Dominick awoke to a dull, throbbing ache that settled deep behind his eyes and across his muscles. Yet, the instant his mind flickered to Juniper, the mundane pain receded, swallowed by a familiar, far more agonizing mory.
The pain she gave him was much more severe. He simply rested his head against the cushioned headboard, allowing himself a mont of quiet, aching nostalgia for the good old days that now felt impossibly distant and gilded with lies.
Suddenly, he recalled about entering the cursed forest yesterday. "Cas saved ," he murmured. "But how?" A deep frown creased his forehead.
Shaking off his head, Dominick pushed himself out of the bed. He went first to the washroom and freshened up. After having a cold shower, he dressed in a fresh attire and imdiately set off to find Casaio.
As he reached the chamber, a servant nodded and led his way in.
"Good morning, Zilia," Dominick greeted her. "Is Casaio around? I ca to thank him for yesterday. I barely rember anything after..." he trailed off, not wanting to voice the fear of the forest.
"He’s getting ready now," Zilia replied, keeping her tone gentle. "Please, why don’t you take a seat?" She offered a chair directly across from her own.
Dominick lowered himself onto the chair, his posture stiff. His gaze fell to his hands, and he began to fidget with his fingers. "Zilia, I’m truly sorry for everything that has happened these past few days," he began, the apology sounding inadequate even to his own ears.
Zilia gave a soft sigh. "You don’t have to apologize. Honestly, it’s my fault too," she admitted. "I—I should have asked Cas to marry so other day. A later day. Because of , you and June—"
"No," Dominick interjected, looking at her again. "That’s not true, Zilia. Please don’t take that burden on yourself." He took a pause, gathering his scattered thoughts.
"I’ve thought about it a lot, more than I care to admit. And I ca to a very clear, very painful conclusion: Juniper loved my rank and my title much more than she ever loved . She desired the stability and power of a high position. She desired sothing else, sothing I represented, not the man I actually am. So please, don’t bla yourself for any of it," Dominick explained. Even while talking about Juniper, his heart was aching badly.
Zilia nodded slowly, absorbing Dominick’s painful admission. Before she could reply, her eyes widened slightly as she saw Casaio enter.
"Cas!" she exclaid, a relieved smile lighting up her face.
Dominick instantly turned, his posture straightening as he rose from the chair. He walked toward his older brother, a genuine look of gratitude on his face. "Thank you, Casaio, for saving yesterday. I don’t rember much, but..."
Casaio didn’t move. He stood just inside the doorway, his eyes fixed on Dominick. It was a stare that appeared cold, heavy, and utterly devoid of warmth.
Dominick’s gratitude faltered, replaced by a deep, imdiate discomfort. "What happened?" he asked, taking a hesitant step closer. He searched his brother’s face for a hint of explanation for the bizarre, hostile silence.
Even Zilia was confused. She frowned, seeing the rigid set of Casaio’s jaw and the way he was looking at his younger brother, not with brotherhood, but with resentnt.
Finally, Casaio spoke, "Just leave. You’ve done enough damage. You destroyed the peace in this palace the mont you married June."
"Cas, what are you saying?" Zilia’s disbelief was imdiate, her voice rising sharply as she pushed herself up from her seat.
"Stay quiet, Zilia," Casaio affird, turning his gaze on her briefly. "It’s between and Nick."
Then, looking back at his younger brother, Casaio’s eyes narrowed, filled with a resentnt Dominick had never witnessed.
"I don’t even want to look at your face," he bit out. "Because of you and June, I was about to lose Zilia once again. You brought chaos and pain, and you nearly cost everything."
Zilia could no longer remain a silent spectator. She stepped quickly toward Casaio. "Cas, please stop! How could you say this to Nick? He did nothing to you! Stop blaming him for everything that’s happened," she argued.
"It’s fine, Zilia," Dominick murmured, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. The sudden anger from his own brother was a pain that dwarfed even the lingering ache of Juniper.
He didn’t argue or defend himself. He simply turned, his head bowed, and walked out of their sight.
Zilia watched Dominick leave with a troubled expression. When she turned back to Casaio, she found him chuckling wryly.
"Seriously, Cas?" Zilia demanded, planting her hands on her hips, refusing to back down. "What is going on? Why did you talk to Nick like this? You never, ever treated him with such cruelty before. You owe an explanation, right now."
"I always felt that," he mumbled.
"No, you didn’t!" Zilia shot back, stepping closer. "You loved Nick a lot! You proved it last night! That’s why you jumped into the cursed forest to rescue Nick."
"I did," Casaio murmured, the frown on his face deepening. He rubbed his temple, confusion warring with the hostility he’d just displayed.
"But why?" He truly seed unable to grasp why he rescued Dominick. He felt profoundly strange inside, as if an unseen force was pushing him to be cruel, and he wasn’t happy talking to Nick like that at all.
"Why? Why!?" Zilia’s eyes widened, shocked by his genuine bewildernt. Her voice softened as she said, "Because Nick is your younger brother, Cas! Have you forgotten when you first held him in your tiny hands? You were so happy! You always told you would never go against any of your brothers, no matter what. And now, you are suddenly blaming him for nothing. At this ti, you should be his support, Cas. He just rejected the woman he loved. Don’t add pain into his life anymore."
"That’s not my problem. He loved a wrong woman," Casaio muttered bitterly.
"What’s wrong with you?" Zilia confusedly stared at him, unable to understand why Casaio was speaking in such a tone.
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