Chapter 222
Cupid
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The snow fell in thick, silent sheets as I walked aimless at first, legs carrying me through the quiet streets without destination. Yet somehow, inevitably, they brought me here.
I stopped before the modest, modern building that stood apart from the rest of the compound. Marlik’s house.
Of all the properties I’d acquired with blood money, drug money, mafia empires built in shadows, this single structure was the only one purchased with clean, legal earnings.
My modeling contracts. Godlike Men brand campaigns. I’d secured it through a third party, listed the owner as Marlik Rogue, pressed my thumbprint to the deed knowing rogue DNA left no trace, no fingerprints, no genetic markers, no forensic trail. The perfect veil.
I pushed the door open quietly. The house was dark except for the soft blue flicker of the television in the living room. Everyone else asleep.
Marlik sat alone on the couch, shoulders tense, eyes fixed on the screen.
The news was still running, footage of the asylum chaos, the ambulance from Castle Healthcare wheeling Kim Krates away, Snow walking beside him with that quiet, unbreakable resolve.
I sighed shaky, almost inaudible, and lowered myself onto the couch beside him.
He didn’t look at me right away. Just kept staring at the screen.
“Your woman made the headlines again tonight,” he said finally, voice low.
I didn’t speak. My heart still ached, blood still simmered with barely contained fury.
“Death is too merciful for rapists, right?” The words slipped out quiet, tight, lethal.
Marlik slowly turned his head. He didn’t need to ask. One look at my face, and he knew something had broken open tonight.
“For a sin like rape…” He spoke softly, gaze drifting back to the television, jaw clenching hard enough to make the muscle jump. “Death is mercy. What about torture? Years of it? Slow. Deliberate.”
I swallowed, lowering my eyes to my hands.
“Maybe that’s what I’ll give Feroz. And every man who ever laid hands on Snow.”
He went still. A deep frown carved between his brows as he turned fully toward me, searching my face. He didn’t speak, just waited, letting the pieces fall into place.
“When?” he whispered, stunned.
“Four years ago. Before I ever knew her.”
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09:56 Sat, Feb 14
Chapter 222
+30 Free Coins
“How?”
“Ambush. One block from her pack. A conspiracy. Brutal. I only learned the full truth tonight.”
Silence stretched between us thick, heavy, sacred.
Marlik stared at me a long moment longer before looking away, throat working as he swallowed hard.
“The other night,” he said slowly, “your doctor friend came. Checked on our sister. Said she’s only in shock, too much drug, too much abuse but with proper care, she’ll recover. Last night… she laughed with the domestic staff. You should’ve seen Mother’s face. She smiled. Real smile.”
I nodded, throat too tight to speak.
“I had a thought the last time you were here, Jahan. After you left. I thought about taking Mom and our sister and disappearing. Some small town. Quiet life. I’d borrow money from you, of course. Wash my hands of the blood, the drugs, the tears. Walk away clean.”
Goosebumps rose along my arms. When he looked at me, his gaze was apologetic, almost guilty.
“But I couldn’t do it. I can’t leave you behind. You, the one who saved my mother from slavery, my sister from being sold as a sex slave, me from a life sentence. The one who’s called me brother from the first day. If we go… we go together. Only we can’t go now. Not yet. Not until Feroz is dead. Not until justice comes from where it should.”
I swallowed the bile burning my throat.
“Not until then, Jahan.”
I nodded once, turning my eyes back to the screen. The silence that followed felt holy, carrying too much emotion to speak aloud, only to be felt.
“I’m not going to let you go, Marlik,” I said at last, voice quiet but certain. “I won’t let any of you go. Even if you try.”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. He knew it was absolute truth.
Instead, he sighed, eyes still on the television where Snow’s face lingered in a still shot, fierce, beautiful,
unbreakable.
“Why don’t you introduce your girl to Mom?”
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