Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 39

Looking at Claire's bloodstained face, Brian felt nothing but a growing irritation. There was no satisfaction from revenge, only an overwhelming sense of

frustration.

His gaze was cold as ice, and his lips barely moved as he said, "Get out."

Yet Claire seemed oblivious, continuing to bow her head in desperation. The rhythmic thumping of her forehead hitting the floor echoed like a heavy drum, pounding directly on Brian's heart.

His temples throbbed with anger as he repeated, "I said, get out! Can't you hear me?"

Claire's mind was blank, her ears buzzing. She couldn't hear anything around her, only the instinctive act of bowing and pleading remained.

With a stern expression, Brian strode forward, reaching out to lift the woman off the floor who was desperately begging.

Unexpectedly, as Brian's hand reached towards her, Claire recoiled like a frightened bird, curling into a ball and covering her head with her arms. Through her tears, she pleaded, "Please, don't hit me."

memories of being beaten in prison, the endless darkness and pain, flooded her

widened in shock, his hand suspended in mid-air,

fell on Claire's curled-up figure, a tangled mix of emotions washed over him, leaving

of the past, the one who was innocent and full of

heard about her was from their

had praised her without reservation, saying, "Brian, your strongest competitor in this year's physics competition is Claire, a freshman from Cresthaven Academy. That girl

defiance, thinking,

didn't take Claire seriously until he lost to her in the competition. After that, it became an unstoppable chain of

to every competition she entered, determined to

tell whether it was

first place, while

"A genius like Claire is what our country needs.

admit, he agreed

her if she was so committed to competitions

money for winning is my motivation. My dream is to become a teacher, to