Lavinia, who had stayed quiet in guilt until then, suddenly rushed forward the moment she saw Cedric struck.
“Phineas, stop it right now.”
I didn’t stop. Instead, I pressed harder, stomping down on the back of his hand.
“You might be mentally ill, but this is self-defense. I studied law, I know how to deal with you.”
As I pushed harder, Cedric screamed again and again in pain.
Lavinia rushed forward and shoved me aside. “Enough! I know you’re angry at me and taking it out on him. If you have something to vent, take it out on me. Don’t make things harder for him.”
When I still refused to move my foot, Lavinia grabbed a baseball bat and struck me on the head. Pain shot through me, and only then did I let go.
The moment she saw blood trickle down my forehead, she froze, realizing she had gone too far. She stepped forward, wanting to check my wound.
But Cedric clutched his arm and whimpered, “Is my hand broken?”
Then, with tears in his eyes, he added pitifully, “I knew it. Poor orphan, no one cares about me, not even a lonely man with an illness.”
With just those words, Lavinia’s attention shifted completely back to him.