To His Hell and Back-Chapter 193: Village Stares-II

After their brief conversation, Arabella understood that Cassius had no intention of stopping Marissa.

She didn’t push him. She knew, perhaps more than anyone, that for the two of them, this was how they showed love: not through grand displays or desperate pleas, but by quietly stepping aside for the other’s happiness. Cassius understood that if he spoke to Marissa, even gently, she might change her mind. Not because she didn’t want to leave, but because she wouldn’t bear the thought of abandoning her brother in a castle riddled with manipulation and deceit.

Arabella’s only wish was that the siblings could have one last moment together before Marissa left, something real, something warm, and that wherever Marissa went, she would be in the safest hands.

The journey from the castle to Arabella’s village was long. Even with the fastest horses in the royal stables and little delay, they arrived late into the night. Moonlight draped over the worn path as the carriage finally rolled to a stop before the village gates.

Arabella stepped down, her eyes locked on the familiar archway that marked the place she once called home. But there was no comfort in it.

Instead, unease twisted in her chest.

This village had never been a sanctuary. Not once had it brought her peace. Every day had been a battle, fighting to survive, to prove she belonged, to protect what little she had. Yet even the cruelty she endured paled in comparison to the pain of watching her younger sister cry silently into her pillow at night, trying not to wake her. The words from the villagers had cut deep not just into Arabella’s pride, but into her elder sister’s spirit.

Everything that they did was the cause for Ariel’s low self confidence and Arabella wished that her sister didn’t have to go through what she did. She had sworn then, in the quiet of those sleepless nights, that one day she would leave, and never look back. Leave her father, leave this village, and yet oddly when she was in the castle she wished she could come back.

Come back this uncomfortable place.

She hated this place, wished to come back and wished to not come back as well. It was such a complicated emotion which she couldn’t put her finger into. And yet, here she was.

She didn’t want to be here again. A part of her, a growing, undeniable part, had come to feel freer, stronger away from this place that had always poisoned her with shame and resentment. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

Cassius stood beside her, his eyes never leaving her face. He studied her carefully. There was no trace of joy in her expression. No nostalgia, no relief. Only a quiet storm of disgust and sorrow.

And he said nothing... because he understood.

After all he had also felt the same way as she does.

Cassius had felt it too. That strange tug-of-war between the place that raised you and the place that ruined you.

He had walked palace halls that glittered like gold and still felt like a prisoner. He had smiled at courtiers while plotting how to survive them. And though he wore the title of Crown Prince, he knew the taste of power could be as bitter as exile.

So, no, he didn’t speak. He merely offered her his silence. A silence that, for once, didn’t feel empty.

Arabella inhaled slowly, her fingers curling into the folds of her dress as though trying to anchor herself. The gates loomed ahead, quiet and still, but she knew the eyes would come soon. Whispered words behind shutters. Familiar faces twisted in contempt. The village never needed a reason to hate her they simply did. For existing. For surviving.

"Are you ready?" Cassius finally asked, his voice low, careful not to pierce the quiet too harshly.

Arabella gave a small nod, though her body remained unmoving.

"Yes," she then firmly took a step forward. Dressed in a gown that didn’t fit her, she immediately gathered the attention of the guars in the village as well as the youth passing by.

Ignoring those glances, she marched forward, knowing where her home was... where her father is hiding himself again after gambling all his wealth away.

They passed by the vendors who had began closing their shops whose eyes immediately lit up upon seeing their expensive clothings, thinking they must be a traveler with wealth. One of them immediately yelled, "Apples? Apples? Young lady! There are apples here! They taste divine. Our village is known best for the sweetest and crunchiest apples!"

"Mrs Bampen," Arabella called the woman’s name with a sigh.

Never would she expect to see this woman again. The same woman who had always held a sense of hatred and jealousy to her and Ariel.

But Mrs Bampen seemed to not recognize who she was, giving her a confused smile, "H- How do you know my name?"

Cassius studied the two’s exchanges and then snapped his finger, understanding that this human must have been one of the pests who had made his birdie’s life a nightmare in the village.

"Apples?" Cassius reached out for one of the reddest apple in the vendor, grabbing it to his palms and then raising it to the sky with a hum, "Odd. This is rotten isn’t it?"

Arabella turned to him, raising her eyebrows, "There is no way someone would sell a rotten apple isn’t it?"

Mrs Bampen was immediately startled as well, turning to Cassius and was about to retort but after seeing his bright red eyes, she hesitated.

"T- There is no way that the apples are rotten sir..."

"So I’m lying?" Cassius asked with a wide smile. "So perhaps my eyes are at fault here?"

"N- No, I meant..." she stammered, sweat beading at her brow despite the cool air. "Perhaps it’s just that one. A bad one in the bunch. Happens sometimes—"

"Of course," Cassius said smoothly, and tossed the apple back into the basket with a dull thud. "Bad ones spoil everything else, don’t they?"

Arabella watched the exchange with careful detachment. She didn’t stop him. She didn’t have to. She knew exactly what he was doing, what he was really saying. The veiled threat hung in the air like a scent no one dared mention.

Mrs. Bampen bowed her head quickly, hands fidgeting with the edge of her apron. "Please forgive me, sir. I— I didn’t mean to offend..."

Cassius gave a pleasant hum, stepping closer just enough to make her flinch. "Offense? No, no, please, I’m not so easily offended. I simply don’t like lies. All these apples are bad ones. I know it just by a glance and you dare to sell it to us saying they’re sweet and fresh? One, four, six, they are all rotten in this basket," he hummed as he pulled one apple to his hands and rip it into two, showcasing the bruise at the edge of the apple that was dark and the little worm that had nested in the place, "Do you know who you are trying to sell these rotten apples to?"