Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 223

Ethan's legs gave way beneath him, and with a dull thud, his knees sank into the mud, the sound swallowed by a crack of thunder overhead.

The howling wind whipped around him, driving the rain in hard, stinging pellets against his skin. Yet, this physical pain paled in comparison to the turmoil inside him.

Rain streamed down his forehead and cheeks in a relentless flow, indistinguishable from tears of the heavens or the water of his own regret.

His screams were shredded by the gale, the metallic taste of blood mixing with rain as it filled his lungs.

Memories of how he'd hurt Claire, all the times he'd humiliated her for Vanessa, played over and over like barbs embedded in his mind, tearing at him with every blink.

Each scene magnified in his mind, looping endlessly, making him wish for anything but this unending torment.

"How could I have been such a bastard? How could I do this to her... Claire-"

Such raw, heartfelt repentance even moved Victor, who stood nearby, his brow furrowed with a mix of sympathy and disdain.

Victor felt pity, but he also believed Ethan deserved his anguish.

didn't he think

was now, it was nothing compared

student at Prestige University, she was unjustly imprisoned, her

imagine what Claire had suffered in those five years in prison,

faced in those endless nights

and broken, Victor's heart softened, and he urged, "Ethan, Claire can't hear you.

on his knees, bowing repeatedly toward Claire's room

swelling with a purple

his actions and hurried to

aside, roaring, "Claire can't hear me,

rain couldn't hide his tears,

to atone. I'll bow

was filled with anguish as he continued

by, watching Ethan's desperate display, at a loss for what

her window, unimpressed, seeing it

apologies were nothing new, always followed by renewed cruelty on Vanessa's