“NO, DON’T!”
Celestia’s head snapped to the side at the sudden, desperate yell.
She blinked, then let out a low chuckle, tilting her head slightly.
“Ohhh… right. You’re here too.”
Her gaze settled on Olivia, the usual forced warmth gone. In its place was nothing but a chilling, cold indifference.
She had once played the role of someone kind, someone gentle because that’s what he valued. Lucian loved these people, despite everything. So, she had tolerated them. Smiled at them. Held back everything she wanted to say.
But now?
Now, she saw no reason to pretend.
They didn’t deserve his love.
And the best part? Lucian would never know.
He wouldn’t know how she truly spoke to them, how her facade melted away the second he was out of sight.
Not that she was lying. Every single word she was about to say was the truth.
And even if, by some miracle, they dared to tell him?
Like they’d even try.
Celestia turned her sharp, piercing gaze to Rose.
“You think you deserve him more?” Her voice was slow, deliberate, taunting. “Don’t forget you were one of the reasons he ended his own life.”
Rose flinched, her breath hitching.
“Did you forget?” Celestia took a step closer. “Huh? Because I sure as hell remember.”
Another step.
“When Lucian left, he didn’t leave as Lucian Kane… He left as just Lucian.”
Celestia’s words were razor-sharp, cutting through the room like a blade.
“He gave up the name Kane. The name that tied him to you people. He legally separated himself from you. Signed the damn papers.”
She tilted her head mockingly. “He must’ve hated the fact that he still died with you as his family.”
Rose’s hands trembled, her fingers curling into fists.
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you saying anything now?” Celestia’s smirk grew. “Where did all your arrogance go?”
She let out a short, bitter laugh before her eyes flicked to Olivia.
“you bitch” she sneered, her voice dripping with disgust. “You wanted the company all to yourself, didn’t you? Well, congratulations. You had it. How wonderful.”
Rose stiffened but said nothing.
“Lowly. Disgusting. Pathetic.” Celestia’s voice grew colder.
She exhaled slowly before shaking her head. “I don’t judge people by their words. I judge them by their actions. And your actions told me everything I needed to know about you people.”
She looking into Rose eyes, her eyes narrowing.
“You say you deserve him more? Then give me one reason why.”
Rose’s lips parted, but nothing came out.
Celestia scoffed. “Nothing? Figures.”
—
Rose was screaming inside.
“I didn’t want the company. I don’t need the wealth. I don’t please, take it all away.
I just want my Lucian back.”
But she didn’t say it.
She couldn’t.
Her body refused to let the words leave her mouth, trapping them inside her mind like a cruel punishment.
Her breathing became erratic. Her chest rose and fell in quick, shallow movements, her pulse hammering.
She thought she had healed from the past. Thought she had moved forward.
But here she was.
Drowning in it again.
—
Celestia took in her trembling form before her voice darkened even further.
“Oh, right.”
She crossed her arms, tapping her fingers against her elbow.
“His last wish was to not even let you into his funeral. Not even let you see his face.”
A wicked smirk formed.
“I remember that news. When his friends what were their names again?yeah, Garry and Jimmy. They didn’t let you in. They got to stand by his side, but you?”
She let out a cruel laugh. “You weren’t even allowed past the gate.”
The room felt suffocatingly heavy.
“He must’ve thought you didn’t deserve to be there. He didn’t even want you to see him one last time.”
Rose’s stomach twisted violently.
Celestia’s voice turned into a near whisper, yet it sounded deafening.
“That was his final message to you all.
That he didn’t love you.
Wouldn’t ever love you again.”
Her golden eyes gleamed with pure malice.
“If he had the chance… I think he would’ve hated you.”
—
“Celestia… don’t.”
Rose’s voice was barely above a whisper.
No screaming.
No cursing.
Just a quiet, broken plea.
Because at this point, physical pain would have been kinder than this.
Celestia’s words were suffocating her.
They hurt more than any blade could.
She felt like she was dying.
—
Celestia tilted her head.
“What now? You can’t take it?”
She let the silence stretch before exhaling.
“Tell me. What did you people ever do to deserve him?”
Her voice was laced with cold, emotionless fury.
And for once, neither Rose nor Olivia had an answer.
Celestia’s fists clenched at her sides.
Yes, she enjoyed hurting them. These people who had hurt her darling.
But the more she thought about what Lucian must have gone through to reach that point the loneliness, the despair, the sheer hopelessness her disgust grew.
Her rage burned hotter.
—
“Celestia, please… stop it I beg you.”
Olivia’s voice was soft, weak.
Celestia turned her head slowly, her lips curling in disgust as she saw Olivia’s eyes well up with tears.
“What… what’s with those crocodile tears?”
Her gaze darkened further.
If she had hated Rose, she despised Olivia even more.
She was supposed to be Lucian’s mother.
And yet, she had done those things to him.
“Disgusting.”
Celestia’s nails dug into her palms. She wanted to scream. To hit them. To kill them.
But she didn’t.
She forced herself to stay still.
“Believe me, the only reason I’m showing you any respect any mercy is because of Lucian. Because you are his mother.”
She took a step closer, her voice lowering to a near whisper.
“But if not for that? You’d be dead by now.”
Olivia covered her mouth, her entire body trembling as silent tears streamed down her face.
Celestia sneered.
“And yet, you still have the audacity to question me? To point fingers at me, saying I’m not good enough for him?”
Her glare snapped back to Rose.
“And you”
She stepped forward, pointing a sharp, accusing finger at her.
“You dare say you’re better for him than me? From what angle? Show me. Show me!”
Rose stuttered. “I… I… I”
Nothing.
Not a single word.
Celestia smirked. “Oh? Now you can’t even speak? Figures.”
—
A soft tap on her shoulder made her freeze.
She turned sharply.
Olivia stood there, her face soaked in tears, her expression filled with nothing but regret.
For the first time, she looked pathetic.
Celestia scoffed.
“Look, Miss Olivia.”
Her voice was eerily calm.
“I didn’t even want to waste my time talking to you. But you keep getting in between me and him.”
She exhaled, her voice dropping.
“Please. Stay in your limits.”
Olivia’s shoulders trembled, her breath coming in sharp, uneven gasps.
Her hands, shaking violently, clutched at her chest as if trying to hold herself together.
Her lips parted, but no words came. Just the sound of air struggling to pass through her throat.
Then
“I know…”
Her voice cracked, weak, broken.
“I was wrong…”
Tears spilled down her cheeks, her body collapsing under the weight of her own guilt.
“I get it…”
She shut her eyes tightly, shaking her head as if trying to block out the tormenting echoes of Celestia’s words.
“I KNOW!”
Her voice finally rose not in anger, not in defense, but in defeat.
“I KNOW VERY WELL THE HORRIBLE THINGS I HAVE DONE!”
And just like that
Olivia broke.
Her knees buckled, and she sank to the ground, her body wracked with sobs.
Her hands flew up to cover her face
She couldn’t look at Celestia anymore.
She couldn’t look at Rose.
She couldn’t even bear to look at herself.
Because everything Celestia said was true.
Every. Single. Word.
She was a horrible mother. She had abandoned him, had let him suffer alone, had been too blind, too selfish, too late to fix anything.
—–