Entwined With the Villainous Guardian
Chapter 104: Frail

Chapter 104: Frail

"I killed your parents, is that why?" Leander asked.

Viviana bowed her head not wanting to look at his face.

"Look at me!" he shouted.

Viviana looked at him.

"Shall I tell you a truth, Leander? I know you didn’t kill my parents," she said and watched his eyes turn redder. "I’ll tell you, that’s not what I told everyone though. Every one of my friends believed it was your plan. I wanted them to."

"But I did though," Leander said with a shrug. He knew it would enrage her but she turned calmer as she talked about it.

And is she telling him that she is a manipulator?

"Explosives, fire... I know that’s not how you operate. You are more of a breaking bones kind of guy, threatening the family kind of guy, and the one who puts bullets in the brain," she let out a deep breath. "You did pull the rug over it. You are a co-conspirator in the cover-up. But the Heberden Blowout as you people mention it... the orders were of that wicked old man, weren’t it?" she asked.

She had a pretty strong hunch although there was no proof of it. Even she had to believe that Leander was the one who planned on it. But judging by the calmness in his eyes, she could say that her hunch was right.

"He! How does it feel to be the fall guy all the time? You, the lion, the shield... But you are actually the doormat, aren’t you? All you do is bend over and let them wipe their shit on your back..." She scoffed.

"I pitied you, Kastello. That’s why I spared you back then. You should have let me jump that day. But otherwise, I wouldn’t have known how much more pathetic you are. Your mother doesn’t love you; your grandfather only uses you; your brother is a... At least I knew what a family is! At least I was loved! Kastello, I still pity you..."

She stopped seeing his eyes. They were so red. She didn’t know if he was angry or crying.

What have I done? Melanie, you are a very stupid and very mean person! How did you end up this way?

She bowed her head. Even if she hates him those are very hurtful words for anyone to hear.

"I’m sorry," she looked at him. "It’s... I shouldn’t have said those..."

*Click*

Leander pointed the muzzle of the gun at her and turned off the safety.

She gulped and wetted her lips.

"...hurtful words," she finished her sentence.

She thought that she might be scared when she faces death, but fear was not the feeling she had right then. She was not even minding the gun.

"But I will say this, Kastello. Your friend is the only person who loves you for who you are. Trust me, I know these things. You might have had a small disagreement. And he might have an agenda. But I think that he will talk to you after he calmed down because he loves you. And, I never did anything to purposefully cause a rift between you two. He’s a storyteller and I wanted the story of that girl to be known. Just like I didn’t make you keep who I am a secret with your family..."

She added.

If he is giving her the time to speak her last words, she wanted to make it clear.

"If anything, it was a bonus," She added because Leander still was pointing the gun. And standing at death’s doorsteps, she found herself becoming chatty.

She sighed and then chuckled.

"I can’t believe it..." she wetted her lips. "I can’t believe I am saying this, Kastello," she said looking into Leander’s deep eyes. The muzzle was still pointed at her. His hands were not shaking although he was holding that position for a long time. But his eyes had gotten clearer.

"You’re a good guy. I mean, you are a bad guy because you kill, but... You’re a good guy too...Even now, you could have turned my words against me and humiliated me for jumping on you that night, calling me...whatever... Even your mother called me...But you are staying quiet, letting me speak. You are a good guy."

As she said that she could see that his eyebrows twitched a bit on his otherwise frozen face.

"I’ll say this. That night, I didn’t..." she bowed and her face blushed. "It was not pity. I did it because I wanted to. That night, you were not Kastello and I was not..."

Her eyes ended up unconsciously on his chest as she remembered the tattoo. "Thank you for showing me care and affection you showed me even when I am your prisoner. I am ashamed to have spoken those hurtful words, but I will never regret what I did to that pig. And I will watch from hell as that wicked old snake and his perverted~"

"Can’t you just leave my grandpa out of it?" Leander interjected her breaking his silence. His voice was hoarse. "He’s...he’s just a frail old man who is very sick," he said.

Viviana smiled. She wanted to scoff, but she couldn’t find the energy. She was feeling drained. She was speaking her mind and she felt like she is losing something. She didn’t know what. But she felt lighter as if she was losing some part of her.

"Is he just a frail old man though? Why? Kastello, in your eyes, is he the only human with a frail body? How about that couple, who loved each other so much and they wanted to have a simple dinner with their daughter to nag her to get married? Huh? It was something they had—as a family—to have a meal together once a week at least. Were their bodies not frail? Did they withstand fire?" her lips trembled.

"Was the daughter’s heart not frail? Huh? Was it made of diamond? She was late, and she watched as they burned. She was held back from jumping into the fire... It was supposed to be a dinner... She hated those dinners because they nagged her, but she went because she loved them... Should her not-so-frail heart endure watching them burn?"

She wiped her tears.

"Answer me, Kastello! When she saw the man bearing the same name as the ones who had previously hurt her... the ones who brutally murdered her friends make an appearance, should she have allowed herself to forgive?"

Leander didn’t answer her. His finger on the trigger tightened.

Viviana sucked in a deep breath.