Investing in My Crippled Wife: Every Return Makes Me Stronger

’I don’t know the full story,’ Ethea continued. ’And I only saw him a few times throughout my life. But even during those rare moments, the depth of his hatred was unmistakable.’

Soren kept his gaze fixed on the stove, listening in silence.

’It was written all over his face. In his eyes. I did not need to know the details of his birth to understand that my very existence was a torment to him. And I was probably the person he despised the most.’

A bitter tremor rippled through the mental link.

’Because I was the pure-blooded child,’ she explained, her thoughts turning flat. ’I was the genius, the prodigy, the designated successor of the family. As a result, I received all the cultivation resources, the prestige, and the family’s affection. I had everything he was denied. In his eyes, that made me the living symbol of his misfortune.’

’...’

Soren fell silent.

He stared down at the stove, a strange feeling settling in his chest.

In a way, he and Julian shared a similar past. Their circumstances were mostly different, but the core of their experience was the same, as they had both been treated like ghosts, completely ignored by the people who should have cared for them.

He understood that suffocating neglect. He knew exactly what it felt like to exist in the shadows while everyone else basked in the light.

Because of that, he could understand why Julian felt that way. He could understand the deep resentment that built up over years of being treated like a non-person.

Yet, Soren also knew that Julian’s hatred was misplaced. Ethea had nothing to do with their father’s sins, nor did she choose to be born with the talent and status that Julian had been denied.

But to a broken mind locked in the dark, logic often did not matter.

Or perhaps Julian had simply recognized his own helplessness. He could never hope to touch their father; Darius was far too powerful, shielded by both his immense strength and his absolute authority. Ethea, however, had been a target within reach. As the golden child who possessed everything Julian had ever wanted, she became the perfect focus for all of his bottled-up rage. A mind broken by that kind of isolation simply needed someone to blame, and she was the most visible symbol of his misery.

And then, she had lost everything.

When Ethea was crippled and cast aside, Julian must have seen it as his ultimate moment. With her powers gone and the family no longer protecting her, she was finally vulnerable. To a mind that had festered in the dark for so long, it must have been the perfect opportunity to strike, to unleash years of silent torment, and to finally end her life in an act of desperate revenge.

Yet, Soren knew he couldn’t be entirely sure of this theory just yet. Ethea had mentioned that Calix might have had a hand in the attack, which meant Julian wasn’t acting completely alone. Moreover, the lingering suspicion in the back of his mind wouldn’t quiet down — he still suspected that Darius was the one ultimately pulling the strings behind everything.

’I wasn’t sure at first.’ Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait for long as Ethea soon continued her tale. ’When the assassin came, my condition was... terrible. I was in no state to process anything clearly, though those eyes... the hatred in them... they had seemed familiar to me even then.’

The mental link wavered, carrying a strange sense of vulnerability that Soren had never felt from her before.

’...And while I couldn’t move, I still could have called out for help, but the truth is, I didn’t even try to,’ she admitted. ’I simply stared up at the falling blade, utterly consumed by the feeling that this was my fate, and that perhaps I even deserved it.’

She paused, a soft tremor passing through their connection.

’But then... then you woke up and threw yourself at him. You saved me when I had already given up.’

Soren felt a tight ache in his chest. He hadn’t realized how close she had been to letting go entirely that night. He kept his gaze lowered, allowing her the space to pull herself back together.

The silence stretched for a few seconds before her voice returned, sounding much softer.

’I never had the chance to say it. And I know it is far too late now. But thank you, Soren. For saving my life... no... for bringing me back to life.’

Another pause followed, gentler this time.

’And I want to apologize. For how I treated you back then. I was cold, indifferent, and probably rude. You... did not deserve that.’

Soren gripped the handle of the wooden spoon, caught off guard by her sincerity.

’You don’t need to apologize for that,’ he quickly reassured her. ’Given everything you were going through, it was completely understandable.

In truth, he had never cared that much about her cold attitude or her lack of gratitude back then. He had only cared about keeping her alive.

’I know,’ Ethea replied. ’I... I just wanted to get it off my chest. And now I have said it, I feel a lot better.’

Soren smiled, genuinely glad that she was also being open with him about these things.

’So, when did you figure it out then?’

’...When my father visited us for the first time.’

’I see...’ Soren gave an internal nod, the missing pieces finally falling into place. ’Did he... say anything to you then? Telepathically, I mean?’

’Yes,’ she replied, a hollow note entering her mental voice. ’He told me: Please, forgive that fool.’

Beside the stove, Soren’s hands subconsciously clenched into tight fists.

Forgive? Really?

The guy had come into her room with a blade, intent on carving the life out of her while she lay there entirely defenseless. He had only been stopped because Soren had woken up in time to fight him off. Yet, her own father’s reaction to his daughter almost being killed was to ask her to let it go, brushing it aside to protect the son who had tried to kill her.

The man was truly a scumbag through and through.