🌈The Scarlet Cube vol. 1💙💙

Chapter 12

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Videgrel stood in the shower room, staring at his reflection in the mirror.

In the past four days, he had become quite gaunt. Deep shadows lay under his eyes, his skin had noticeably paled, making the scrapes on his cheekbone and the bruise on his forehead stand out more.

The man touched the nearly healed scratches with his fingers and pressed his lips together in displeasure.

It was a mistake to get behind the wheel that night. No matter how confused his mind was, it wasn't worth the risk. Not only did he wreck the car, but he almost killed himself. Fortunately, there were no pedestrians on the deserted street, and no one else was hurt when the car crashed into a roadside pole.

However, Videgrel saw a silver lining in this. He didn't like driving and only got his license because his father insisted. Now, with the car totaled, he could comfortably use a chauffeur, attributing his refusal to drive to the shock and "emotional" trauma he experienced.

Yet, the loss of the car and a few bruises hardly bothered Videgrel. What truly tormented him was what he had done to Ethelstan, which robbed Videgrel of sleep and peace.

Videgrel blamed himself for not being able to control himself. He accused his foolish mind of idiocy and his body of weakness. Day after day, he berated himself for the weakness he had succumbed to. But he couldn't change anything.

He never returned home, instead settling at the "Scarlet Cube" for those days. Of course, he periodically called the housekeeper to check on Ethelstan and make sure he was okay, but he hadn't spoken to the guy himself even once during that time.

According to the woman, Ethel was in good health but had become withdrawn and sullen for some reason. He didn't leave his bedroom, refused to eat, lost sleep, but overall his health was not in danger. Besides, this had happened before, so no one paid much attention to the young master's "tantrums."

Videgrel didn't know what to do next. The guilt drowned out all rational thoughts, depriving him of the ability to objectively assess the situation and find a way out. Even distracting himself with work didn't help him clear his mind. No matter how much he overloaded himself with tasks, he couldn't concentrate on them.

"Videgrel, are you here?"

The voice of Michel came from the bedroom connected to the man's office, and Videgrel, turning off the water, replied:

"Yes, I'll be right out."

He grabbed the towel from the hook, hastily wiped his face, and tossed it on the edge of the sink. Then he left the shower and met the sullen gaze of his assistant.

"Something happened?" the man asked.

"You have a call from home. They say it's urgent. Answer already. I'm not your answering machine."

Videgrel nodded, and Michel hurried back to his tasks.

The man stood for a few more moments, trying to calm his racing heart, then walked into the office and picked up the phone.

"Hello," he said, his voice trembling slightly with anxiety, gripping the edge of his desk.

"You!.."

In the first moments, Ethelstan couldn't utter a word, struggling to hold back the angry curses that wanted to burst out at the man.

He had waited for his stepfather for four days, withering from hurt and loneliness, but insomnia and hunger had bred irritation in his soul, pushing the guy to take matters into his own hands.

"How could you abandon me?!" he finally found his voice, gripping his phone tightly. "You promised you would take care of me. And you ran away, scared of responsibility. Tell me, do I mean nothing to you?"