"Mom, please listen to . Brother wouldn’t do sothing like that."
Edward trailed behind his mother as he spoke, his voice shaking.
He tried again and again to make her understand, to make her slow down, but she did not stop.
His mother walked fast through the hallway, her steps heavy and uneven.
Her face was full of anger, but also pain.
Tear marks were still fresh on her cheeks, as if they had never dried.
Her hands trembled, and her chest felt tight, like it was hard to breathe.
Just monts ago, Vivian’s personal maid had run out of the room.
Her clothes were torn, her hair a ss.
She was crying loudly, screaming that Vivian had assaulted her.
The sound of her cries still rang in his mother’s ears.
At that mont, sothing inside her broke. Her mind went blank, and her heart felt like it shattered into pieces.
Was this really the child she had given birth to?
Was this really the child she had raised with love?
Was this the sa child she had cried for just yesterday, fearing for his life?
She had always believed that a mother could forgive her son for anything.
She had always told herself that blood was thicker than mistakes.
But not this. This crossed a line she could not ignore.
What she heard went against every value she had taught him, every rule she believed in.
Her thoughts were a ss, and her heart was in pain. She could no longer think calmly.
Edward followed behind her, torn inside. He loved his brother.
He trusted him. But he was also the youngest, and he knew his duty was to support his mother now.
His heart was pulled in two different directions.
He wanted to protect Vivian, yet he could not deny what had been said.
"Mom, please," Edward said again, his voice breaking. "There must be a mistake. Please just listen."
But his mother did not slow down. She did not turn back.
Her anger and pain were too strong. Right now, she could not hear reason.
She could only feel the weight of what she believed had happened, and it was crushing her with every step she took.
After walking for a while, she reached Vivian’s room.
Without slowing down, she slamd the door open.
The mont she stepped inside, a strong sll of alcohol hit her face.
But she did not stop.
She walked straight into the room. Edward followed behind her, but the sll made him feel sick.
His face turned pale as he looked at the empty bottles scattered across the floor.
So were broken. So were still half full. It felt like the room itself was drowning in alcohol.
When they fully entered, the first thing they saw was Vivian lying on the bed.
His upper body was bare. His clothes were thrown aside carelessly.
Dark blood stains marked the bedsheets. They were dry in so places, fresh in others.
The sight made the air feel heavy.
Elena’s eyes shook when she saw him. In that mont, all her pain turned into rage.
She grabbed Vivian by the hair and yanked his head up.
"Vivian!!"
The sudden pain and the shout forced his eyes open.
His vision was blurry at first, but it quickly cleared.
The first thing he saw was his mother’s face, twisted with fury.
Right beside her stood Edward, his expression bitter and conflicted, his fists clenched tightly.
Vivian stared at them for a mont.
Seeing their faces, he did not panic. He did not struggle.
Instead, he stayed calm. Slowly, he lifted his hand and gently pulled his hair out of his mother’s grip.
"You two are really impatient..." he said quietly.
Slap!
Elena could not hold herself back anymore.
Her hand struck his face with all her strength.
The sound echoed through the room, sharp and loud. Vivian’s head tilted to the side from the force.
But sothing felt wrong.
The slap was hard, yet there was no blood.
His cheek did not turn red. There was no sign of heat or life in his skin.
His face remained pale, a sickly white, as if all warmth had already left his body.
His expression was calm, almost empty, and his breathing was slow and weak.
Edward noticed it.
But in her current state, his mother could not notice how pale he was.
She could not see how wrong sothing felt. Her anger drowned everything else.
She shouted, her voice shaking, "Did you really assault her?!"
Vivian slowly moved his jaw. There was a brief pause before he answered. His face was calm, too calm.
"So what if I did?" he said. "She is a slave. A slave is a slave. And I am the master. I have the right over her."
As he said those words, sothing flickered in his eyes.
A faint hint of sha appeared for just a mont.
But it vanished quickly, hidden behind a cold, mocking gaze.
Elena bit down on her lips hard. Anger burned inside her chest.
The words he spoke felt unreal. She searched his face again and again, trying to find the son she knew.
The boy who respected everyone, no matter their status.
The child she had raised with care and values.
But she could not see him.
Her voice trembled as she asked, slowly and painfully,
"Are you really my son?"
Vivian looked at her, then gave a small, careless smile.
"What do you think?" he replied. "Am I not?"
He lifted his hand slightly and gestured between their faces.
"Look at us. Our faces match. Our hair matches. Of course I’m your son."
His eyes locked onto hers as he continued, his voice steady and sure.
"And as my mother, you should support . No matter what I do."
There was confidence in his tone. Not pride, but certainty.
The certainty that his kind, soft-hearted mother would stand by him, just like she always had.
Edward felt a chill run through him.
’Is he really my brother?’
The question echoed again and again in Edward’s mind.
What Vivian said was cruel, unbearable.
Yet for so reason, Edward could not fully believe it.
Deep down, he felt that his brother was doing all this for a reason. Even if he did not know what it was.
His mother could not see it, but Edward did.
Vivian’s condition was terrible. His face was sickly pale, almost lifeless.
His calm felt forced, like sothing worn to hide pain. Edward swallowed hard and stepped forward.
"Mom... I think you should—"
"Edward!!!"
Elena shouted his na sharply. Her face twisted with anger as she turned toward him. Her eyes were wild, full of pain and fury.
Before Edward could say anything else, Vivian spoke.
"Yes, he is right. You should support ."
Vivian slowly turned away from them. His movents were heavy, yet controlled. He walked toward his bed, his back facing them.
"This will happen often," he said calmly, without turning around.
"Make sure no news leaks outside."
Those words shattered sothing inside Elena.
Her mind went blank.
In the next mont, she rushed forward and grabbed Vivian by the hair again, pulling him back with force.
"Mom! You are going too far right now!" Edward shouted in panic.
Vivian cried out as well, but inside his mind, he let out a tired sigh.
I don’t need to act anymore, he thought.
Elena stared at him.
For the first ti, a clear sense of disgust appeared on her face.
Her hands shook violently. Tears stread down her cheeks, falling one after another.
Her voice broke as she spoke, each word cutting her heart open.
"From today... you are no longer my son."
"You are no longer the heir of the Zenithara House."
As she said those words, her chest felt like it was being pierced by countless needles.
The pain was unbearable, but she forced herself to stand firm.
Edward rushed forward, unable to take it anymore. He reached out to loosen her grip on Vivian’s hair.
But Elena suddenly turned toward him.
Her eyes were cold. Dead serious.
"If you dare to co closer," she said slowly, "if you dare to contact him again..."
"Then you will see my dead body."
Edward froze.
There was conflict in Edward’s eyes. Along with it ca a deep sense of helplessness.
He knew his mother well. Once she said sothing like that, she would truly do it.
Before Edward could think of anything else, Elena started dragging Vivian by the hair.
Edward closed his eyes tightly and sank down onto the bed.
His hands clenched into fists. Tears gathered in his eyes, but he forced them back.
He could not see a right path anymore. No matter what he chose, soone would be destroyed.
anwhile, Elena dragged Vivian out of the main palace of the Zenithara estate.
As they moved, Vivian shouted curses, his voice loud and sharp.
Yet he did not resist her pull. There was no struggle in his body.
Instead, there was an odd calm in his eyes.
Beneath it lay a deep sense of relief, as if a heavy burden had finally been lifted from his chest.
Servants and knights lined the path.
They watched in silence as Elena pulled him forward.
So looked shocked. So looked afraid. But none of them stepped in. No one dared to interfere.
"Elena!!"
Vined rushed toward them.
He had been in the administrative office, busy with official work, when he heard what had happened.
The mont the news reached him, he ran without stopping.
His eyes widened when he saw Elena dragging Vivian toward the main gate.
He opened his mouth, ready to say sothing, anything....to calm her down.
But Elena turned her head sharply and shouted, "Don’t you dare stop !"
"If you stop , you will never see again!"
Her eyes were bloodshot, filled with madness and pain.
Vined froze for a mont, but he was about to speak again when his eyes t Vivian’s.
Vivian looked at him.
Despite his state, he gave a calm, reassuring smile. Then, silently, a ssage passed to Vined’s mind.
[Take care of Mother...]
Vined bit down hard on his lower lip.
His fists clenched until his nails dug into his skin. He understood now. He saw it clearly.
Vivian’s face was deathly pale. His calm was not arrogance, it was resolve.
From his expression, it was clear that all of this had been done on purpose. Done with a goal in mind.
Tears burned in Vined’s eyes, but he forced them down. Slowly, he turned his gaze away.
He did not stop them.
And with that, Vivian was dragged farther and farther from the ho he once belonged to, while the walls of the Zenithara estate stood silent, watching a family tear itself apart.
Elena dragged him to the main gate and threw him out.
Vivian’s body rolled across the ground outside the gate.
He hit the cold stone hard and coughed a few tis, blood staining his lips.
His breathing was uneven, but he did not cry out.
Elena’s heart shook when she saw him like that.
For a brief mont, her resolve wavered.
But only for a mont.
Her eyes hardened again as she stood tall before him.
"I, Elena D. Zenithara, have lived my life with pride," she said, her voice sharp and trembling. "No one ever dared to look at and speak words that would sha ."
Her hands trembled as she clenched them into fists.
"But for the past year, because of you, I have endured countless humiliations. Those who could not even look at my feet before now dare to speak to my face."
Her chest rose and fell heavily.
"I endured all of that. I swallowed it all. I did not take it to heart," she continued.
"But what you did today... this has severed everything."
Tears filled her eyes, yet there was also disgust in her gaze as she looked at him.
"You have brought nothing but sha to my life."
Her voice grew louder, filled with pain and fury.
"You have brought nothing but disgrace to . And today, I cut all ties with you and my family."
She raised her voice so everyone around could hear her words clearly.
"From today onward, I, Elena D. Zenithara, who once gave this ungrateful filth the na Vivian—"
Her voice cracked for just a second.
"I take it back!!"
She turned around sharply.
At that mont, her heart shattered completely.
He was her flesh and blood. She clearly rembered the first ti she held him in her arms.
She rembered how small he was. She rembered whispering his na with love.
But now, she told herself that this filth could not be her flesh and blood.
Behind her, Vivian slowly stood up.
He looked at her back and smiled faintly.
"Very well," he said softly. "Until you call by that na again, I will not be called by it. And neither will anyone else..."
His voice dropped even lower, barely above a whisper.
"...Though I don’t think I will live long enough to hear that na again."
He turned around and began to walk away.
Even though it was only a whisper, Elena felt her stomach twist violently.
Her heart felt like it skipped a beat. For an instant, sothing deep inside her scread.
But her resolve did not break.
She coughed out blood in anger and shouted at his retreating back, "You were the biggest mistake of my life!"
Vivian flinched.
Just for a second.
Tears filled his eyes, but he did not stop walking.
He did not turn back. Step by step, his figure grew smaller, until he finally vanished into the distance.
The gates of the Zenithara estate stood tall and silent.
And with that silence, a mother lost her son, and a son lost the last place he could ever call ho.
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