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."

an instant, memories of being beaten in prison, the endless darkness and

in shock, his hand suspended in mid-air, frozen for

fell on Claire's curled-up figure, a tangled mix of emotions

of the past, the one who was innocent and full of laughter, her bright

time he heard about

strongest competitor in this year's physics competition is Claire, a freshman from Cresthaven Academy.

was full of youthful defiance, thinking, "My talent is no less than

he

drawn to every competition

he couldn't tell whether it was

school, Claire consistently took first place, while he was

of admiration, "A genius like Claire is

admit, he agreed with

asked her if she was so committed to competitions to gain recognition from

at all. The prize money for winning is my motivation. My dream is to become a teacher, to educate and watch students