"I—I don’t know anything!" one of the workers blurted out, voice high-pitched with terror. "She walked in with the boss and ran out a few minutes later!"
I gulped down, sha making my shoulders slump. There was no way Axel wouldn’t find out now that I was even more pathetic than he thought.
Axel’s head jutted toward the butcher. First, there was silence and then, he spoke.
His voice was quiet. Commanding. Deadly.
"What. Happened?"
The butcher opened his mouth, then closed it. Opened it again. A pathetic wheeze ca out. He looked around as if the very walls of the butchery could provide an escape from Axel’s furious gaze.
"W-Wait, it’s not what it looks like. She—she ca here voluntarily! She owes money, y’see, and—and she agreed to work to pay it off! That’s all! Ain’t that right, María José?" He stamred, turning to without looking at .
By the moon, I wouldn’t mind having this man’s balls for dinners
That lying, disgusting, miserable excuse of a man.
I hadn’t even realized I had stepped forward until my voice bood through the silence.
"¡ntiroso!" I scread, my anger roaring to life. "You’re lying!"
The butcher flinched as if my words had struck him, but I was too far gone to stop. My entire body trembled, my breath coming in ragged gasps.
"You said I had to work to repay my debt, but when I got here, you took into your office! You locked the door!"
My voice broke. This was shaful, but I forced myself to keep going. "You put your hands on —"
The workers, who had all been pretending to be very interested in the floor, suddenly snapped to attention. Their eyes darted between and the butcher with horror and disbelief widening their faces as they gasped.
Axel stood so still it was terrifying. For a mont, there was only silence. Then, without a word, he dropped my wrist.
Before I could bat an eyelid, he already launched himself at the butcher.
The impact was so brutal that it sent the man skidding back, knocking over a tray of raw at. He let out a choked yelp as he scrambled to his feet, but Axel was already there, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him against the nearest table.
Oh, by the moon, no. I didn’t want Axel getting entangled in violence because of . He was a dignified man. He was a man of na and honor.
He shouldn’t be getting involved in fights like a goon. At least, not because of .
Rosa’s words echoed in my mind; you’re cursed, so stay away from Axel.
She was right. I was barely in his life for a few days and he was already breaking rules for . I bit my bottom lip.
"Axel, wait—" I gasped.
But he wasn’t listening. His hand curled into a fist, and before the butcher could blubber out another excuse,
CRACK!
The punch landed squarely against the bastard’s jaw, sending a spatter of blood across the butcher’s apron. He cried out loud, clutching his face.
Axel didn’t stop.
One. A gut punch that made the butcher double over, wheezing.
Two. A sharp uppercut that knocked his head back like a bobblehead doll.
Three. A vicious kick to the stomach that sent the man collapsing to his knees, gasping for breath.
"HELP! SOONE—" the butcher tried to scream, but no one dared to cross the Beta.
Axel punched his face harder like begging for help was a heinous cri, sending him sprawling onto the cold, bloodstained floor.
A deep grunt of pain left the butcher’s lips as he clutched his jaw. "H-Hey! W-Wait, we can talk about—"
Another punch.
Then another.
Axel didn’t just hit him—he beat him.
He punched him like a man possessed, like soone who had been waiting for an excuse to unleash his anger. The butcher flailed under him, arms weakly attempting to block the blows, but Axel was relentless.
The sickening crunch of bone reverberated in the butchery as blood spurted from the butcher’s nose.
"P-Please! Stop!"
Axel ignored him.
The workers stood frozen, eyes wide with horror as their boss—the man they had feared and obeyed without question—was reduced to a sobbing ss under Axel’s fists.
Axel grabbed him by the collar, dragging him up just to throw him back down.
"Does it feel good?" He snarled. "To put your filthy hands on soone weaker than you? To use your power over soone who couldn’t fight back?" He slamd his knee into the butcher’s gut, knocking the wind out of him.
The butcher whimpered.
Axel let him drop to the floor like garbage. Then, he turned to .
His chest rose and fell, his fists still clenched. His knuckles were split, blood sared over them—so his, but mostly the butcher’s. His hair was disheveled from the fight, and his sharp jaw was clenched so tight I thought his teeth might crack.
He looked like he belonged in a gladiator ring.
Or in my bed.
No. NO! Bad timing, María José! This was no ti to romanticize things.
I watched in awe as he turned back to the butcher and grabbed him by the collar again, dragging his sorry ass closer to .
"Beg," Axel growled.
The butcher whimpered like a beaten dog. "W-What?"
Axel slamd him down again. "Beg."
The butcher’s lips trembled as he turned to , barely able to keep his swollen eyes open. "I—I’m sorry." His words were hoarse and pitiful.
I felt no pity for him and I wasn’t sorry about it.
Axel’s grip tightened on his collar.
"I—I’m sorry, María José!" the butcher sobbed. "I was wrong! Please forgive !"
Tears welled in my eyes, but this ti, they weren’t from fear or humiliation.
They were from justice.
For the first ti in my life, soone had stood up for . Soone had made sure the person who hurt paid for it.
And that soone was Axel. Tell , could I ever be to be blad if I shalessly defy Rosa’s order and fall in love with this man?
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