"Mom!"
"Grandmother!"
It all happened in mere seconds. Moments ago, Lady Catherine had been brimming with energy, and now she lay unconscious, pale and trembling. The abruptness of her collapse sent the room spiraling into chaos.
"Call Celeste! Get Dr. Chou back here immediately!" someone shouted.
The once-dignified Denvair household was now in disarray. Panic gripped everyone, but the attending doctor, who had been closely monitoring Lady Catherine's condition, delivered the grim news after several checks.
"Prepare yourselves. She doesn't have much time."
The declaration hit like a thunderbolt.
"What?!"
Eldrin Denvair stood frozen, his lips trembling as he gazed at his mother, the woman who had showered him with care for decades. The idea of arranging her funeral was too much to bear.
"This... this can't be happening," he muttered, his voice breaking.
Trista's voice cut through the tension. "It's him. It's Kael Renforth's curse!"
Eldrin's eyes widened in realization, and he smacked his forehead as if it all made sense. "Of course! It must be him! Lyria, get him back here immediately! He's going to pay for this!"
Lyria stood rooted to the spot, her face blank. She couldn't deny her family's accusations outright, but neither could she drag Kael into this storm of blame. The sting of their words and actions gnawed at her.
"Hurry up, Lyria! Call him now!" Trista demanded, stepping closer to her niece. "Even if there have been... issues, Kael's behavior is unforgivable. From the moment he joined this family, everything went downhill! And now he's cursed your grandmother!"
She didn't stop there, determined to solidify her accusation.
"Lyria, listen carefully! This man is a disgrace. He's brought ruin to the Denvair family, and now he's committing sacrilege against our elders! Are you really going to defend him?"
Lyria clenched her fists and bit her lip so hard it almost bled.
Her husband, Kael Renforth, was no saint, but he didn't deserve to be vilified like this. And no matter how estranged they might be, she couldn't allow him to become the scapegoat for something beyond his control.
Trying to maintain her composure, she said softly, "Uncle, Aunt, please don't jump to conclusions. Dr. Chou will return soon, and I'm sure he can stabilize Grandmother's condition."
Eldrin wasn't having it. He snatched Lyria's phone with an angry growl. "Your grandmother loved you more than anyone else, and this is how you repay her? Defending that man?"
"If you won't call him, then I will!" Eldrin declared, his voice sharp with fury as he dialed Kael's number.
Lyria watched in silence, torn between frustration and resignation.
When Kael Renforth picked up the phone, he was on his way home, walking under the moonlit sky. He wasn't surprised by the call—he'd anticipated that the acupuncture treatment might stir up trouble. What caught him off guard was that the blame would fall on Lyria.
The voice on the other end was soft, familiar, and tinged with weariness. "Where are you?" Lyria asked.
Kael's grip on the phone tightened. He could sense the strain in her voice and imagined the humiliation she must be enduring.
"I'm on my way home," he replied.
A moment of silence followed. Then, muffled voices echoed faintly through the receiver:
"Stop wasting time! He has to take responsibility for this!"
Kael's jaw tightened as the harsh words reached his ears.
In the midst of it all, Lyria whispered, "It's fine. Just come home."
Then the line went dead.
Kael stared at the phone, his mind racing. Was she shielding him from their wrath?
A bitter smile crept across his face. She was enduring all of this for his sake.
As he walked under the dim streetlights, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
For years, Kael had fought for his country, leaving his family and Lyria unprotected. He'd let her suffer in silence while he faced battles on distant fronts. But not this time.
This time, he wouldn't let her bear the burden alone.
Kael Renforth's expression darkened, his steps deliberate and unyielding.
The Denvair family had crossed the line.
Their relentless accusations, their disdainful treatment of Lyria, and their complete disregard for his sacrifices—it all built to a boiling point.
If not for his late father-in-law's final wish for Kael to protect the Denvair family, these people would be nothing but ants under his feet.
But they were Lyria's family. Her father's family.
Kael sighed, a mixture of anger and resignation swirling within him. His patience was wearing thin, and he was done playing the scapegoat.
If they wanted a reckoning, they would get one.