Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 16

She clutched her injured leg tightly with both hands, curling up into a ball. Her face was as pale as a sheet, and beads of cold sweat continuously trickled down her forehead. Tears streamed down her cheeks like a river bursting its banks, and all she could manage were whimpers of pain, too agonized to form a single word.

Seeing her in such torment, a dull ache spread through Ethan's heart. In a panic, he blurted out, "I only gave you a gentle kick. Stop pretending to be hurt."

Yet, there was an unmistakable tremor and guilt in his voice.

May, utterly shocked, quickly knelt beside her. "Miss Claire, Miss Claire, what's happening?"

The searing pain in her leg dragged Claire back to three years ago, to her second year in prison. She couldn't recall why she was beaten, but she vividly remembered the brutal scene of heavy wooden batons swinging down on her shin, the attackers' faces twisted with vicious intent.

She had cried and begged for mercy, but they mercilessly continued until they broke six batons, as thick as an arm, before finally shattering her leg and stopping. The leader of the group had grabbed her by the hair, warning her, "Don't even think about complaining to the guards. You crossed someone you shouldn't have, and we were specifically told to 'look after' you."

Claire's eyes grew unfocused, and her body shook violently. She kept muttering, "I'm sorry, please forgive me; I'm sorry, please forgive me..."

and despair, like

was wet with tears as she desperately asked, "Miss Claire,

it

Ethan's heart like a dagger. "I didn't

rolled up Claire's pant leg. The sight that

at a grotesque angle. Her skin was a tapestry of crisscrossing scars, some still red and swollen, others healed into ugly marks. The constant pain had atrophied the muscles,

on Claire's gruesome leg. He stood frozen, as if under a spell, his mind reeling from a heavy blow, plunging

come to this? She was fine when she went to prison, and

for criminals. How could an eighteen-year-old Claire have had

heart broke into pieces, his eyes quickly reddening. He gritted his teeth, suppressing his inner torment, and with a sudden burst of energy, he scooped Claire up in his arms and

once inside the living room,

years, he had shown such