“I broke my rules for you!”

She stops in her tracks, letting the words process into her head. With slow movements, she turns around to see the man she despised, panting for air with a red tint in his eyes. Looking straight into his gaze, her hands curls into fists.

“You what?”

He breaks the eye contact to mutter something under his breath. He exhales and looks into her eyes again, to which are starting to shine from the misty look. “I broke my rules..for you.” He repeated.

Processing the confession, her mind starts to overwhelm her flashbacks, memories of what happened.

What could’ve happened if he confessed sooner.

“You..why didn’t you tell me!? What could’ve triggered you to..”

It clicked into her mind, the only possibly think that could’ve pissed him off. After Xavier saw the realization had dawned on her, he walked down the steps to stand in front of her. She shook her head, her lip quivering as a tear fell to roll down her cheek.

“It wasn’t an accident..”

“Fiora..”

He stood from his throne this time, initiating Fiora to take a step back from where she stood. Xavier grimaced from the reaction and opened his hands to reveal his open palms to her. She gazed at them for a moment before flickering her gaze back into onyx eyes.

Soulless onyx eyes.

“I had to do it, Fiora. He would’ve taken you away from the city and you could’ve been in danger!”

Fiora shook her head as Xavier continued to spew lies and excuses. His perfect hair was slowly coming undone, pieces peeking from underneath his crown and almost blocking his sight from who was in front of him. His left hand clutches his silk shirt, notorious for never having to worry about wrinkles or stains yet it was disheveled. His eyes were pleading as he looked at her, Fiora not convinced at all for the brightness as faded away into nothing that she remembered.

“You’re so selfish, Xavier..”

“He needed to be punished for what he put you through, Fiora.”

“He’s your brother! And you’d punish him for what, loving me?! Treating me how I should be treated?!”

“He was manipulating you! He was going to take advantage of you and tear you away from your home, Fiora!”

Finally stepping down from the long steps to his throne, their voices echo from the rage that was pouring out into their argument. Tears were already swelling in Fiora’s eyes, her breathing coming and going as quick as a rabbit fleeing from a predator. Xavier stood in front of Fiora, stopping so close that their chests almost brushed against each other.

“Or are you trying to manipulate me into staying with you because I chose Miguel over you?”

The sound of his hand making in contact with skin surprised Fiora to the point where she wasn’t even looking at him anymore. Her right cheek stung as a surge of pain was something she was slowly processing. Her eyes started to sting as her vision was getting burry from the sudden gloss over her iris’.

Xavier stared at her, also in shock as he looks down at his hand that stung as well. The clear red imprint on Fiora’s cheek was his doing, his jaw slacked as he looks up to quickly reason with her.

“Fiora, I’m-“

“You’ve said enough. I already have my answer.”

“Fiora please..” She quickly turns away from him, giving Xavier her back. Xavier is about to reach out again, but he quickly realizes that it’s the same hand that he used to slap her a second ago. He retracts it, holding it against himself before pleading again.

“The person you should be asking forgiveness isn’t me.”

She turns around to give him one last death stare, immediately making Xavier take a step back from it. Fiora’s brows were synched together, the warmth and loving gaze that she normally had, had disappeared. She wore the red imprint on her cheek with pride, almost representing a shocking revelation and a scar that nothing was going to change her mind.

“But how could you when you killed him before having the chance?”