand away hard.

It was as if she meant nothing to him.

His eyes were cold and full of disdain, and they did not shake at all.

Salena froze. Her hands dropped to her side. She felt small.

Very small.

Inside Edward's chest, something tore apart.

It felt like a knife had been pushed into his back.

The pain was sharp and deep.

The one who hurt him was the person he trusted the most.

The person he wanted to spend his whole life with.

He looked at her, and his voice came out low and heavy.

"So this is what you think of me," he said. "All this time… was this all I was to you?"

Salena shook her head again and again, crying harder.

"No… that's not true," she whispered.

"Please believe me."

But Edward did not move.

The distance between them felt wider than ever, and the warmth they once shared was completely gone.

Salena fell to her knees. The sound was dull and heavy.

"I was wrong…" she pleaded, her voice breaking.

"I'm sorry. If you tell me to beg your brother for mercy, I will do it. I will do anything. Please… don't leave me."

She bowed her head low, her tears dropping onto the floor.

She was cut off again.

"No."

Edward's voice was sharp and cold. There was no anger in it now, only disdain.

"You have done nothing wrong," he said.

"If anything, I should thank you. You showed me your true colors. I was foolish to believe you were an understanding woman."

Salena shook her head wildly.

"Please, Ed, just listen to me," she cried. "It's just a misunder—"

She stopped. He did not let her finish.

Edward turned his face away for a moment.

His jaw was tight. His eyes burned, not just with anger, but with deep disappointment.

That feeling hurt more than anger ever could.

"Until today," he said slowly, "I never understood why Sir Vikram refused to marry."

He looked down at her again.

"But now I do."

Those words hit her harder than any slap.

"You say you won't speak like this again?" he asked.

Salena nodded quickly, desperate. "Yes… yes, I won't. I swear."

Edward's eyes narrowed.

"Then how do I trust you in the future?" he asked coldly. "Women like you will always find a way to get what you want."

Salena's face went pale.

"What if one day," he continued, his voice low and cruel, "you try to push our child to fight against my brother?"

Her breath stopped.

She looked at him in shock, her lips trembling, unable to speak.

The words she wanted to say stayed stuck in her throat, while the distance between them grew wider than ever.

"It wasn't your fault that you spoke your thoughts," Edward said slowly.

"The fault was mine. I was foolish to think about spending my life with you."

He paused and looked down at his left hand.

On his pinky finger was a ring.

It was the same ring Salena had given him on his last birthday.

He had worn it every day since then. He never wanted to take it off.

To him, it meant promise, trust, and a future together.

But now, it felt wrong.

It felt like burning metal on his skin.

Edward tried to pull the ring off. It did not move.

He frowned and pulled again, harder this time. Still, it would not come off.

Salena saw what he was doing. Her heart tightened painfully. Fear rushed through her.

"Ed, please don't," she cried as she crawled closer. "Please… I'll do anything you want. Just don't do that."

Her voice was shaking badly. Tears kept falling from her eyes.

Edward did not answer.

He kept pulling at the ring. His fingers turned red, but he did not stop.

His breathing grew rough. His eyes slowly turned bloodshot, filled with pain and anger.

The ring still did not come off.

His hand trembled.

Edward lifted his right hand and snapped his fingers.

From his subspace, a dagger appeared in his grip.

The moment Salena saw the blade, her heart almost stopped.

Her body went cold, but her tears did not stop. They fell faster than before.

"Ed… please," she begged, more desperate than ever. "Let me explain. It was all because of my fath—"

Chik.

She could not finish her words.

Her eyes widened in horror.

Edward did not hesitate. His face did not change.

With one clean motion, he cut off the pinky finger of his left hand.

The finger fell to the ground with a small, dull sound.

The ring was still on it.

Blood flowed down from his hand, dripping onto the floor.

Pain flashed across his face, sharp and real.

But that pain was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.

He looked at her one last time.

"From today," Edward said coldly, "our relationship ends."

His voice was steady, but empty.

"Don't you dare try to contact me again."

Salena collapsed completely. Her legs gave out, and she fell to the floor, shaking.

She could not scream. She could not even cry properly anymore. She could only stare at him, her world breaking apart.

Edward turned around.

He did not stop the blood. He did not look back.

He kicked the door open and walked out.

The sound of his footsteps faded away, leaving only silence, blood on the floor, and a broken ring lying beside a severed finger.

As he left, Salena remained there. Her eyes were empty and unfocused.

She could not move. She could not think.

The light on her face was gone, and her world felt like it had shattered into countless pieces.

Her gaze slowly fell to the severed finger on the floor.

It was not just a finger.

It was the end of her love.

It was the end of her hope.

Since childhood, Salena had always searched for love.

At first, she looked for it from her father.

No matter how hard she tried, he never saw her as his daughter.

To him, she was only a tool, a way to gain power through marriage into a strong family.

Even knowing this, she did not give up.

She worked hard, behaved well, and tried to earn his attention.

But her father never looked at her. All of his care and pride were given to his son.

Still, she had her mother.

But a few years ago, her mother had died from illness.

After that, Salena truly felt alone. She believed this was her fate, a lonely and painful life.

Then she met Edward.

When she first met him, and when she spent time with him, she felt something she had never felt before.

Warmth. Care. Hope. She thought that, at last, she had found someone who would love her for who she was.

She believed she could finally have a real family.

But in the end…

He also left her.

Salena's tears didn't stopped.She held her chest tightly as if her heart would fall apart.

Silent tears ran down her face, one after another, as the room remained cold and empty around her.

For the first time, she truly felt that she had lost everything.

As the feeling of loss grew heavier, something dark rose inside Salena's heart.

Hatred.

Hatred toward her father, who had pushed her into this path without care.

Hatred toward herself, for speaking those words about Edward's brother when she knew how deeply he loved and respected him.

She knew better.

And yet, she still said them.

That truth crushed her even more.

She cried harder than before. Her voice broke as the room filled with her cries of pain and regret.

There was no one to comfort her. No one to hear her.

Only her sobs echoed against the cold walls.

She curled up on the floor, holding herself tightly, as if that could stop the pain tearing her apart.

---

Meanwhile, Edward rushed back to his room.

He kicked the door open and stormed inside.

Blood was still flowing from his severed finger. With his mana, he could have stopped it easily.

But he didn't.

He didn't care.

His chest burned. His thoughts were a mess. His vision blurred with rage and pain.

Boom!

He threw a punch into the wall with all his strength.

The wall shook violently. Cracks spread across it as pieces of stone fell to the ground.

But he didn't stop.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Again and again, he struck the wall.

His knuckles shattered. Skin split open.

Blood splashed across the stone, but he kept going, as if he wanted to feel pain, any pain that could drown out what was tearing him apart inside.

He turned and smashed furniture, breaking tables and chairs, throwing anything he could reach.

The room slowly fell apart around him.

After a long while, his body finally stopped moving.

He stood there, breathing heavily, his hands ruined, blood dripping onto the floor.

Then he threw his head back and shouted with everything he had left.

"Damn it!!!!!!"

The cry echoed through the broken room, filled with anger, grief, and a pain that refused to fade.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.