A Step Back

Those I had risked my life to protect, the family I had once cherished above all, all of them had betrayed me.

This time, I would not make the same mistake.

Richard stepped forward. Each stride was deliberate. His towering shadow fell over me, enveloping me.

The air around us seemed to freeze.

He did not say a word.

He swung his hand with full force, slamming a harsh slap across my face.

The slap sent me staggering, my lip tearing open, and blood flooding my mouth with a bitter, metallic taste.

“If anything happens to my daughter, I’ll make sure your whole family pays!”

He jabbed a finger at my nose. His voice was ice cold.

Before I could steady myself, I heard my mother’s panicked cry from behind, “Henry!”

My parents scrambled through the crowd, tripping and shoving, and when they saw the deadly tension, their knees nearly gave out.

My mother rushed in front of me. Her eyes flickered when she saw the blood in my mouth.

However, she did not ask if I was hurt.

Instead, she swung back and slapped me too.

“You beast! Why didn’t you move? Are you insane?!”

The sting of her hand burned, but not a fraction as much as the pain tearing through my heart.

In an instant, memories flashed before my eyes.

I remember when I was little, I fell and scraped myself, not even badly, and Mom got so anxious she almost burst into tears.

She held me in her arms, carefully dabbing on medicine with a cotton swab, murmuring, “Does it hurt, Henry? Be careful next time.”

Dad did not say much, but he always showed love through action.

Every time I came home first in class, he would raise a glass at dinner, pat my shoulder, and boast to our relatives.

“Look, this is my son, Henry! He’s going places!”

Dylan, my younger brother, trailed behind me since childhood, idolizing me, calling me.

He shared half his snacks with me, and was the first to fight anyone talking badly about me.

He said, “Henry is the best in the entire world!”

Those warm memories, wrapped in love, now cut through me like knives.

I could not understand how they could become like this.

Was it poverty? Or in the face of power, was so-called family love worthless?

My moment of daze lasted only a second, because my father’s next act of violence came directly.

He kicked my knee hard.

I could not hold myself up anymore and collapsed heavily onto the street.

My kneecap hit the pavement and a stifled groan escaped my lips.

My father towered over me, trembling with fury as he pointed at me.

“Get down and apologize to Mr. Grant now!”

I knelt there, slowly raising my head, scanning the family members before me.

I looked at their faces, twisted by fear, and asked calmly,

“Do you even know what happened?”

“We know! You ruined our entire family!” Dad practically yelled.

“If you’d gone to save her, we’d be living in glory, but now, you’ve ruined everything! You bring nothing but bad luck!”

In their eyes, it was not that a human life was involved, but rather that this was a ticket to wealth and prestige.

I was the sinner who had ruined their dreams.

They did not even bother to look at me.

My father turned around and grabbed my mother’s arm, and together they collapsed with a thud before Richard.

The impact sounded dull and heavy.

“Mr. Grant, I’m sorry! We’re so sorry!”

My father sobbed uncontrollably, snot and tears streaming as he shouted, “We failed to raise this monster! We cut all ties with him! From today on, this monster has nothing to do with our family!”

“Please, Mr. Grant, have mercy on us!”

Cut all ties…

Those words were as sharp as knives, driving deep into my chest.

I looked at my parents, kneeling in the dirt, pleading before a stranger.

Tears slipped down my face before I could stop them.

Richard’s gaze fell on my parents, kneeling desperately in front of him, but his eyes betrayed no emotion.