Chapter 130

Chapter 130

Sofia Bliss.
After I arrived at Adrian’s house with my father, everything felt… suspended.
As if none of it had actually passed.
As if it were all still sitting there, pressing against my skin.
Like everything that happened that night hadn’t turned into just a memory—
It became something much worse.
Something that lodged itself inside me like a living, cruel nightmare, pulsing, consuming me little by little.
Because the truth I thought I had finally uncovered…
Was a lie built by someone.
A bloody, painful illusion Andrew crafted.
And all of it… was to save me.
That was the terrible part.
I went to the bathroom and as soon as the water fell on me... I stood there... I took the loofah and rubbed my body, for a long time.
I took a shower for hours. Truly hours.
Hot water running over me, burning my skin, my hands aching every time I scrubbed—
my arms, my neck, my chest—until everything was red,
as if I could wash off not only the blood that had splattered over me,
but also the memory of it.
But it didn’t matter.
It didn’t work.
No matter what I did, I still felt his blood stuck to me—
that dry, sticky texture between my fingers,
that sensation that wouldn’t go away.
Two days had passed, and even then, sometimes in the middle of the night,
I would stare at my hands and swear they were still dirty.
And then I cried.
Quietly.
Because screaming didn’t change anything.
Nothing I did could undo what I had done.
All that Council mess,
that throne,
those sick people—
Why did they need that?
Why that twisted pleasure in destroying people, in forcing them to choose between surviving and losing everything?
I tried to understand, but it made no sense.
Maybe it wasn’t supposed to.
Possibly that was simply their true nature.
And there was still the other problem—
the dinner at the Hines’ house.
The day was getting close.
I was still trying to glue myself together when Adrian was already acting.
He knew—
we knew—
that it could only be a trap.
There were no doubts left.
But Letícia was in the middle of it.
And that changed everything.
We had to go for her.
Any mistake could cost her life.
I knew I needed to stay calm,
think before doing anything reckless.
I couldn’t explode like I had with Andrew.
He had done everything on purpose, but for a noble reason…
The Hines wouldn’t act that way.
And one wrong move from me would be the end of my cousin.
Friday arrived, and it was lunchtime.
I was sitting at the table with my father and Adrian, and, strangely, the conversation flowed.
No awkwardness.
No uncomfortable silence.
Adrian talked about the company, some logistical issues,
And my father asked questions—curious, genuinely interested.
I watched the two of them.
And for the first time after everything that had happened,
I felt something different.
Relief.
Maybe… happiness.
It was a strange feeling.
It almost felt wrong to feel it.
Part of me wanted to hold onto that moment,
to record it as something good.
Another part reminded me that none of that would be happening if my mother hadn’t died—
if I hadn’t been dragged into that world.
The price had been far too high.
I think Adrian noticed when my head lowered.
When I stopped eating.
“Are you okay?” he asked, with that careful tone that had already become a habit.
I was about to answer when his phone rang.
He stared at the screen for a few seconds… and ignored it.
The phone rang again.
Even on silent, the vibration against the table filled the air.
The mood shifted instantly.
I felt it.
My father felt it.
Adrian was avoiding the call on purpose.
“Aren’t you going to answer?” I asked, trying to sound casual.
Adrian sighed, wiped his mouth with the napkin, and stood up, trying to look natural.
“I’ll be right back.”
But his tone said he didn’t want to answer.
Not at all.
Yet he went anyway.
When he left, it was just me and my father at the table.
And somehow, the conversation continued.
Normal.
Almost like… normal families.
Something I hadn’t had since before my mother died.
I was still a little out of it when he said, suddenly:
“Your boyfriend is… interesting.”
I choked.
Seriously choked.
Coughed, hit my chest, nearly died trying to breathe again.
“What, Dad?!”
He laughed.
A light, genuine laugh.
One I hadn’t heard in a long time.
I felt my face heat up.
I know—ridiculous.
I wasn’t a child anymore, but I’d never talked about this kind of thing with him.
Never.
“You like him,” my father said, more as a statement than a question.
I looked away.
“It’s complicated.”
He nodded, understanding.
Then everything shifted.
The smile disappeared.
His eyes turned serious.
I knew he wanted to talk about something important.
“Sofia…” he began. “Are you sure you’re okay? That you’re prepared?”
I lifted my head.
“Prepared for…?”
He finished the sentence for me:
“For what you are now. For how things will be from now on.”
He didn’t need to explain.
I knew exactly what he meant.
“This world isn’t like the human one,” he continued. “Here, people kill and die over almost nothing. You can’t hesitate. You can’t expect mercy.”
I took a deep breath.
“I know.”
“No,” he insisted gently. “You need to be sure.”
I thought of Andrew.
Of the blood.
Of his eyes before he died.
I thought of my mother.
Of my father almost lost.
Of Letícia missing.
“I… am ready,” I said, steady.
“I’m not going to die. I won’t let them do to me what they did to Mom. I’m not going to live running, hiding… I’m going to make them pay.”
He watched me for long seconds.
“Even if that means I have to kill them all,” I continued, my voice low. “I won’t accept being the victim of this story anymore.”
My father closed his eyes for a moment.
When he opened them, there was sadness there—
but also pride.
“Then you understand,” he said.
“That is the only way to live in this world.”