Chapter 408: Ian’s plea for forgiveness.

Just like that, all the happy smiles in the dining hall collapsed! The people who were already opening their arms to welcome the guests froze midway, looking awkward. Zyra’s response had caught them all off guard. No hugs! No scream of excitement!

Just a cold voice that was loaded with anger.

The Grand Elder sighed softly, his eyes full of gentle persuasion. "Zyra... surely whatever happened between you guys has been washed away by time, right? So much time has passed, don’t hold on to a grudge that you will regret in death. Remember, this is your biological brother. Your parents would be so happy if you two just worked things out."

Zyra stopped. She didn’t even turn to look at the old man. "There is nothing to work out," she said, her voice dropping ten degrees below zero. "And I have no brother. I thought that I made it clear to you the last time that you asked grandpa. If you insist on forcing me to do things I am not comfortable with, then I will leave and never return to this house." She clenched her jaw, biting back the urge to blurt out that he should mind his own business.

"Oh dear...what have I done. It seems the wounds have not healed yet." Grand elder said.

"Those wounds will never heal." She pushed her chair back, ready to walk away.

"Zyra, wait!" Ian shouted, his voice shaking like a leaf in a storm. He took a frantic step forward. "Please! I’m sorry... I’m so sorry about everything! You are my only sister and I love you. I really want to work things out with you, to go back to what we were like in the old days."

Zyra, who was midway through standing up, paused and turned her head. She let out a dry, sarcastic laugh. Ha!

She glared straight into his eyes. "You love me! Work things out? Go back to the old days? You make it sound so simple, like we had a falling out over an ice cream cone. Why don’t you tell everyone here what you actually did back then? Tell them why my anger is completely justified!"

Ian’s face turned as pale as moonlight on a winter’s night. He suddenly found the wooden floorboards extremely interesting and stared down at them like the answers to the universe were hidden in the dust. He opened his mouth, stammered a few meaningless sounds, but couldn’t squeeze out a single explanation.

Everyone could judge for themselves the graveness of the mysterious problem that had torn the sibling apart.

"Ian, what in the heavens name did you do to my girl?" Mrs. Munch asked.

Zyra let out a long, heavy sigh, turned her back on him, and walked straight out of the room.

Ian panicked and tried to rush after her. "Zyra, please_"

Achilles stepped right into his path like a huge brick wall. He glared down at Ian with pure disgust. "Have some shame, will you?" He leaned in closer, his voice dark and sharp. "How could you just stand there like a useless log while Zyra’s ex-fiancés’ tried to rape her? You were right there! You didn’t even lift a finger to defend your own sister from those low lives. A brother is supposed to protect his sister! That is literally the entire point of having a brother!"

"I---" Ian started.

Achilles sneered, pointing a thumb at his own chest and then toward the other men in the room. "We would kill for our sisters, or die trying, as long as they are in danger. But hey, don’t worry about Zyra anymore. She has brothers now. Lots of them. Real ones, with balls bigger than yours."

With a harsh glare, Achilles turned around. "I’m going to check on Zyra," he announced, storming off.

Hunter, who had been sitting quietly, slowly nodded as he watched most of the people leave the table one by one to follow Achilles. Finally, Hunter stood up, his eyes locking onto the trembling Ian.

"The only reason you are still breathing right now," Hunter said, his voice terrifyingly calm, "is because you share the same blood as Zyra. But if you ever pull a stupid stunt like that again... I will personally tear you apart, limb from limb. Do you understand me?"

Ian’s body shuddered violently. Tears erupted from his eyes, and he hurriedly shook his head back and forth like a broken toy. "I-I understand! I’m sorry!"

Tsk! A sharp, disgusted sound rang out from beside Ian. It was his wife, Isabelle! She gave Ian a look so full of contempt it could melt iron. She turned to her father, Master Greydrake, and threw her hands up in the air. "Father! How on earth did you make me marry such a spineless man?! Look at him! If he couldn’t even protect his own blood sister, how the heck is he supposed to protect his wife?! I want a divorce! Right now!"

Without waiting for her father’s reply, Isabelle turned her teary eyes toward Hunter. She forced a sad, pathetic little smile. "Hunter... I honestly can’t believe you got married. How could you get married without even telling me?!" Tears burst out of her eyes like water from a broken pipe. "You... you were supposed to be the love of my life!"

Hunter looked at her dramatic sobbing, folded his lips, and let out a calm sigh. "Isabelle," He said softly, using the most old life-metaphor he could think of. "If a person’s favorite color is yellow... they will never, ever like the brightest shade of blue, no matter how beautiful that blue might be."

Isabelle froze. The message hit her straight in the heart like a flying brick: Hunter would never love her. Even if she was the most gorgeous woman in the entire world, she simply wasn’t his "yellow." Zyra was.

She wiped her tears away in a huff, trying her best to preserve whatever tiny shred of pride she had left. "Fine! Zyra is lucky, I will end my pursuit of you today. But I will not pretend to be friendly with your wife."

"No," Hunter corrected gently, a small smile appearing on his face. "I’m the lucky one, and we are not in need of your friendship. Now, if you’ll excuse me..." He pointed a finger toward the hallway. "...I’m going to check on my wife."

Hunter turned and walked away, leaving behind a thick, awkward silence. Isabelle huffed, stomped her foot, and stormed out of the house in a dramatic huff, leaving only the two old men sitting at the table and Ian, who was hovering awkwardly.

The Grand Elder stared at the empty doorway, shaking his head until his beard swung. He looked at Ian, his eyes sharp and completely cold. "Ian... I am deeply, deeply disappointed in you," the Grand Elder said sternly. "Get out of my house."

"Grand Elder, please! I beg you!" Ian dropped to his knees, clutching his hands together. "If you abandon me, what will I do? How can you be heartless?"