"To think that he still hasn’t changed... what a pity." Grace sighed heavily as she processed the current state of their family.
"Unfortunately, his personality only beca worse. He’s so blinded by his ambitions that he no longer cares about anyone but himself," Aisha added, her voice tinged with fury and deep-rooted frustration.
Angela released a long, heavy sigh. She had long since accepted that she was powerless to change her husband. The man she had once loved had vanished not long after Aisha was born. What remained was a hollow shell of greed and cruelty—a demon cloaked in human skin.
Even demons, she thought bitterly, show kindness to their kin. They understand the value of family. But he? He sold his own daughter for profit and discarded his children like broken tools.
"He’s beyond redemption now," Angela muttered. "He is no longer my husband. I hold no love for him—only bitterness and resentnt."
"Don’t worry, Mother. We won’t let him sell Aisha to anyone. It doesn’t matter who it is or how powerful they are," Anna declared with unwavering resolve.
Grace nodded firmly. She took her mother’s frail hands into her own and said gently, "That’s right, Mother. We won’t allow him to do as he pleases anymore. This ti, we’ll stop him."
Angela looked at her daughters with warmth and pride in her eyes, but deep down, a pit of worry remained. She knew just how dangerous her husband could be. His power within the clan was absolute. Even if they were determined, how could they stop him?
’He wouldn’t hesitate to use force against his own blood...’ Angela thought bitterly. ’And I am far too weak to protect them.’
"Don’t worry, Grandma," Yuan said as he stepped closer with a confident smile. "You can leave everything to us. We’re strong now. A few mortals won’t be able to lay a finger on us."
Aisha nodded in agreent and added with a soothing tone, "Yuan is strong, Mother. You don’t have to worry about us. Focus on your recovery. You’ve suffered long enough—you must reclaim your strength."
Angela sighed again, but this ti her expression was softer, less burdened. "If you say so, Aisha... I’ll trust my dear grandson, then." She forced a faint smile as she looked at Yuan. The resolve and warmth in his eyes made her believe.
Monts later, the door to Angela’s chamber suddenly opened with a loud creak. Nicolas, the Clan Head, entered unannounced, not even bothering to knock. His brows were furrowed, his intent clear—he was there for Aisha.
But the mont he stepped inside, he froze.
The room was filled with stunning won, seated gracefully across the chamber. Each of them radiated an elegance and beauty that surpassed even Aisha’s fad appearance. A few among them even looked eerily familiar to him, triggering a sense of confusion and disbelief.
’Who are these won? What are they doing in my clan? And why... why do so of them seem so familiar?’ he thought, scanning each face slowly, his confusion deepening with every second.
Unaware that the very won before him were his own daughters—Anna and Grace—and his grandson, Yuan, he stared at them blankly, unable to comprehend the situation unfolding before him.
"Nicolas! You bastard! What the hell are you doing inside my room?! Get out of here imdiately!" Angela shouted, her voice filled with fury as she glared at the man she once called her husband. Just the sight of him reignited the storm of rage inside her—an inferno that she had kept buried for too long.
Nicolas flinched slightly at her voice, but he quickly recovered and ignored her words. Instead, his gaze swept over the unfamiliar faces in the room with narrowed eyes.
"W-Who are these people? And what are they doing here?" he demanded, his curiosity piqued and his tone dripping with suspicion.
"This has nothing to do with a bastard like you!" Angela snapped, her teeth clenched in frustration. "So get out of here! I don’t even want to see your face!"
Nicolas’s expression twisted, his eyes narrowing as he fought to contain his anger. His fingers curled into fists at his side. "Angela, don’t test my patience! You may have rotted away in this room, but I’m still the Clan Head. Don’t forget your place."
"Don’t try to pull that authority crap with !" Angela barked, her voice crackling with rage. "I know exactly why you’re here—you’re trying to sell our daughter just like you sold Anna! I won’t let you!"
Nicolas let out a mocking snort. "Hmph! You think your empty words will stop ? A weak woman like you doesn’t get to make decisions! This marriage is happening whether you like it or not!"
He turned to Aisha, his eyes sharp with cold authority. "The Drake Clan will arrive tomorrow. You’ll greet them with a smile, and you’ll accept the engagent with Young Master Denise. This is bigger than your feelings. It’s about the clan!"
Aisha stared at him for a second, then laughed coldly. "You still think you can control ? That I’ll just follow orders because you’re my father? You stopped being a father the day you abandoned us."
"AISHA!" Nicolas roared, his voice thundering through the room. "Don’t test ! I gave you life—I can take everything away from you if you refuse!"
"You can try," Aisha said calmly, her eyes now cold and sharp. "But you’ll fail, just like you failed as a husband... and as a father."
A sudden silence swept through the room, the tension heavy.
Then a calm, sharp voice spoke, slicing through the tension like a blade. "You haven’t changed at all. If anything, you’ve only beco more pathetic."
Nicolas’s head snapped toward the speaker. His eyes widened as he saw a woman standing there, arms crossed, her expression fierce yet calm. She looked familiar... hauntingly familiar.
His eyes narrowed. "A-Anna Grace...? That’s impossible... You... you shouldn’t be here!"
Grace smirked coldly. "I’m not Anna Grace. I’m Grace. Anna is sitting right over there."
She pointed toward the couch where Anna sat beside Angela, Yuan, and Lily. Anna simply gave a small wave with a tight smile.
Nicolas’s face paled. His mouth opened, but no words ca.
"You can’t even recognize your own daughter anymore?" Grace said with a soft, mocking laugh. "What a truly pathetic sight. Honestly, I didn’t expect much, but you still managed to disappoint."
"He’s still the sa, Grace. Still the man who sold like livestock and called it duty." Anna’s voice was low and icy. "The man who threw away his children in pursuit of power."
"You’re right," Grace added. "A dog’s tail can’t be straight. And you... you’re still that sa crooked tail—only now more desperate and weaker than before."
Nicolas trembled slightly, his gaze jumping between the two won, his daughters—his past co to haunt him.
"You... How...?" he muttered, unable to comprehend what was happening.
"Well, isn’t it interesting to see you doing good? I thought you must be rotting sowhere, but it seems I was wrong," Nicolas sneered, his tone laced with sarcasm despite the humiliating words hurled at him by Anna and Grace.
Instantly, both sisters’ eyes turned cold. The faint glow of killing intent flickered in their gaze as the temperature of the room seed to drop.
And then, as if he hadn’t said enough, Nicolas grinned and continued with a wicked glint in his eyes, "It’s good that you two have arrived and still look the sa despite your age. I can sell you both again. It’s hard to believe you two could still be useful despite being talentless."
The mont those words left his mouth, a wave of deadly silence washed over the room.
Yuan and all his wives stiffened as a wave of fury erupted from within. Their expressions darkened instantly, and Yuan’s fists clenched tightly, his nails digging into his palms. The urge to kill surged within him.
’This bastard...’ Yuan gritted his teeth, about to stand up, but just as he moved, a soft hand touched his arm.
"Not yet," Anna whispered, her voice calm but heavy with resolve.
Yuan’s body relaxed, though reluctantly. He inhaled deeply, forcing down the burning rage as he gave a small nod and sat back down, letting Grace take the reins.
"Hmph! Do you really think you have what it takes to sell us again?" Grace asked coldly, stepping forward with a soft smile that masked her icy fury.
"Y-You—" Nicolas started, but his words were cut off by Angela’s furious shout.
"Nicolas! You bastard! Leave my room this instant before I throw you out myself!" Angela roared, her eyes burning with loathing.
"Shut up, Angela! Don’t utter a single word from your filthy mouth!" Nicolas snapped back, his voice cracking with anger and humiliation, his pride already crumbling beneath the verbal barrage.
But then Grace took a step forward and spoke in a chilling tone, "Get out from here..."
And in the very next mont, the room was engulfed by a crushing force.
An invisible pressure swept through the chamber like a divine hamr slamming down. Nicolas collapsed instantly, his knees hitting the ground hard, a strangled gasp escaping his lips. A second later, a thick spray of blood erupted from his mouth.
His eyes widened in horror.
’W-What the hell is this pressure?! H-How is she doing this?! She can’t even use magic!’ he scread internally, panic gripping his heart. He felt his organs twisting inside him, a foreign and terrifying force tearing through his body from within.
He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. He could barely hold onto consciousness.
The sheer might of the pressure overwheld him completely.
"I... I have to escape...!" Nicolas thought frantically, and with great effort, he crawled toward the door like a dying insect, dragging his blood-soaked body across the floor.
He didn’t dare look back.
He stumbled out of the room like a wounded beast, gasping for air, drenched in sweat, and trembling with horror as he staggered away, disappearing down the hall.
’I-I need to heal. I need to get away and recover! If I stay, I’ll die!’ he cried inwardly, his steps weak, pain wracking his entire being.
’That ungrateful wretch... She dared to raise her hand against her own father! Once I recover, I’ll make sure she regrets it!’ Nicolas vowed, his thoughts twisted with resentnt as he vanished from sight.
Back inside the room, Angela was frozen in place. Her wide eyes were locked on Grace, her mouth slightly open.
She hadn’t sensed even the slightest use of magic—no mana fluctuations, no chants, no visible force. And yet, Nicolas had been brought to his knees and nearly crushed to death.
’W-What in the world did my daughter just do? What kind of power was that?’ she wondered in disbelief, her heart pounding as she struggled to understand what had happened.
But then, slowly, her shock gave way to awe. And pride.
’I don’t know what she did, but my daughter... the one they called a defect... has beco strong enough to make Nicolas bleed without even lifting a finger. This is... incredible.’
A proud, emotional smile ford on her lips as she looked at Grace. Her daughter—the one discarded like trash—was now powerful enough to silence the man who once dared to sell her.
"Grace... you’ve grown so strong," Angela whispered softly, her voice filled with pride and tears threatening to fall.
Grace turned to her, the fury slowly fading from her eyes, replaced by calm. "I made a promise, Mother. I told myself... that I’d never let that man hurt us again."
Angela smiled through her tears. "And you kept that promise."
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