Chapter 71 Unlucky Fate
Nolan's POV
My grandmother's sharp voice had just declared that Elara cursed me, but before I could even process that small mercy of someone taking my side, my father's voice cut through the tension with unexpected firmness. "Elara said Nolan has terrible luck, so he definitely has terrible luck."
I watched in shock as my grandmother's face froze, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly like she couldn't believe her own son had just contradicted her so bluntly in front of the entire family.
Alpha Sebastian's voice came next, calm and measured but carrying undeniable authority that made everyone in the room straighten their postures instinctively. "Mother, Edwin is right. Elara's judgment wouldn't be wrong."
Grandmother's hands trembled on the armrests of her wheelchair as she stared at her two sons who had just publicly sided against her, her lips quivering with words that wouldn't come out, her breathing becoming shallow and rapid.
My father turned to Elara then, and his voice actually softened with something that sounded almost like pleading. "Elara, could you help Nolan? If this is about him being disrespectful to you before, I promise I'll beat him properly myself to make it up to you."
The casual way he offered to punish me as payment for her help made my stomach turn with rage and humiliation that burned through my chest like acid. But before I could say anything, before I could protest this degrading negotiation, James's cold voice interrupted.
"My brother wants someone's help, can't he ask for it himself? Dad, this is moral blackmail."
Alpha Sebastian's eyes fixed on me with an intensity that made my skin crawl, his expression unreadable but somehow carrying weight that pressed down on my shoulders. "James is right. Nolan is an adult now. Whether he should ask for help or not should be his own decision."
The air felt thick enough to choke on as every single person in that room turned their attention back to me, waiting for me to make a choice that I knew would define how they all saw me going forward.
The pressure crushed down on my chest until I could barely breathe, and my mind raced desperately for any way out of this impossible situation that wouldn't destroy what little dignity I had left.
Aurora's face flashed through my thoughts, the way she'd taken care of me so gently at the manor when I was sick, the soft concern in her voice when she told me that Elara held hostility toward her, that the Sterling family treated her unfairly and she had no one to rely on.
If I bowed my head to Elara now, what would Aurora think? Would she believe I'd betrayed her, sided with someone who made her life miserable?
More importantly, Aurora was already under suspicion because of those dolls, already isolated and vulnerable with everyone questioning her intentions. If I asked Elara for help now, wouldn't that be the same as admitting those accusations were true? Wouldn't I be pushing Aurora into an even more desperate position where she had no allies left?
"I don't need her help." The words came out harsh and stubborn, my jaw clenched so tight it ached and my teeth grinding together painfully. "There are plenty of magic practitioners out there. I can find someone else."
My father's face turned an alarming shade of purple-red with fury as he took two long strides toward me, his hand coming up to slap the side of my head with enough force to make my vision blur and stars dance across my eyes. "Are you sick in the head? There's a master right here and you refuse!"
The sharp crack of his palm connecting with my skull echoed through the living room, and my head snapped to the side from the impact, pain radiating through my temple. I was still processing the stinging sensation when my throat suddenly constricted without warning, cutting off my breath completely.
The coughing fit that seized me was unlike anything I'd experienced before, violent and uncontrollable, making my entire body convulse as I bent forward trying desperately to catch my breath that wouldn't come. My face felt like it was on fire, burning hot and tight as tears streamed from my eyes involuntarily, blurring my vision.
Each cough tore through my chest like it was trying to rip my lungs out through my throat, the sound raw and desperate in the silent room.
Every single person was staring at me as I struggled and gasped, watching me fall apart in the most humiliating way possible while I choked and sputtered. The coughing seemed to go on forever, each breath a battle I was losing badly, my chest heaving with the effort.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity of suffocating panic, the fit began to subside. I straightened up slowly with my chest heaving as I gulped down air greedily, my ears burning with shame that spread down my neck like wildfire. My whole body trembled with the aftershocks, weak and exhausted.
Elara's voice cut through my gasping breaths, calm and detached as if she was commenting on the weather rather than my complete breakdown. "He just choked on his own saliva. Unlucky people experience this frequently."
The casual dismissal in her tone made the humiliation ten times worse, my head dropping lower as the red flush spread from my ears down to my collar and beyond. My chest felt tight not just from the coughing but from the crushing weight of shame and fear that settled over me like a suffocating blanket pressing down.
Was I really so unlucky that I couldn't even swallow my own spit without choking myself half to death in front of my entire family?
Elara's POV
The expectant silence that followed Nolan's coughing fit was heavy with unspoken demands as every face in the room turned toward me, clearly waiting for me to offer some miraculous solution to his obvious misfortune that had just been so dramatically displayed.
I kept my expression neutral and my voice matter-of-fact when I spoke, not bothering to soften the blow. "I can't help him."
The disappointment that rippled through the room was almost palpable, faces falling and shoulders slumping, but I wasn't lying or being deliberately unhelpful. What I'd observed in Nolan's aura during his humiliating display wasn't something I could fix with standard luck restoration techniques or simple cleansing rituals.
His life force had been severely depleted, drained away in substantial amounts that left his entire energy system weakened and unstable. That kind of extraction would naturally cause his fortune to plummet, creating a cascading effect of bad luck and misfortune. This wasn't natural degradation or simple bad karma accumulating over time, this was deliberate siphoning executed by someone who knew exactly what they were doing and how to drain a person's vital energy without leaving obvious traces.
Damian's attention sharpened immediately beside me, his body angling slightly in my direction as his voice dropped to a low murmur that only I could hear over the disappointed muttering. "What's wrong? What did you see?"
I glanced at him briefly before returning my focus to Nolan's hunched figure, considering how much to reveal in front of this audience where every word would be analyzed and weaponized.
"Nolan's fortune has a deficit that's causing his current downturn in luck," I said clearly enough for everyone to hear, watching their faces shift from confusion to concern as they processed my words. "But it's not a natural decline. His luck appears to have been maliciously stolen."
Aurora's face went absolutely white at those words, the color draining so quickly I thought she might actually faint and collapse right there. Her hands gripped the wheelchair handles with enough force to make her knuckles stand out sharply against her skin, trembling visibly.
I continued with my explanation, keeping my tone clinical and educational rather than accusatory. "Usually this kind of theft happens through gifted objects, things like dolls or toys that the victim handles frequently. The object absorbs traces of their energy and aura over time, and when it's taken away, it carries a portion of their fortune with it." I paused deliberately, letting that sink in while watching Aurora's reaction. "That stolen fortune can't be recovered."
The implication hung in the air like a bomb waiting to explode, and I watched Aurora's expression crumble into something that looked genuinely terrified, her eyes wide and her breathing becoming shallow and rapid as panic set in.
Nolan's voice came out defensive and sharp, his earlier humiliation clearly making him aggressive and combative. "I haven't had my fortune stolen by any doll! That's ridiculous!"
But James's voice cut through his denial with sudden realization, his eyes widening. "Nolan might not have been the victim, but he definitely has dolls!"
He turned to look directly at Aurora with accusation, his finger pointing at her dramatically. "Aurora gave him dolls!"
Every head in the room swiveled toward Aurora in perfect synchronization.