Shackled (The Lord Series) by Carlos
259. Rueben - Pandora I

My family has always meant everything to me, especially Camila. She became my favorite person from the moment she was born, and I loved being her brother. I was the one who taught her to ride a bike or showed her how to spell her name. No matter how many years pass, I'll never get over her death. Nor will I forgive myself for how I treated Olivia.

Deep down, I wanted her to have killed Camila in cold blood because I never wanted to admit that I failed everyone. Especially Olivia, who did everything in her power to protect Camila while I was busy hating the world for not getting the girl I wanted. When my parents called me to tell me about Camila, I felt like I finally had a reason to hate Olivia, and I latched onto it. I pushed my demon to the edge so I could hear the dark whisper of darkness. For years, I lived with one foot in the grave, while with the other, I tripped at every step, my heart being filled with so much anger and resentment all I could think about was the day I would make things right and make Olivia pay for what she did to my family. In my mind, there was no other reason, no other explanation as to why Olivia shot Camila. Except for her being a whore who pretended to be innocent to fool people into liking her so she could later destroy their lives. But the only thing she destroyed was her life so Tyson, Ansel, and I could live our pathetic lives without a fucking clue or memory of the time we spent in Azael's facility and hating her with all we had. At least Tyson and I, because Ansel never said he had ill feelings toward her. Sure, he listened to me dripping venom every time she came up in a conversation, but he never said anything bad about her. He seemed indifferent, which pissed me off even more because why wasn't he as angry as I was? Even Tyson cursed the day he met her and wished Camila had never befriended Olivia.

If someone is responsible for what happened to Camila, it's me. Olivia being a pornai for years is also my fault. My parents' death is also on me. Because I failed to protect them.

"So let me get this right," Jasper says, "while you were busy hating Olivia for things she didn't do, she was selling her soul to the devil to keep you three assholes safe. I would have let you rot in that facility, no matter how nice Tyson's cock looks like."

What does Tyson's dick have to do with anything? Is Jasper into men as well?

Tyson throws Jasper a glance before focusing back on the TV.

Strange, but I don't care nor have time to worry about what Jasper likes to fuck or what goes up Tyson's ass.

Ansel, who didn't notice the strange exchange between Tyson and Jasper, tries to explain Olivia's true nature. "Olivia is not like that. She might seem like a fragile butterfly, but she will do anything to protect those she loves. Losing someone she cares about can be very traumatic to her. We all saw how Camila's death affected her for years, and she keeps blaming herself for what happened back then when it is clear it was an accident." He pauses for a bit before adding, "No wonder she needs a guardian. Not to protect her from enemies but from herself. My role is not to slay anyone who tries to harm her but to guard her soul and heart from being pulled into darkness." He frowns. "Or at least that's what Ladybug, my mentor, was trying to tell me but only now I'm starting to understand what she really meant."

I frown because I have no fucking clue what he's rambling about. If circumstances would be different, I'd ask him about it but something else is bugging me.

And who is this mentor he mentions? He had never talked about Ladybug before. She has names like hellstars. Could it be possible that she is a hellstar as well?

There are many things I want to know, but I end up asking Ansel, "Are there videos of the facility you aren't showing us?" because Olivia sounds so scared of me in the footage we just saw makes no sense. Now that I think about it, she's been careful around me since we brought her here. Almost as if she was terrified of something I might do to her. Not killing her but something worse.

But what?

Ansel puts on another video, making Tyson angry. "If we are wasting time, we might as well know every shit that had happened, everything we did to her in the facility while being drugged by force, no matter how terrible it is." "Olivia wanted the videos to be seen in a certain way," Ansel tries to calm Tyson down.

"Why?" my dumb ass asks.

Ansel, who has always had patience with me, finally snaps, "Because we owe her that much. Because, despite everything that had happened and what we did to her, she still protects us. She might say she doesn't want us, but the truth is, she has so much love for us she doesn't even realize it. Because she is better than any of us, and we don't fucking deserve her. Because!" He changes the video. "I know you won't let it go because you never do, so here," new images start to play on the TV, "I hope you're fucking happy now."

Olivia is in the same room as in the last video, except there is no trace of bruises around her neck, nor is her eye swollen. She is alone but not for long as the door opens and...I enter. My eyes glow red, no trace of emotion in them. The door closes behind me, and Olivia clutches the blanket around her.

*"I finally found you,"* I snarl, my voice guttural.