Chapter 3

Charlie rushed in, anxiously looking at Vivian Grant. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice tight with worry.

I stared at the shattered pieces scattered across the floor, my hands trembling as I tried to piece them together.

But they were shattered beyond repair.

My fingers were sliced open, blood smearing across the white porcelain shards.

I couldn't stop myself from sobbing.

Charlie frowned. "It's some cheap stuff. I'll get you new ones later."

"These aren't the same," I choked out.

He knew exactly how much these meant to me. I never even took them out unless it really mattered.

Vivian looked utterly guilty. "I'm so sorry, I really didn't know. I was planning to give them to you later, so I left them on the table. But I tripped and they broke. I'm really, really sorry."

I carefully picked up the pieces, trying to put them back into the box.

But Charlie kicked the box away. "Stop picking them up."

The shards scattered even more, and I sobbed so hard I started hiccuping.

"Why? Why can't I pick them up?" I choked out.

He went to kick again, but I gripped the shards in my hand and shot him an angry, defiant glare.

Charlie stopped.

I stubbornly gathered all the pieces into the box, then stood up, clutching it tightly as I turned to Vivian.

"Why did you touch my stuff?" I demanded.

I always kept them locked away in the cabinet, never even took them out.

If you hadn't touched them, they never would've broken.

Charlie stepped in front of Vivian, shielding her.

"She said it was an accident. What more do you want?" he snapped.

For the first time, he was yelling at me for someone else, and he even kicked aside the last thing Mom and Dad left me, just to defend her.

I felt so heartbroken, I was sobbing so hard I could barely breathe.

"I, I kept them in the cabinet. They wouldn't have broken if she hadn't taken them out," I choked out.

"These were the last gifts from Mom and Dad. Why did it have to be this way?" I cried.

Charlie kept shielding her, his voice icy. "They're broken, so what? I said I'd buy you replacements. Why are you freaking out like this?"

I stepped back, my voice shaking. "You really think I'm crazy, don't you? Just some idiot losing it..."

For a moment, something strange flashed in Charlie's eyes.

"Go downstairs and behave. I'll get you identical ones tomorrow," he said.

I shook my head.

I clenched the remaining shards in my hand, blood dripping onto the wooden floor.

"They're not the same. Mom and Dad made them with their own hands," I choked out.

You can't replace them with something you buy.

Vivian's eyes were red and swollen from crying.

"It's all my fault. Let me see if I can fix them for you," she said softly.

Charlie looked relieved.

"Yeah, Vivian studied artifact restoration. Let her give it a shot," he said.

My hands were shaking as I handed her the box.

She fumbled, and the box was about to slip from her hands and hit the floor.

I rushed forward, frantic to grab it.

Vivian fell backward as if someone had shoved her.

The box crashed to the ground.

The shards scattered everywhere, even worse than before, the ceramic doll's face was so broken you couldn't even tell what it used to look like.

Vivian's hand got cut by the shards as she tried to catch herself on the floor.

She burst into tears.

"Charlie, I never thought she'd be this upset with me. It's all my fault," she sobbed.

Charlie's eyes blazed with anger.

"Why did you push her? Don't you know how important her hands are to an artifact restorer?" he snapped.

I stared at the shattered pieces all over the floor, totally lost. "I, I didn't." I stammered.

"If you didn't push her, would she really mess up her own hands like that? You're unbelievable," he shot back.

He told the servants to lock me in my room. I wouldn't be let out until I admitted I was wrong.

Charlie didn't believe me.

I sat in the small room, clutching the wooden box full of shattered pieces.

Ever since that thing happened when I was little, I've always been scared of the dark.

I couldn't sleep unless the lights were on.

Back home, wherever I went in the house, the lights were always on.

But now, Charlie had the servants seal up the windows.

Now, all I could see was pitch-black darkness.

My hands started to shake. I was terrified.

It felt like a sponge was stuffed over my mouth and nose, I couldn't breathe.

I collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.

I grabbed the shards from the box, clutching them desperately, as if they were all I had left.

"Mom... Dad..." I whispered, my voice trembling.

Dad died saving me when I was little.

Mom got sick and passed away, leaving me all alone.

Everyone said Dad died because of me, but Mom never agreed.

Mom always told me I was the bravest kid in the world.

Dad was a hero.

My body started burning up.

I was starving.

I was thirsty too.

I wanted to get up and tell Charlie I knew I was wrong.

I don't want him to marry me anymore.

I want to go home and find Mom.

As soon as I tried to stand, I collapsed right back onto the floor.

I weakly slapped the door with my hands, desperate for someone to hear me.

But no one answered.

I could smell blood on my hands.

I was so thirsty, I licked the blood from my hand.

The shards were stuck in my skin.

My blood was almost sucked dry, but still, no one came to help me.

Thunder rumbled outside, and even though lightning flashed, not a single bit of light made it through.

Back then, whenever there was thunder, Charlie would always be right there with me.

He'd say, "Lily, don't be scared. I'm here for you."

No matter where I was, he'd always show up.

I curled up, waiting and waiting.

I was burning up, my whole body feverish.

My thoughts started to blur, everything slipping away.

A long, long time passed.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Charlie opened the door.

He stood there with a glass of water in his hand, looking down at me. "Do you admit you were wrong?"

I nodded desperately.

I grabbed onto Charlie's pant leg.

"I know I was wrong. Lily knows she was wrong," I sobbed.

Charlie smiled and handed me the water.

I clutched the glass like a fish dying of thirst, gulping it down as fast as I could.

But when he saw the water was stained red with blood, he froze.

"Lily!" he shouted.

The next second, I blacked out completely.