Unrivaled Warrior novel Chapter 5

"Please don't say that, Fay," Lucian began, his voice filled with bitterness. "I've been in the army all these years, thinking that I would make a name for myself and come back to officially ask for your hand in marriage. I was suffering too."

"Things have come to this point. What else is there to say?" Freya's words were indifferent, and her eyes lacked any spark of life. Despair washed over Lucian.

The tension in the room was palpable.

Lucian had never been good with words, and the overwhelming guilt only made him more at a loss. He knew that whatever he said to appease Freya would fall on deaf ears.

"If you loved me, stay and take care of Minnie," Freya made a shocking request.

"I'll do it," Lucian replied, seizing the opportunity. "You have nothing to worry about, Fay. I'll take care of both you and Minnie. No one will ever torment you again. I promise."

"Hah." Freya's smile was apathetic as she heard his promise. "I don't need you to take care of me. All I want is for you to take care of Minnie. I'm not ashamed of any of my decisions. My only regret is having made Minnie suffer. My only hope is for you to raise her into adulthood, and then you'll be free to do as you please. Once she's an adult, she'll be able to take care of herself."

She spoke as if she were passing on a will to a world that disgusted her.

To Lucian, it sounded as if she was ready to leave the world behind.

Despair consumed him. He understood that no amount of reassurance would have any effect on her. Perhaps being by her side would help her out of the darkness.

"I'll take care of her," he said after a moment of silence.

"Minnie does not need you…"

Frank Harrison and Annie Watson burst into the room in a furious flurry. Anger radiated from them the moment they laid eyes on Lucian. Their family had fallen into such a state because of him.

They had such a brilliant daughter, but a single moment of weakness had ruined her.

They hated him as much as Freya and Minnie did.

"Ma'am, I…" Lucian had no idea how to respond and could only stand in silence.

"What?" Annie yanked him by his collar and snarled, "My daughter loved you so much she gave up everything for you, and how do you repay her? You disappeared for seven years. Do you have any idea what my daughter had to go through?"

"Enough, Mom, Dad. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I've decided to keep him around. Stop trying to convince me otherwise!" Freya no longer wanted to discuss the past.

Neither Frank nor Annie could convince her otherwise. They had no choice but to reluctantly back off. It was true that Freya and Minnie needed to be taken care of. The recently retired Lucian could stay as their caretaker. It was a weight off their shoulders when they went to work too.

Annie glared at Lucian and then sat down next to Freya. "Oh, Fay. You shouldn't have been so foolish. You know what Calvin is like. Just put up with it when he comes by. Why did you get Lucian to put him in the hospital?"

"I…" Freya didn't know what to say. It was true that Calvin was seriously injured because Lucian had beaten him up for them.

"Your grandparents and uncle were furious when they heard about it. They want us to have you return to the Harrison residence to apologize, or they'll kick your father and me out of the family too. You know your father's income isn't very high at the Harrison Group. We're barely scraping by to support the family. What are we going to do if we're expelled from the family?" Annie said helplessly to her daughter.

These words made Freya feel extremely guilty. Her father had been demoted from his position as a high-ranking executive after she had given birth to Minnie. What kind of horrible person would she be if they were expelled from the family too? They were in debt because they had to treat her. Even the house had been sold. They continued to help her regardless. She wouldn't be here otherwise. She had to bow her head for her parents' sake.

She's got nerve!