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I had come here to talk calmly, but now I was just furious. Every shared memory, every word exchanged between us, felt like a mockery.
“Have you lost your mind?”
My shout made her flinch. Her shoulders rising her ears as she spun around. She hadn’t even heard me walk in. I took a ragged breath, teeth clenched, ready to yell again, then I saw it.
I froze.
Mina had an adorable face. Her cheeks were soft and flushed, her lips pink and full. But I had never seen that face looking so haggard before. Dark circles under her eyes, and there were scabs around nose. Pink lips had been replaced by dry, cracked flesh.
“Huh, you?” she looked up at me, her face twitching with disgust. “Who do you think you are, coming into my room like this?”
“I am your servant, of course. Give me your wrist.”
“You’re nothing to me! I don’t waste my breath on liars like you.”
“See? I am something to you. Now give me your wrist, Mina.”
“Don’t bother.” she pulled her wrist away from me, averting her gaze. “You don’t have to trouble yourself with me anymore. I’m not cutting deep enough to die. I’m just cutting to feel pain.”
I needed a few seconds to process what she said. Well, unfortunately, I still didn’t quite understand.
“What are you talking about?”
“I told you. There’s no need to trouble yourself—”
“What trouble?”
I grabbed her weak wrist and glanced at it, my jaw tightening. The number of cuts had increased. And they weren’t amateurish like the previous ones. Some were vertical and could be fatal, some were tiny, but there were many of them. Her wrists were like a minefield. To get to this state in a week, she must have cut herself every day. Maybe even multiple times a day.
“God’s sake,” I muttered. “Mina… What did you do to yourself?”
“Why’s it?” I looked up in surprise at her mocking tone. My Mina would never speak like that. “Why are you asking? Upset because you couldn’t be a hero?”
My eyes widened. “What?”
She snatched her hand from my grip. When I reached out once more, she stepped back, a mocking smile tugging at her lips.
“Did you come here to kiss them again? Sorry, but there are too many this time. Let’s not waste our precious Mr. Loxton’s time.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying, Mina.”
“Oh, I know it very well! What, aren’t you Mr. Loxton?”
“I’ll explain, just…”
As she tried to close the bathroom door, I put my hand between the door and the frame. She glared at me, then drew a slow breath through her nose.
“Let go.”
“Get out of there.”
“I said let go.”
I opened the door wide, using so much force a metal screw fell onto the bathroom floor. Mina stared at the creaking door in shock. My eyes were fixed on her.
“I told you to get out of there. You will not go back in there, you’re never picking up anything sharp again.”
Her shock slipped away. “And who’s going to stop me? A fucking asshole like you?”
