The Illegitimate Flame: Bride of Ashes
Chapter 78- Cruel

Chapter 78: Chapter 78- Cruel

Every time August’s name was mentioned, Charles couldn’t help but explode with anger. Janet had seen him lose his temper before, but this time, seeing the murderous rage burning in his eyes, her heart ached deeply.

"Charles, please don’t do this," Janet pleaded, standing protectively in front of August, never taking her eyes off Charles. Right now, Charles needed her comfort more than anyone—but she was focused entirely on August. Was this really the woman he loved?

Charles looked at Janet, shielding August with such care, and felt his heart shatter. He had promised never to hurt her, so he forced himself to hold back the urge to strike August. Instead, he roughly grabbed Janet and dragged her out of the suffocating tea room.

August didn’t say a word. He just watched coldly as Janet was pulled away. Anger boiled inside him—he wanted to fight back. For the first time, he wasn’t just wearing his usual cold expression or looking down on Charles with contempt. No one looked down on him—except for the Elwin family. And Charles was the worst of them all.

"You’re in love with him? Why are you always on his side?" Charles shoved Janet against his desk. Her waist accidentally hit the sharp edge, and pain flashed across her face, but Charles didn’t notice.

"How can you say that to me?" Janet choked back the pain—whether it was physical or from his words, her eyes reddened with hurt and confusion.

"Then how am I supposed to take it? You married me, Philip. You’re mine. So when did you start favoring an outsider?" Charles’s mind replayed the image of them holding each other earlier, and his heart felt like it had been run over by a truck.

"Outsider? You don’t even treat him like family. Do you know how miserable August is?" Janet’s voice was filled with righteous anger. Derrick’s cruelty, Charles’s coldness—even Philip, usually so indifferent, had never once mentioned his cousin August.

"Miserable? Do you think August is more miserable than me, Philip?" Charles suddenly lunged at Janet, gripping her frail body tightly. Yet despite his rage, he looked at her with something softer and simply pulled her into a fierce embrace—he couldn’t bring himself to hurt her.

He was losing his mind. How could he ever harm Janet? Instead, August would pay—a thousand times worse than Philip’s pain.

"What does any of this have to do with Philip? Do you even know what he went through in America? Charles, why do you hate him so much? August is the real victim!" Janet had wanted to tell Charles about August’s tragic past for a long time. Now, she was desperate to stop this family from tearing itself apart. She had to make Charles see how cruel Derrick had been to August.

"The shadows in his heart have long exceeded what any normal man could bear. He... he was hurt badly when he was in America..." Janet’s voice trembled as she reluctantly revealed August’s tragic past. But Charles didn’t react with the shock she had expected. Instead, he looked at her with a strange, unfamiliar expression.

"He told you? You two are that close now? He’d actually tell you something like that?" Charles’s voice was laced with disbelief.

"No, Charles..." Janet shook her head, confused by his cold calmness and the way he misunderstood her intentions. She felt nothing but pity and sorrow for August.

"Do you really think I’d believe that?" Charles reached out, his finger lifting her smooth chin, eyes dark and wickedly cold.

"No man would joke about something so serious, about his dignity. It’s true. It was all arranged by your father, Charles. You should treat August better!" Janet tried to meet his gaze but found herself instinctively leaning back. Her soft body hit the crystal surface of his desk just as Charles suddenly lifted her up, seating her firmly on the edge. His hands pressed down beside her, and his breath warmed the side of her ear.

"So what if it’s true? He’s fine now, isn’t he?" Charles whispered in her ear, but the concern shining in Janet’s eyes was for another man. His hand slid to her waist, tightening with a sharper grip.

Did his warning mean nothing to her? Every time it came to August, he could feel his fury ignite.

Even if Janet’s words were facts, he simply sneered them away. Derrick’s ruthless tactics against August—he saw nothing wrong with that!

"How can you say that? How can you treat him like this? It’s too cruel!" Janet’s voice cracked, unable to accept his coldness. Charles had always been ruthless, but aside from her, his heart was as hard as ice for everyone else.

She had imagined that Charles would be shocked, guilty, conflicted when he learned the truth. But never did she expect him to react with such cold indifference.

"Cruel? Janet, what if I told you that my leg—Philip’s leg—is broken because of him? Would you still pity August then?"

Charles’s words hit Janet like a blow. Her wide eyes locked onto Charles’s averted face, refusing to blink.

"How... how could it be like this?"

Janet knew Philip’s leg wasn’t crippled from birth. It was from a car accident six years ago. And August left the country six years ago as well. Could it be...?

"He only suffered some scratches. But I, Philip, have been confined to a wheelchair for six years. Tell me, who do you think is more pitiful?" Charles’s lips brushed against Janet’s cheek. But she felt nothing but icy cold—no warmth, no tenderness, not even a shred of emotion.

His kiss traced her cheek, her eyes, her nose—before finally capturing her trembling lips. His tongue parted her teeth, swirling around her soft pink tongue in a possessive, intimate kiss. But instead of comfort, Janet felt her chest fill with a suffocating heaviness.

It was like being trapped in that fire ten years ago—all around her were blazing red flames, thick smoke choking her lungs. She struggled to breathe.

Only when Janet clung to his clothes like a drowning woman did Charles finally release her. The long, pent-up kiss was over, and Janet gasped for air, holding onto his shoulders.

She had never realized the depth of hatred between them. It all made sense now—there were reasons behind it all.

"Why? Why..." Janet’s eyes blurred with tears the size of beans, threatening to spill at any moment. Her heart felt like it had been twisted inside out. How much more was he carrying—things she didn’t even know about?