Chapter 134 CHAPTER 134
Chapter 134 CHAPTER 134
“What are you doing here?” he demands, shocked out of his mind. For a quick second, he looks around his surroundings to receive curious glances from the camera crew and other workers on the set. He turns his head back to his mother and sister. “How did you know I’m here?”
“What?” his mother starts. “Are we not allowed to know where you are now? After abandoning us.”
Soren’s mouth drops open like a fish out of water. “What? What the fuck are you talking about?” he demands, and from the corner of his eye, he sees the little crowd that has gathered to watch the scene while a wicked look flashes in his mother’s eyes.
“Don’t you use that foul language with me!” His mother’s voice screeches, deliberately loud enough for everyone around them to hear. She dabs at the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief, putting on the performance of a lifetime while Iris stands beside her, looking down at her shoes as if that’s what she was told to do.
His mother continues in her act. “You sold yourself to some wealthy Enigma, moved into a palace, and completely turned your back on the family that raised you? We had to find out from the news that you were engaged, Soren!”
Soren’s blood runs ice-cold as the hushed whispers of the crew begin to ripple through the room, and he can swear he saw someone taking a picture. What sick game is his mother playing now?
He steps closer. “What the fuck are you doing?”
She looks at him dead in the eyes. “Are you scared that the world is going to know the truth that you turned your back on your sick sister and left her for death at the hospital?"
Soren’s mouth hits the floor, and this time, Iris lifts her head to look at her mother.
“Mom—” the little girl starts, but the woman cuts her off, her voice rising as he proceeds to say.
“You left us with nothing, Soren! You let your own blood starve while you live in a mansion, parading around like you’re some prince! You’re a monster!”
“That’s enough!” Soren snaps, his eyes blazing with anger while his hand clenches into a fist at his side. “Is this your new scheme to get more money out of m—” His words get cut off when her palm strikes his face in a slap, earning a gasp from those watching.
Soren's head snaps to the side before he slowly looks back at her to see tears rolling down her face, and soon, she’s breaking into tears, pointing at his face and throwing more insults about how ungrateful and cruel he is. Where is Monroe when he needs him?
“You shameless, ungrateful brat!” his mother howls, her hand pressed dramatically against her chest as she weaponizes her fake tears for the audience. “I gave you a home! I fed you! And the moment you catch the eye of a billionaire, you discard us like trash! You let poor Iris suffer without her treatment!”
“Mom, stop! That’s not true!” Iris suddenly cries out, her small voice breaking as she desperately grabs her mother’s arm. “Soren gave us everything! He paid for—”
“Shut your mouth, Iris!” the woman snarls, snatching her arm back so violently that the little girl stumbles. She turns back to Soren, her eyes gleaming with pure malice. “He’s going to pay for what he’s done to us. Everyone will know what kind of parasite Reign Montgomery is keeping in his bed! The whole world will know what you are today, Soren.”
Soren’s vision blurs, and he opens his mouth to speak, to defend himself, but the air in his lungs completely freezes as a crushing weight slams into his chest. Suddenly, Soren’s chest heaves and his breathing comes out extremely fast as he sees the judging gaze of the people around them.
Tears sting in his eyes. “Why are you doing this? Why did you have to drag Iris into this? You think this is fun?!” he yells loudly.
She gasps dramatically, placing her hand over her chest, and then points at his face. “Look at how he screams at his own mother!” she shrieks to the crowd, her fingers trembling. “You see? The moment he got a taste of luxury, he lost his mind! He treats us like scum on his shoes!” She steps closer and pushes him hard on the chest, and Soren loses his balance and drops to the floor while she hovers over him before squatting to his level while Soren stays unmoving, his brain still unable to comprehend everything that’s happening.
Suddenly, she moves her face closer to him, a smile stretching on her lips as she moves to his ear and then whispers in the lowest voice. “I’m going to strip you of everything you owe, Soren, but I can stop all of this as long as you agree to my plan. We’ll be rich for the rest of our li—”
Soren doesn't let her finish that sentence as he pushes her off him violently, and she ends up crashing to the floor, a gasp leaving her and the crowd.
“Did you all see that! He just assaulted his own mother!” she shrieks at the top of her lungs, scrambling back onto her hands and knees while pointing a dramatic, trembling finger at Soren. Tears spill over her cheeks on cue as she plays the broken, abused victim for the gasping onlookers. “He’s out of his mind! He’s dangerous!”
Soren stays collapsed on the cold floor, his chest heaving as hyperventilation tears through his throat, and just then Monroe shows up, and he’s not alone as guards trail behind him. His jaw locks as his gaze drops on the woman.
“Take her and the little girl away,” he orders, and instantly, the wailing woman is grabbed, and at the moment, the whole world is a blur around Soren as he fails to see his sister being dragged away from him as he stays on the floor until Monroe arrives at his side, hooking a hand under his arm and helping him to his feet.
Immediately, Soren meets the piercing eyes of the people, and he wants the grounds to open up and swallow him whole.