LUNA ASTERBELLE’s POV
Jerome kept his mouth shut for the succeeding minutes after he concluded the story about our past, which I have forgotten by force. “I still don’t understand why my parents hate you that much. There’s no clear explanation and I guess you’re also confused,” I spoke to break the silence between us. “Though… I’m really curious now…” I placed both of my hands above my thighs that were crossed.
He only raised a brow to imply that I should continue what I wanted to say.
I formed a tiny smile. “Why did you reject me if you actually knew the truth about us being bound by the moon goddess? It’s not like your memories were erased just like how mine was.”
Jerome slightly bowed his head at the same time that he sighed. “Althea is my mother as you already heard. That alone hinders me from getting you closer into my arms, since she was the one who gave you the curse,” he coldly answered.
“Couldn’t you have fought for our sake?” I asked, my voice almost cracked. I bit my lip to protect myself from the risk of randomly bursting into tears. Jerome was literally staring at me with no expression on neither his face nor his eyes. “Ah, damn… Forget that I even bothered to ask that one.”
I managed to get out of his house and yet, he didn’t even dare to follow me. I could sense his aura which was left at the same spot from where I left him, which means to say that he didn’t move away at all.
Jerome might be serious about the condition that he told me beforehand. He’s already making sure that my entire presence was ignored. I shook my head because of how immature he has become. I liked his version as a bully than this current one who plans to treat me as a mere stranger.
I made up my mind that I’ll head back to the mafia’s turf and proceed with my next training sessions, so I can keep myself occupied. “Eh? I have no other training tasks left to accomplish?” I questioned in surprise.
Joseph nodded his head once. “That’s what they informed me.”
“So, what business do you have with the mafias?” I asked, in an attempt to not let our conversation run dry.
His eyes were still empty; Joseph most probably was still mourning over the loss of his mate.
He shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing in particular. I was waiting for you, I guess?” I raised a brow in confusion, which led him to continue speaking. “Mr. Asterbelle was worried about you, so he told me to keep watch of this place in hopes that I’d find you here.”
“And now that you’ve found me, what do you plan to do?”
Joseph sighed, then grabbed me by the edge of my shirt. “I’m taking you back with me to Alpha Asterbelle. You’re grounded for an entire week, Luna.”
Furious as I was, I had no choice other than to follow him towards his vehicle. Making me grounded for days only proved how much Mr. Asterbelle was worried about me and Jerome having successful rendezvouses.
I knew that he wouldn’t even care about my own safety… so why did I even expect that he actually began to realize that he needs to change his attitude towards his daughter?
Fortunately, despite everything that happened to me thus far, I'm still grateful to be alive.
However…
"Luna Asterbelle, just how much more are you going to defy me?" Mr. Asterbelle asked with such ferocity.
Living might be meaningless with this type of parents. This thought kept on circling around my head, which made me believe that dying wouldn't be so bad at all.
I bowed my head to give the littlest bit of respect that I have left for him. “Mr. Asterbelle, I sincerely apologize for running off on my own back there. It won’t happen again,” I said, trying my best not to stutter.
“This surely can’t occur for the second time as I would be locking you inside your room. You’re the one who brought this upon yourself, Luna Asterbelle. No words would make me change my decision anymore.”
Shivering through the depths of my soul, I was tormented with my father’s choice.
Why can’t they choose to let me be? Why can’t they have faith in me? Why don’t they ever consider the things that would definitely make me happy at least for once in a while?
I clenched both of my fists tightly to lessen the frustration that I had to endure on my own. I didn’t even notice when Joseph stood in front of me to keep me out of my father’s reach. “J-Joseph… You don’t have to do this,” I whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.
“What do you think you are doing right now, Joseph?” Mr. Asterbelle probably didn’t expect the doctor either to step up for me. “Did the death of your beloved mate get stuck in your brain, to the point that you’re willingly going to sacrifice yourself for my daughter’s survival?”
Joseph clicked his tongue. “With all due respect, Alpha Asterbelle, calling Luna as your daughter doesn’t seem to be righteous at all. You’re not even trying to act as her father. I suggest you let her roam with freedom instead, with consideration to how you made her a helpless rogue.”
An intense aura filled with rage continuously flowed out from Mr. Asterbelle.
“This isn’t going to be great…” I mumbled in fear of what my father could do once he got pushed to his limits. “Joseph, run!”
My reaction time was slow. I should’ve just kicked him with all my might to force him to get out of the way, rather than shouting to warn him. Joseph’s body was already crushed to the ground as cracks formed on his surroundings.
I swore to myself that I wouldn’t let him suffer more than his current state, for my friend Andrea's sake as well, and yet… why?
Why couldn’t I move towards his direction to assist him in standing back up on his own feet?