Chapter 3The Price of Your Redemption

The next day, after being released from the station, I headed to the hospital to get my cuts patched up.

Her parents had cried their eyes dry. Clara's mother clutched my hand tightly, sobbing as she poured out her heartache.

A pang of bitterness tightened in my chest.

"She's our only daughter, Leo. We spoiled her rotten. We gave her the absolute best of everything, and this is what she turns into?"

"If she fell for a decent guy, fine! But why does it have to be a lowlife criminal?"

"I heard that scumbag was arrested for harassing girls before! He is an absolute monster!"

"And do you know what Clara said? She said those girls must have thrown themselves at him! I couldn't believe those disgusting words came out of my own daughter's mouth!"

"What kind of poison did he feed her? How did she turn into this complete stranger in just a few months?"

I let out a soft sigh and kept my mouth shut.

In this life, there was no way I was throwing myself into the fire to rescue her. I wasn't that noble.

Auntie shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Leo, your uncle and I watched you grow up. You and Clara were inseparable. We always prayed that if you two ended up together, we could finally rest easy."

"Turns out our Clara just isn't blessed enough for someone like you."

Clara lay in the hospital bed, fretting only over Marcus's injuries.

"This is all your fault, Leo! Why did you beat Marcus so badly? Do you have any idea that you knocked two of his teeth out?"

"I never realized you were such a vicious bastard!"

I was left speechless. "Clara, if I hadn't fought back, the one lying in that hospital bed right now wouldn't be Marcus—it would be your father."

Her father was trembling with fury, breathing heavily.

"You ungrateful little brat! If Leo hadn't kicked that thug off me, that animal would have cracked my skull open with a bottle!"

"What happened to you? Your own father was almost beaten to death, and you're blaming us for defending ourselves?!"

Clara rolled over in bed, waving a dismissive hand.

"Who told you not to introduce yourself? Did you bother telling him you were my dad? No, you didn't! So what right do you have to blame him?"

"He told me he'd let it slide this once. But if you pull that crap again, don't blame him for being ruthless! If it weren't for me, you'd both be in a body bag right now!"

"I'm an adult. Who I date and how I live my life is my choice. It has nothing to do with either of you."

Clara began sobbing, complaining that the atmosphere at home was suffocating, that she had no freedom, that she was treated like a puppet on strings.

No freedom?

Because they wouldn't let her hang out with street creeps? Because they asked her to be home by nine and forbade her from sleeping over at shady places?

Her parents' genuine love and protection were, in her twisted eyes, chains holding her back.

Every lecture and plea from friends and family fell on deaf ears.

She accused her parents of being shallow, judgmental, narrow-minded, and stubbornly old-fashioned toward Marcus.

I stepped back and kept my distance, refusing to utter a single word about her relationship.

I wasn't about to give her an excuse to direct her venom at me again.

Predictably, her parents grounded her and locked her inside the house.

Just like in my previous life, she launched into a hunger strike, making sure the entire neighborhood knew about her misery.

Only this time, I stayed completely out of it.

I simply stood on the sidelines, silently watching the circus unfold.