The word hit like a slap. And somehow… It still hurts.
Grandpa didn’t hold back.
His cane came down hard against Argus’s back. “You ungrateful child!" he snapped, voice shaking with anger. “You were the one who insisted on being with Dahlia back then. You stood in front of your parents’ graves and promised you’d give her a good life. So what is this now?”
I lowered my eyes.
“You dragged this out year after year,” he continued, breathing heavier. “Five years. Five whole years. How much longer are you planning to waste her life?”
Five years.
I stood there quietly, but memories still came back whether I wanted them or not.
There was a time… when things weren’t like this.
Even someone like Argus, cold and ruthless, used to hesitate because of me. He used to ask what I thought before making decisions.
Once, I told him to stop hurting people. Just casually, just because I didn’t like it. And he actually let go of someone who tried to kill him. After that, everyone knew he had a weakness.
Me.
When I had a high fever for days, barely conscious, he went up into the mountains himself just to pray for me. I didn’t even know until later.