Chapter 635: The Mont Truth Was Twisted
Life had a way of twisting things until they no longer resembled what they had once been. It was, in simple terms, cruel.
Or perhaps it was not life itself that was cruel, but the people within it—the ones who looked at sothing simple and reshaped it into sothing else entirely. A glance could beco an accusation. A word could be sharpened until it cut deeper than any blade. Intentions could be stripped apart and rebuilt into sothing unrecognizable, sothing convenient.
Sophia did not understand that at first.
She had not known that sothing so small could beco sothing so irreversible.
She had not seduced him.
The thought alone felt foreign, distant, like sothing that did not belong to her at all. She had not even realized he had been looking at her. She had not known there was anything to notice.
She had only been passing through.
She had gone to the kitchen.
It had been a simple thing, sothing she had done countless tis before without consequence. The halls had been quiet, the air still, and she had moved without thinking, her steps light against the polished floor.
She had not expected to run into anyone.
But she did.
The collision had been soft, unexpected enough that it stole a small sound from her. She had barely had ti to step back before hands had caught her shoulders, steadying her in a way that felt... wrong.
She looked up then, and the man smiled at her.
At the ti, she had not understood what was wrong with it. It had seed normal, almost. Just a guard, soone who worked within the castle, soone who may have seen her in passing before.
But there had been sothing in his eyes.
Sothing that lingered too long.
"You should be more careful," he had said, his voice low, almost amused.
Sophia had nodded quickly, her instinct already urging her to step away.
"I’m sorry," she had murmured, the apology automatic, as it always was.
She had tried to move past him.
But his hand had tightened slightly on her arm.
Not enough to hurt.
But enough to stop her.
That had been the mont sothing inside her had shifted.
A quiet unease, creeping up her spine, settling sowhere deep in her chest.
"I didn’t an to—" she had started.
"You don’t have to apologize," he had said, cutting her off gently.
Too gently.
His fingers had slid slightly, brushing against her wrist in a way that made her skin prickle.
Sophia frowned. Confusion ca first, followed by discomfort.
And then... fear.
It wasn’t overwhelming, but it was there.
"I need to go," she had said, her voice smaller than she intended.
She had tried to pull away, but his grip tightened again.
"Co on, sweet girl," he said, licking his lips. "Being in this place alone must be boring. I have things I can show you."
"I’m not interested, sir," she said. "But thank you for the suggestion."
She tried to leave again, but the man held firm. "Co on, when next are you going to have the opportunity to spend ti with soone like ? It’s just for a little while."
Sophia stared at him with a frown. "I have to go. I appreciate you—"
"Really?" the man asked, leaning closer so that Sophia could feel his breath on her skin.
It slled faintly of smoke, and it irritated Sophia imnsely.
"I’ve seen you around. You’re always so quiet," he had said, his gaze lingering on her in a way that made her stomach twist. "You don’t talk to anyone."
Sophia didn’t respond.
She didn’t know what to say.
Her heart had begun to beat faster, her thoughts scrambling for sothing—anything—that would get her out of the situation without making it worse.
"I said I need to go," she repeated, a little more firmly this ti.
This ti, forgoing any respect she had for him.
But instead of letting her go, the man only smiled further, breathing her in.
"You sll good," he said.
Sophia had no idea when instinct took over; the next thing she heard was the sound of her palm hitting him... hard.
She stared with wide eyes, and the man had the sa expression on his face, his hold on her lax now.
Sophia didn’t waste the opportunity. She imdiately escaped from his hold and ran.
The man stared at her, his eyes twinkling with sothing akin to delight. Sophia didn’t dwell on it, though, because she was of the opinion she wouldn’t see the man again.
She did not tell her mother what had happened, keeping it a secret instead.
She never understood what had been seen, what had been heard, or what had been assud. But when her mother called for her that evening, there had already been sothing different in the air.
She had entered the room quietly, her hands clasped in front of her, her posture instinctively careful.
"You called for ?"
Her mother had been standing near the window.
She had not turned imdiately.
The silence stretched just long enough to make Sophia’s chest tighten.
One thing that did not sit well with Sophia was the fact that her mother had summoned her to her room, and the man was present, staring at Sophia with a delighted look on his face.
"You disgust ," her mother said suddenly.
Sophia blinked, the aning not quite settling at first.
"...What?"
Her mother turned then, her face scrunched up in disgust as she stared at Sophia.
"You think I don’t see it?" she continued. "The way you behave. The way you look at people."
Sophia’s confusion deepened.
"I don’t—"
"Don’t lie to !" her mother snapped, her voice rising suddenly.
Sophia flinched.
"I didn’t..."
"You were in the kitchen," her mother continued, her tone cutting through her words before they could fully form. "With one of the guards."
"Not really," Sophia told her. "I just wanted to..."
"You will not speak while I speak, Sophia. Not until I am done speaking," her mother told her firmly.
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