The Male Lead isn't Following the Script! -
Chapter 213: The Past and The... Past
Chapter 213: The Past and The... Past
But Cassian didn’t flinch, his cold gaze locked onto Lucas. He would not let him get away with this.
Lucas groaned, trying to sit up despite the agony. "He’s... Insane," Lucas croaked, his voice shaky. "I’ve been wounded... Protecting Adeline, and he attacks me?"
Cassian’s jaw tightened, his grip on Adeline firm. "You think your lies will save you?" He said, his voice low and dangerous.
The professors looked between the two princes, their confusion growing. The scene was too chaotic, too conflicting to decipher easily.
Meanwhile, Adeline lay unconscious in Cassian’s arms, her expression twisted in distress. Trapped in her nightmares, she writhed slightly, her lips parting as though to speak, but no sound came out.
Her mind was a battlefield of its own. Dark, shadowy voices swirled around her, relentless in their torment.
"You’re a disgrace."
"Pathetic."
"An insult to the Kendrick name."
The words cut deep, echoing the scorn the real Adeline had endured in her past. They weren’t directed at her but the original owner of the body she now inhabited. Yet, the venom in the voices felt personal, as though they were reaching through time and space to find her.
"Your brothers don’t need you. Your father is ashamed of you. How unlucky they are to be related to someone as hateful as you."
"You should have died, not Elizabeth. What a pathetic child, always causing trouble."
The hateful remarks surrounded her like a suffocating fog, and no matter how hard she tried to push them away, they persisted, clawing at her resolve.
Her chest tightened, and a wave of panic surged through her. She looked down and gasped. She was no longer her usual self; her body had shrunk. Tiny hands, trembling with fear, clenched into fists. She had become a five-year-old again.
Before she could process the transformation, shadowy figures began to emerge from the darkness. They towered over her, faceless yet undeniably menacing, their forms radiating hostility. The air grew colder, and heavier, as whispers began to fill the void.
They were never-ending. They wanted to drown her.
"Useless."
"Pathetic."
"An embarrassment."
The words sliced through her like icy blades. Adeline’s legs shook violently. She tried to take a step back, but her small body stumbled, her footing unsteady. She clutched at her chest, gasping for air, but her voice refused to work. No scream, no cry, not even a whimper escaped her lips.
The figures inched closer, their whispers growing louder and more vicious. Their voices melded into a cacophony of insults, each word striking her like a physical blow.
"Your brothers would be better off without you."
"Your father wishes you didn’t exist."
"Why don’t you disappear already?"
Adeline felt tears streaming down her cheeks. Her hands flew to her ears, pressing against them in a desperate attempt to block out the cruel voices. Her tiny frame trembled, and her eyes darted around, searching for an escape.
And then, she saw it—a faint glimmer of light in the distance. It flickered, weak and fragile, but it was enough to spark a sliver of hope in her heart. She didn’t know where it led, but she had to try. Anything was better than this suffocating darkness.
With her hands still firmly clamped over her ears, she willed her legs to move. One shaky step forward, then another. The light seemed so far away, but Adeline forced herself to run, stumbling and tripping over her small feet. The dark figures shouted after her, their voices laced with anger and malice, but she didn’t look back.
As she ran, the darkness began to shift. The light ahead grew brighter, and the oppressive weight of the void lessened. For a moment, she thought she had escaped. Relief flooded her chest, and her legs carried her faster toward the warmth of the light.
But just as she reached the edge of the darkness, a voice stopped her in her tracks.
"We never wanted you. Just live silently and stop disturbing us."
Adeline froze. Her blood turned cold, and her heart sank into her stomach. That voice... It was her father’s.
Not the father from this world. No, this was the voice of her real father, from her life in the modern world.
The words echoed in her mind, each one tearing into her like claws. She turned slowly, her small body trembling, and saw the outline of her father standing in the shadows. His face was expressionless, cold, and distant, just as she remembered.
"I don’t care, Adeline. Do whatever you want."
Another voice joined in, softer but no less painful. Her mother.
Adeline’s vision blurred with tears as memories she had tried to bury came rushing back. She remembered how much she had loved doing artsy hobbies as a child, spending hours painting, crafting, and creating little trinkets. She had poured her heart into them, hoping to make her parents proud, to earn a word of praise or even a smile.
But her mother never cared.
Adeline had presented her creations with a hopeful grin, waiting anxiously for her mother’s reaction. Instead, she was met with indifference. Her mother barely glanced at the gifts before setting them aside, as though they were a nuisance.
"Why are you bothering me with this?" Her mother had said once, her tone clipped. "I’m busy."
Adeline’s small shoulders had sagged with disappointment, but she hadn’t given up. She had tried again and again, creating more intricate and thoughtful pieces, each one a labour of love. But the reaction was always the same.
The memory played out before her like a scene in a film, vivid and cruel. Her father sitting at the dining table, engrossed in his work, barely acknowledging her presence. Her mother brushed past her without so much as a glance.
Why are you even here?
The words weren’t spoken aloud, but Adeline felt them all the same.
The dark figures began to reappear, surrounding her once more. But this time, their voices were joined by her parents’ words, the echoes of her childhood pain blending seamlessly with the shadows’ insults.
"You’re not good enough."
"You’re a burden."
"Why don’t you just disappear?"
Adeline dropped to her knees, her small hands still clutching her ears as she rocked back and forth. She wanted to scream, to tell them they were wrong, but the words caught in her throat. She was suffocating under the weight of their judgment, their rejection.
The light that had once seemed so close now felt impossibly far away. She stared at it, tears streaming down her face, and felt an overwhelming urge to give up. What was the point? No matter where she went, no matter which life she lived, she would always be unwanted.
But then, something stirred within her.
Adeline closed her eyes, forcing herself to take a deep, shuddering breath. She thought of the life she had now, the people she had met. Cassian’s rare moments of kindness. Dimitri’s unwavering loyalty. The moments of triumph she had achieved on her own, without anyone’s help.
Her friends... Her father and brothers... She could almost hear her father’s laughter, rich and warm, as he hoisted her onto his broad shoulders. She used to squeal in delight, feeling like she could touch the clouds. He would walk around the estate, pretending she was a queen ruling over her tiny kingdom.
Alaric... Whenever her favourite desserts were served, he’d quietly set hers aside, he would even sacrifice his share for her! They knew that the chef would whip up more if she requested it, but he did it anyway.
It was his way of showing love. She remembered the way he’d ruffle her hair when she thanked him, pretending it was no big deal.
Aaron... Together, they’d embark on grand "adventures," he would call her a gremlin but he would follow her anyway. If she was going to get into some trouble, he had to be there to get her out of it.
This isn’t real, these visions are not real! She told herself, her voice trembling but firm. This is just a nightmare. It can’t hurt me anymore.
The warmth in her chest grew stronger, spreading through her small body. She forced herself to her feet, her legs still shaking but steady enough to hold her.
Adeline opened her eyes and glared at the shadowy figures.
"You’re wrong," she said, her voice small but defiant. "I’m not useless. I’m not a burden. And I won’t let you control me."
The figures recoiled, their forms flickering like dying flames. The light ahead grew brighter, and Adeline took a step toward it. Then another.
With each step she took, the darkness began to recede, the shadows dissolving into nothingness. The voices faded, their hateful words losing their power.
When she finally reached the light, it enveloped her completely, its warmth washing over her like a soothing balm. The oppressive weight lifted, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, she could breathe.
Adeline opened her eyes, and the nightmare was gone.
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