Trigger Warning:
This chapter contains themes of emotional abuse, physical violence, manipulation, neglect, betrayal, and gaslighting. It may be distressing for some readers. Topics of grief, abandonment, and trauma are central to the narrative.
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In this world, Karina Azalena's life was marked by tragedy from the very start. Her parents died in a tragic accident, leaving her the sole survivor. She has a lot of relatives but none of them wanted to take her in, fearing that they will also suffer the same fate as her parents. In simplest terms, Karina was branded as a jinx, someone who brings bad luck to those around them.
I followed Karina behind as she stepped into the dimly lit room where her parents were laid to rest. The faces of the mourners were barely illuminated in the soft glow of the flickering candles, their eyes were avoiding hers but anyone could sense their distance towards her. The coldness of the room seemed to creep into her bones as the silence weighed heavily around her, in contrast to what once had filled the space before she entered. They whispered their condolences but Karina felt detached from the mourners around her, an outsider. And the isolation she felt grew even more when her relatives from her father's started with their vile accusations.
"Maybe her mother passed her curse on her. I remember that her mom was also a sole survivor from the fire that happened in the orphanage that she was in before she got adopted." One of her aunts from her father's side whispered among themselves as they were discussing who would take care of her.
"Oh right! I heard that the adopted mother also died because of her mom back then. And now our poor Eliott was dragged by her in the afterlife." The murmurs were getting louder, enough for Karina, who was barely ten years old, to hear and felt sad and angry at her helplessness. Even though she wanted to defend her mom from these people, no one would listen to her. She questioned herself whether there was anyone who truly understood the pain and emptiness she was feeling. And as the room felt colder, all she could do was look at her parents' portrait and think of their final moments.
Live happily, strong, and healthy. No matter what they say, live on.
Those were the words they said to her before they passed away, protecting her. Despite her flat expression, deep inside, she's afraid. And who wouldn't be? She was just a child who was barely old enough to understand grief, yet Karina was forced to face suffering mixed with grief and anger as she heard the rumors, portraying her and her mother as cursed souls. Every whisper around her served as a harsh reminder of how alone she was, breaking her spirit to fulfill the promise she made to her parents. Hearing her father's relative kept speaking ill of her and her mother, a realization hits Karina in an excruciatingly slow manner…
Her parents weren't the only ones who had abandoned her, but the world had turned its back on her too.
Karina's eyes lingered on the soft glow of the candle as she stood still. The flicker reminded her of the warmth she once knew. She clung to the memory, -of laughter and comfort- she shared with her parents, as if it could anchor her in this tempest of sorrow that she was navigating alone. But the weight of her relatives' hushed accusations pressed on her. The memory she clung to has started to slip through her fingers like gritty sand.
"She will probably bring death wherever she goes as well." Another aunt of hers remarked calmly yet you could hear the coldness on her voice as she continued, "Even if Elliott left a fortune for her, I won't dare take his child. Who knows what misfortune will happen to my family if I take her in. She might curse us next."
"She's a curse herself." Another aunt added fuel to the fire.
As I watched this fragment of her memory, the taste of iron coated my tongue.
A curse? How could these people blatantly drop a heavy word like that to a child?! They were worse –so much worse- than the nobles that I dealt with in my world!
Unable to do or say anything, I walked towards Karina who could only bite her lips and dig her nails on her palms as those vile adults continued their conversation, thinking that she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. Seeing this memory of her only made my heart break. Looking back at the kind of life she gave me, the pain I felt can't be compared to what she dealt with alone. No wonder she became dependent on her abuser for years. There is no one who dared to stop those vile adults except for those people who have their underlying intention kept hidden.
The murmuring stopped after a loud crash. In front of those detestable adults was that man, her mother's adopted younger brother and his family, their expressions blazing with fury. Her uncle stormed in, his steps heavy with anger, and Karina looked up, startled. For a moment, hope flickered in her eyes, -faint and fleeting, as if unsure if it was even allowed…to be hopeful that someone would take her side.
"Do you even hear yourselves? Calling a kid cursed at her parents' wake? What's wrong with you people?!" His uncle shouted in anger while his wife and son were trying to stop him from escalating the situation.
I shifted my gaze back to Karina, her uncle's furious voice lingered in the air, and her sobs followed, -loud, unrestrained, and filled with grief that she tried hard to contain in her small body. The fragile wall that she created to protect herself from her relatives' vindictive comments shattered the moment her uncle defended her. For the first time since her parents' wake began, she stopped pretending that she could bear it all and acted like the grieving child she was.
It was the pivotal moment, the turning point that paved her life to a one-way path to doom. Those words uttered by her non-blood related uncle were enough to make a grieving child trust him. In her fragile state she clung onto those people's deceptive comfort, unaware of the web of manipulation that he was spinning around her. I could see right through him. It was quick but I clearly saw the sly, almost condescending smirk as he looked down at Karina who was unaware of his eyes that are filled with calculated interest. He watched her closely, studying her as if mapping out her every weakness, plotting how he would exploit the child who was shunned by her other relatives. If I could read his thoughts, he was probably thanking those disgusting adults for making it easy for him to take her custody…to make the poor child trust him.
When the light flickered, the scene shifted, pulling me into a different memory of hers. I'd lost count of how many times I had been forced to watch the next of her tragic life, yet the range within me only grew, the fire was relentless, refusing to die down instead of fading.
I could only curl my hand into a fist while watching the scene unfold right in front of me.
Barely a year since Karina opened her doors to her uncle and his family, offering them a permanent place to stay so they won't have to struggle in a cramped rental. They were full of gratitude for the first few months, treating her with warmth that her blood-related relatives denied her, making Karina forget her loneliness for a while. But the kindness that they showed her was fleeting, finally shedding the benevolent guise that they were wearing after removing everyone from Karina's side that they saw as an obstacle for their wicked plans. Laid bare was their true intention.
The man who saved her from the malicious whispers of her blood relatives was now the same man who was looming over her, face bearing with scorn.
"More money?" he sneered, words dripping with disdain after she asked for a small portion of her own insurance fund to cover a school project. "Do you really think we have anything left for you? We're already giving more than what we ever got from your insurance, and now you come asking for more?" His voice was cold and sharp, each world felt like a slap. The next set of words that he uttered held the same venom that she once heard from her blood-related relatives.
"You are just like your mom." He added in a smooth and calculated voice, designed to wound her. "Always asking for more than you deserve."
He let the silence settle as he looked down at her, not even hiding his hatred anymore before adding, "If not for me, you'd barely have enough to survive on your own. You should be grateful that I'm taking care of you when no one else wanted a jinx like you."
"B-but…I'm n-not asking for t-too much". She stammered, "N-nana told me t-that m-mom and dad l-left me enough m-money for m-my studies." Karina's voice was shaking as she mentioned the details about her insurance funds that her former nanny told her before she was kicked out of their house by her uncle, the last person that was one her side.
Her uncle scoffed. His lips curled into a cruel smirk. "And you believe that old hag? She's not the one paying for everything, how would she know whether your funds are enough? Didn't we kick her out because we couldn't pay her anymore because of your tuition fees?" His words were like daggers cutting deeper after the other. "You barely have enough money to survive, Karina. If you believe that woman more than me, -your uncle, then you can ask her to take care of you. We will move out and you can manage everything on your own. I'll talk to your parent's lawyer about this."
Karina's eyes widened in surprise at what her uncle uttered. Panic flashed across her face as she held on to him before he could even take a step. "N-no, uncle! I believe you. I'm sorry. I believe you so please don't leave me alone." she begged, desperation spilling from every word.
Her uncle's smirk deepened. He knew that what Karina feared the most was to be abandoned by him. He removed everyone that was on her side to isolate her, so she would know that no one would be there for her but him. Satisfaction flickered in his eyes as he patted Karina's head with mocking gentleness. "Alright, I won't." He murmured, "But if you behave like that again, there won't be next time, alright?"
"Y-yes, uncle." Karina could only answer as she becomes trapped even deeper in her uncle's web of deceit and control.
I exhaled heavily as the scene shifted once more, showing a memory that is even more devastating than the last, -their relentless abuse.
Kicks, slaps, punches, hair-pulling, and starvation. These were the constants for Karina once she entered high school. Her uncle's pretense care had long faded and it was now replaced with cruelty. What was once manipulation and deceit has now evolved into outright violence. In short, Karina has become their personal punching bag.
Her uncle's business failed and it driven him to gambling, a vice that consumed the little money that she got from her funds. His wife, despite their dire financial situation, clung to her delusions of grandeur right after experiencing a fleeting lavish life, she kept spending extravagantly despite being aware of her husband's gambling addiction or the failed business venture. Their son on the other hand had turned into a lazy drop-out bum, contributing nothing and spending most of his days gaming while his parents indulged in their vices.
Karina has become their doormat, their source of income, housekeeper, and outlet for frustration. Every cent of her parents' insurance that remained was drained by her nonblood-related family's greed, leaving her with nothing for herself. Yet, the money wasn't enough for them so that she had to work part-time to fend for her studies.
Karina was stripped of choices after she allowed herself to be trapped in her uncle's clutches. By sheer willpower, she earned a scholarship to attend a prestigious high school that she can easily enter with her parent's money. Being on a full scholarship was the only light in her dark existence, but even then, the weight on her shoulders grew heavier.
She took on part-time jobs to cover her school projects and daily expenses. Karina has to wake up at dawn to scrub floors and stay up late to complete her assignments. The chores at home never ceased, her uncle and his family kept piling task after task on her without the slightest gratitude, she became a slave at her own house.
But what made it harder for her wasn't the task or that she had to work from dusk to dawn, it was their physical and mental abuse.
The sting of her uncle's slap, punches and gaslighting, bruises left by her aunt's nails, and the hard yanking of her cousin pulling her hair, each act of violence damaged her spirit beyond repair.
She endured it all, - not because she wanted to, but because she had no other choice.
As I watched her frail and exhausted form endure another blow, my anger reached its boiling point. Tears streamed down my face and a metallic tang of blood filled my mouth as I bit my lip hard, helpless to intervene in this fragment of her past. Rage consumed my heart, burning hotter with every punch and kick she's getting, aching for the woman who bore the same face and name as mine, -a woman whose life shaped in tragedy by fate, a woman who tried to give me a life different from hers, yet I forced to end that life in ruin, causing her to finally give up everything.
Hatred filled my system for her blood-related relatives who turned her away. For her nonblood-related uncle and his family who used and abused her beyond repair. And for Achilles Dimitri, who saved Karina from her abuser family, but ultimately shoved her down in a much deeper abyss.