It wasn’t that I looked down on their support, but the meager fifty dollars they provided each month barely scratched the surface of my needs, leaving me to scrape by day after day.
Later, I discovered that the Wallace family offered support to students like me for the sake of publicity, inflating expenses to lure in more business partners.
When I failed to respond, Caesar’s mother dragged me outside and seized a nearby stun baton, striking me sharply across the head.
With each blow, warmth trickled down my face. Just as I was about to beg for mercy, a pair of strong arms enveloped me in a familiar embrace.
The scent of smoke surrounded me, and Caesar said, irritation lacing his voice, “Enough! She’s my woman!”
Then, unexpectedly tender, he lifted me and placed me gently in the passenger seat. “Zelia, don’t you see? No one will ever love or care for you the way I do.”
As he reached for some rubbing alcohol to disinfect my wounds, the sight of Gaia’s personal stickers adorning the dashboard made me recoil in disgust.
I instinctively shifted away, earning a warning look from him. “Go apologize to Gaia. Act like none of this ever happened, and you’ll remain the lady of the Wallace family.”