Oh my. What the fuck did Lady Melnik just suggest? James become a suit? I hoped the Lord Commander wasn't taking this seriously.

James' trembling right fist slammed on the wheel of his wheelchair. He then told Patrick with a mildly shaky voice, "Can you watch over Mia, please? I need to step in."

I had never seen such an expression, so full of venom and anger, on James' face.

His face twisted into a mask of fury. His brows furrowed deeply, forming a sharp V above his eyes, which blazed with intensity. His nostrils flared as he breathed heavily, and his jaw clenched tight, revealing tense muscles along his jawline. The corners of his mouth turned downward, set in a grim line, and a flush crept across his cheeks, deepening the colour of his skin. It was a face that radiated anger, every feature taut and defined, as if he were ready to unleash his frustration in a blaze of fire at any moment.

I swallowed hard.

It hurt me to see him hurt. He didn't deserve to be treated like that. But no physical reaction in his expression to any attempt to wound him emotionally marred his handsomeness. His tenderness might be gone, but the roughness accumulating tension in his features made him ferocious, more manly, and equally attractive as always.

"But–" Patrick complained in a shaky voice. "You're not seriously considering going in, are you?"

"Let the bastard put his foot in it, Patrick," Thiago said. "He can't help it."

Next, Thiago's gaze shifted from James to me. That disgusting, lustful stare of his was aimed at me once more, like the first time we met. My stomach churned. My dislike must've shown on my face, because Thiago chuckled noiselessly and raised his chin at me with defiance. There was a mischievous glint in his eye that made my blood run colder, as if I could read his mind and his lecherous thoughts about me.

"I'll deal with you later, dirtbag," James replied with daggers in his eyes.

He forced the doors open, earning a look of astonishment from both Lord and Lady Melnik. He entered the dining room, and then, he shut the doors closed with a bang that made my heart jump.

"I'm sick and tired of hearing you argue about me," James yelled as if he didn't care about anything. He was well aware that the room wasn't insulated. "It's been like this for years, but I'm not a kid anymore.

"Father, you've done many great things for me—and for those I am deeply grateful—but Lady Melnik is a sick, old hag who can't bear her jealousy. You lay with a woman, a whore, while you were married to her—and she can't deal with it. She can only vent her frustration for as long as I'm the target. That's her flaw."

"Well, it's not like you're perfect, bastard," Lady Melnik replied.

"Shut up! You're not better than my mother. She was a whore, but so are you—a different kind, though.

"Who would you be now if you hadn't married my father? The only reason you're worried sick about the honour of the family's name is because you married that name and all the wealth and power it conveys. Nothing more. The family you were born in isn't as wealthy or powerful. You're only worth is the ability to bear children for my father. That's why you're so angry—because any woman could do that, like a regular whore like my mother. Your worth was challenged."

"How dare you speak like that to me?!" Lady Melnik yelled. "How dare you let him speak like that, huh?!"

"He might be wrong, or he might be right," the Lord Commander replied, "but the truth is that you've spoken worse than that about him—especially when it comes to his worth as a person."

"Father, I don't want to be disrespectful," James said, "but I want to go through surgery and rehab—to be able to walk again. I don't want to be a suit. Grant me that, and I promise that after that I'll no longer be a burden to you."

"What do you mean?" his father asked in a worried voice.

"I want you to disown me," James answered with pride. "Free me from our blood link, from being related to you, in public."

What? Was James crazy?!

His half-brothers and sisters and I gasped in unison.

"Are you crazy?" the Lord Commander asked, dumbfounded.

"Think about it," James insisted, quite calmly. "I cannot bear the fact that everybody thinks I've had it easy in my life thanks to you, like becoming an astroguard captain. I don't want that anymore. I want to be free.

"And you could also enjoy the freedom severing our link would grant you: I'd no longer be your bastard son, tainting the family's name, as your wife claims."

"But then... you wouldn't live here with us," his father said. "Never attend family celebrations, nothing. You'd be a stranger to us."

"So be it," James replied with decisiveness. "You'd also get rid of those alleged usurpers. Your power and governing skills would not be put in doubt."

"That's the only sensible thing you've ever said in your entire life, you waste of space," Lady Melnik said with renewed bitterness.

I rolled my eyes.

"If you don't shut up immediately and for as long as you're in my presence, I'm gonna kick your teeth in, you expensive whore," James replied, angry again. "All this gold jewellery and pricey makeup you wear... for the dried womb and wrinkled face you now have. It's preposterous to keep you looking beautiful."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY, BASTARD?!" Lady Melnik shouted with a dry throat that deformed her usual voice.

James' siblings and I shied our gazes in different directions.

"Enough with the name-calling and lack of respect!" Lord Commander Melnik shouted. "Under this roof, you will treat each other with some dignity." He sighed. "And James, some people would still treat you meanly. Are you sure you want this?"

"Some people would treat me meanly, you say? Sure, here in Two Dawns, but the colonies on Sothis are vast. I could find a home... elsewhere."

Elsewhere?! What did he mean by that? He wanted to leave Two Dawns for good, the only place I was free?

Would I ever see him again? Was he serious?

I felt the blood leave my face.

"I'm going to end Suit Robotics reign of terror as Mia puts an end to the pandemic," he added. "Then, Purple Rock could become my new home, for example."

A huge wave of relief washed over me. He wanted to come with me back home. I blushed at the thought of being together for the rest of our lives—together as in sharing the same city and seeing each other every day, I meant.

"Hello, there!" Maester Khan said behind me, startling me.

I turned to him, just like everybody else in the corridor.

"Glad to see you're okay, Miss Tan. After what I heard about what happe- but- What's going on here?" he asked, frowning.

"James is arguing with our parents," Patrick replied.

Maester Khan gently closed his eyes and sighed. He took a step forward to go in, but suddenly the doors opened wide again before he had the chance to put a hand on the doorknob.

"I'm not waiting for an answer, Father," James said as he wheeled his way out of the dining room. "I want this—and you know it's the best we can do. Living like this... it's not worth it. There's no point in keeping up like this for the rest of our lives. We hate each other's guts, it would only end up hurting you."

James' eyes narrowed sharply at Lady Melnik, glinting with a storm of emotions. Then, he turned to stare at his father. His skin flushed a deep red, and his fists clenched at his sides, shaking slightly with the intensity of his feelings. Every feature of his face spoke volumes of his fury, a palpable energy that seemed to crackle in the air around him.

Lord Commander Melnik sighed.

"I'm going to bed," James said as he wheeled his way to the lift. "I'm not hungry. Patrick, can you escort Mia to her room when you're done having dinner?"

"Sure, James."

As he wheeled past me, James' face softened, the fierce lines of fury gradually smoothing out. His brows relaxed, lowering slightly, and the fire in his eyes dimmed to a weary glimmer. The tightness in his jaw eased, allowing his lips to part slightly, revealing a hint of vulnerability beneath the surface.

The flush on his cheeks faded, replaced by a pallor that hinted at exhaustion. His shoulders slumped, and he let out a heavy sigh as he crossed the threshold of the lift, the weight of his frustration evident. A lingering sadness washed over him, replacing the rage, leaving him in a contemplative stillness.

Thiago's smirk widened as James disappeared behind the lift's metal doors.

"I can talk with him about this if you want, my lord," I said, breaking the ice since the atmosphere was awkward at that moment. "I'm sure I can ease his worries and appease his anger. He might think differently in the morning."

"Sure, but I doubt he'll think differently. He's very stubborn." The Lord Commander moved a hand to let us all in to have dinner. "Please, come all in and let's enjoy some food in peace and quiet."

The atmosphere was still awkward. Nobody dared to say anything further.

As we entered the dining room, I approached Maester Khan. "Maester Khan, I need to speak with you."

"Sure, about what?"

We sat side by side. "About James' condition. I found out he has got no permanent injury, but a deformity in his spine. I have arranged for a nerve study to confirm it, but I've already scheduled an appointment with the anaesthetist. I need your help to veto and approve a team of surgeons who can perform the surgery properly. Would you help me, please?"

"Absolutely, dear. Let's talk about it tomorrow, shall we?" he replied, watching the people around us in an analytical mood. "Not now."

He was surely convinced, as I was, that that was the least appropriate moment to discuss such a key matter.

When the dinner was over, Patrick and I walked out of the dining room after saying goodnight to the rest.

As we went up the stairs, I heard footsteps behind me. So did Patrick.

We turned our heads. Pearl hurried to us with a worried look on her face, walking weirdly with the crutch.

"Wait! Can I talk to James too, Mia?" she asked as we all reached the first floor, where the bedrooms were.

I smiled at her. But before I could reply, Thiago also went up the stairs.

"Oh, my!" he exclaimed as he ogled the preteen. "Look who's here. The little whore."

Little whore? I frowned. What was that supposed to mean?

"Thiago, stop it this instant," Patrick replied with a menacing voice and tense shoulders.

Pearl came to stand right next to me, hiding half her face behind my arm. She clutched a hand on the fabric of my sleeve. That need for protection was a massive red flag.

"What? You know it's true," Thiago went on as he finished going up the stairs. "Athena, too. I bet she's already looking forward to it."

"Looking forward to what?" I asked, frowning.

Patrick's frown deepened, too.

"Savanah and all the other noble girls in all the colonies on Sothis gather together once in a while during their parents' business meetings and conferences," Thiago explained in a joyful mood. "Since they're bored shitless, they get drugged and have unprotected sex with whoever crosses their path. It's just a cry for attention, if you ask me. But I enjoy myself immensely with their whoring competitions to see who gets laid the most."

What kind of lie was that? I didn't buy it.

Pearl hid fully behind me. The hand clutching my shirt shivered. My frown got deeper. "Hide behind me, Pearl. I'll protect you," I whispered to her.

"This blue-haired young lady here is no different," Thiago went on, getting closer to me and grabbing my chin. "Yes, sweet Mia—I know your dirty little secret."

I turned my head, getting rid of his disgusting hold on me. "I have no secret, much less dirty."

"Wrong." His smirk grew wider. "I saw you with Rosa the other day."

So, he saw nothing incriminating. He just saw me with her, and his perverted mind did the rest. "Rosa is my friend."

He chuckled. "Yeah, let's call her your 'friend' for now."

"You've got such a dirty mind!" I yelled. "It's not what you think."

Patrick groaned as he put a hand before me to stop me. "What do you want, Thiago? Spit it out."

"What you and James want," Thiago replied casually and amused, "sex with her."

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed.

"She's a whore," he told Patrick. He then turned to me. "You don't need to hide 'cos of it. There's no shame in it, right? Especially you, because you're from Purple Rock, where whores thrive so well thanks to the sex tourists."

The doctor in me couldn't take that anymore. I wanted to kill him on the spot.

"Take that back! She's not a whore," a familiar, deep male voice said in a husky voice behind me.

I gasped and turned. James. I blushed a lot. Had he heard everything?

"Look, the bastard is here!" Thiago said with disdain, but a joyful and pretentious attitude. He clapped his hands together. "Nice scene you made down there. I find it amusing to see you suffer—and I didn't need to do anything this time!"

Bloodshot veins appeared in the whites of his eyes. "Shut up!" James shouted as he wheeled his way forward.

The depth of his voice thundered in the hall of the first floor, a feature I had grown fond of since it was a synonym for his protectiveness and moral uprightness.

"Look, bastard. I'm bored. Either you stay the fuck away and let me fuck Mia," Thiago went on as if he had everything under control, "or you stay and let me mock you for my amusement. Try to defend yourself better this time, though. You're getting predictable—and I'm not nearly getting as much fun as I used to."

"Go away, back to your colony, you piece of shit!" James replied, his arms, shoulders, and neck growing tenser and tenser. A thick vein ticked on his neck. 

"No, no, no! So unimaginative, dude! This is so boring, you bloody bastard. Have some imagination!" He sighed, dropping his shoulders. "You should've got killed earlier today, at the hydroponics lab." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Nobody wants you here in Tow Dawns but your father, who sent you away from home because he couldn't bear you either," James replied with venom in his voice.

Thiago's smile faltered for a split second. He chuckled, though.

Patrick stood closer to me, half shielding me from them.

Oh, wow. Tension crackled like static in the air.

Thiago, a sneer plastered across his face, towered over James. "Come up here and tell this to my face, bastard." He pointed to his cheeks up there, where James could barely reach. Thiago was taller than the rest of us.

As James clenched his fists and teeth, Thiago's laughter then echoed, taunting, as if he believed his cruelty could shatter the spirit of his victim.

James' voice went down an octave when he said with rightful anger, "I've had enough of you for a lifetime."

James, fuelled by a surge of anger and a fierce sense of justice, locked eyes with him. The moment felt electric.

Without a second thought, James pushed a hand on Thiago's stomach. The body of the latter swung back and rolled over the railing. Thiago fought to regain balance, but James' strength overpowered him. Thiago fell down the stairs.

It all happened in less than a second.

With the great strength of his arms alone, James leapt over the railing. As Thiago rolled down with bone-cracking hits, James had discarded his wheelchair and had propelled himself forward with a determined leap over the railing. He then had landed on Thiago with a thud as he was rolling down the stairs. The impact sent shockwaves through the entire building.

I gasped and rushed to the railing. "JAMES!"

Both Patrick and I leaned on it with worry etched on our facial features, only to witness how James crushed Thiago's body and limbs with passionate blows of his fists as they finished rolling down the stairs.

"No! James!" I yelled as I rushed to him, leaving Pearl standing near Patrick.

When I reached the ground floor, I pushed Thiago away from James. That was the easy part, because James did a number on him. He had blood all over his skull and face, and also several bruises over his arms—probably more beneath his clothes all over his body. He mumbled something and fell unconscious, but I didn't even pay attention to that arsehole.

The hard part was to make James stop fighting. I put my hands on his wrists, but he still struggled with the burning anger inside him. "James, stop!"

He had blood on his lips and teeth, and also a nasty cut over his right eyebrow. But the rest of his body seemed more or less fine at first glance. He probably also had some bruises beneath his clothes.

We struggled for a while, but he came to his senses when I looked at him deep in the eyes.

"Let me go," he eventually said, but I didn't comply. In fact, I sank my fingertips into the flesh of his well-built arms even more. My eyes were on the brink of tears.

"Idiot!" I yelled, letting a sob go. "You might've blown your chances to walk again with this!"

Hello, my sugar cubes!

Did James really blow up his chances to walk again?

Stay tuned!

XOXO

Mar