Chapter 17

|| Ares's POV ||

" Show me, Ares!! NOW! she asked for my bleeding hand again furiously. I hated to be cared for or treated like this. It always made me feel vulnerable in other eyes. Perhaps, it bloomed in my instinct after being beaten and left alone without anyone caring about my past.

I couldn't get angry with my Princess when she was giving me her domineering look. Swallowing uneasily, I exhaled and placed my hand into her outstretched palm.

After Father left the house, we sat down together in the hallway without speaking about the topic. I knew that she had a lot of questions going around her mind but she gave me space to calm down my anger. She was a thoughtful girl, I knew.

She pressed the cotton on my fresh wound. I hissed out of pain, wincing a little back as she blew her cheeks out on my wound. Her brows needed together in concern and I loved the way she was worrying about me.

It was difficult to divert your attention when the girl you like was sitting right after you!

I watched her clean my wound with a tight frown. After a while, I muttered again, trying to offer an apology,

" I..I..am sorry...He shouldn't have spoken to you like that.."

She shrugged her shoulders off between the change of cotton. Her tone sounded bitter as she spoke to me,

" He wasn't lying completely. I mean, anybody would think that."

Ouch! That hurts!

Knowing that she considered herself just like another one-night stand that I had in the past made me uncomfortable deeply. I wanted to scream out loud that she wasn't like them and she wouldn't be ever. But I had never been good with words especially when It came to saying emotional feelings. My lips pressed together tightly, staring at her blankly until she was done with the cleaning.

Her eyes met mine, concerned and especially curiosity lurking in them,

" Can I ask you something, Ares?"

I could guess what she was going to ask. I nodded, turning sideways to meet her amber eyes,

" What happened with Uncle Marcus? I mean, he was the best guy that I had ever known. What changed him so suddenly?"

My jaw tickled in anger, remembering the horrible things that he had done in the past. My father was the worst topic that I ever wished to talk about. Luckily, Aria wasn't at home today. I noticed the way she shivered after meeting her father every time. I assumed that the incident left her traumatized. She could no longer look forward to him like a loving father.

Savannah sensed my hesitation. She quickly changed the topic, apologizing slowly,

" Well, it's fine if you don't want to talk about it."

It wasn't like I was insecure about telling her about our broken family. The fact that she had already stayed here by my side to listen that what could have possibly gone wrong with my perfect family was enough to prove her caring heart. I knew, among everyone I could put my trust in her blindly.

I began to speak before she left my side,

" Everything changed after we left this city, Princess."

My voice halted her between her action. She paused turning around to sit back properly. We continued lingering in silence as she waited for me to speak like a decent listener. I brought my eyes to my freshly wrapped wound, smiling weakly as I continued speaking,

" My father joined illegal activities with some guy from that town. After it was found by the police, his doctor's license was canceled and he could no longer work in this field anymore. His whole world shattered and he lost his hope in searching for a new job."

I exhaled through my nose painfully. Memories began to hit back in my brain like a sharp digging knife. I remembered those nights when my parents ended up arguing violently. Sometimes, they even went on with their hands in front of us. Aria used to get scared the most since she was the little one between us and didn't understand the reason behind their consistent yelling.

As I fought hard to continue, I felt her hand over my thigh, rubbing and comforting me slowly. Her soft soothing touch showered me with confidence. After letting out a weary sigh, I continued locking my eyes on the ground blankly,

" My mom used to argue with him a lot about the financial crisis that our family was facing day by day. She was a stay-at-home mom but later had to switch her choice for the sake of our family. Then, earning more money made her blind in greed and she ended up sleeping with her boss and many more who worked above her rank to ensure her job. My father learned about it a long after that then they ended up leaving apart. Well, they aren't divorced yet but they never made us their priority for their comfort. Now, my mom barely comes home, and Dad...We don't even know where they live. After we sold out everything in another city, we decided to shift to this city again as the financial bearing is low here."

My emotions swirled within me hard as I looked down, tears pricking from the corner of my eyes. I didn't notice her expression until I felt her presence closer, surrounding me with her warmth. She rubbed my shoulder, murmuring in a sorrowful voice,

" I am so sorry, Ares. I...I didn't know any of this. Even Aria never shared this with me."

It might be because she felt too ashamed to share the scar of her family just like me. If Savannah didn't witness my father's attitude, I would have never revealed this to her possibly.

My body relaxed at her comfy touch. Exhaling through my mouth heavily, I ended my words with a bitter smile,

" That's how we lost our family, Princess. I know we had the best family probably but trust me, we never had a peaceful day after I turned 12. Not only that my father has stepped down so low that he wanted to sell Aria to some old chick when she was 14."

" What??", Savannah blurted, eyes staring at me in disbelief.

I nodded slowly, remembering memories of that night when my sister was dragged by a few bunches of brats. I was sure that if I had any gun with me, I would have killed each one of them at that spot. Savannah muttered, feeling sympathetic for Aria,

" That's the worst feeling that someone can go through over. Sold by your father? How can Uncle Marcus do that to his child? I mean, I get that he was broken, devastated, or screwed up in his life but selling his daughter is way too malicious level to do to someone. I can't believe how Aria must have felt at that moment."

She continued pressing herself against me, and her grip on my shoulder began to tighten subconsciously. There are very few people in the world who can sense your pain emotionally. Savannah surprised me to become the first person in my life.

I hung my head low, murmuring to her reaction slowly,

" That's why, we have been avoiding his presence for a long time. I know, he appears here only when he needs money from me. You know, supporting the two of us had already been hard for me. Then this additional money makes it tougher if we spend it on him. I might be a jerk for not helping my father."

Whatever happened between us, in the end, he was my father. It never felt good to know that he might go behind the bars again if I didn't help him with money. Savannah shook her head rapidly, her touch emanating through my skin magically,

" No, Ares. You aren't at least not to your family. You must help your father but not when he did something wrong. You aren't responsible for his wrongdoings. Besides, you are the best brother I have ever seen. You are supporting Aria's dream and I am sure that she is proud of you. I can't even dream about supporting myself at this age. Here you are already taking your family. Then why are you calling yourself a jerk? "

I looked up at her in awe. Savannah, my princess who hated this playboy was admiring the responsibilities that I had taken over the past few years. Her eyes shone brightly, lips tugging into an appreciative smile. I could see the sorrow behind her eyes which defined that she was deeply for me and Aria.

|| Savannah's POV ||

Ares kept staring at my face blankly. I didn't know what he was thinking in his mind, it became a little awkward afterward.

That night, I met the new guy in form of Ares. He wasn't that cold, arrogant jerk who was full of himself. Under the veil of a playboy, he was the doting brother he could ever dream of having in her life. He didn't lose hope in his life even though their family crashed, leaving them completely abandoned in this cruel world. Never in my imagination, I thought that I would appreciate Ares someday. I guess, I became too one-sided-minded in the love of Finn that it sealed down all of my sixth sense. I should have guessed something in observing Aria's face. At least, she was my best friend but no, I failed as a friend. When she faked her parents working outside of this city, I believed her. I believed her lies and nothing made me feel so worse to think that she had to hide all her pains from me.

Was I too ignorant of her?

The debate was paused behind my mind as Ares suddenly leaned down onto me. Strangely, I didn't dodge away and stared back into his eyes, swallowing repeatedly. His eyes fell on my lips, inspecting each movement of my numb lips that kept parting and closing like a fish.

I hated this proximity. I hated it most when I didn't feel the urge of pushing him away. His presence felt toxic yet tempting at the same time. Warm breath fanned my skin as we stared into each other numbly.

Ares looked down at my lips again and licked his lips once before muttering breathlessly,

" Can I kiss you once, Princess?"

His demanding question didn't surprise me but what surprised me the most was my action. I nodded my head like a rattle, parting my lips to welcome his lips that kept dancing under my eyes. The second time, I shocked myself being kissed by the bad boy that I hated so much until today.