The Day Our Promise Breaks

The hotel staff found Michael all battered and bleeding, and they quickly rushed him to the hospital. Sena had endured Michael's torment for far too long. When she hit him, she put her whole heart into it, but all it did was crack his head open, knocking him out cold. Once patched up, Michael stormed out of the ER, muttering curses under his breath, determined to find the audacious person who dared to attack him that night. But as soon as he stepped out of the hospital, someone clamped a hand over his mouth and dragged him into a shadowy corner.

There stood a tall, imposing figure. The air around the man was thick with menace. Michael was tossed at his feet.

He looked down at Michael with a brooding expression, his eyes as cold as death. The icy fear emanating from him silenced Michael, who instantly sensed danger and glanced up, petrified, into Charles' chilling gaze. "Mr. Jenkins..."

The moment Michael saw Charles, his blood ran cold. He realized he had messed with someone he should never have crossed. Fear gripped him, and he tried to scramble up, desperate to escape the dangerous man before him.

But as he moved, Charles pressed his foot onto Michael's hand. "Those hands touched Evelyn; you won't be needing them anymore."

"No, please!" Michael begged.

Before he could scream, Charles crushed his hand with ruthless force. "Ah!" Aiden quickly muffled Michael's scream.

Michael broke out in a cold sweat from the pain. When Charles finally stepped back, the hand was useless. Without missing a beat, Charles raised his foot again.

Michael wanted to bolt, but Charles' overwhelming presence kept him frozen. He had to watch as Charles' foot came down on his other hand, rendering it useless, too.

As Charles lifted his foot a third

time, Michael's eyes widened in terror. Unable to support himself

with his Ruined hands, he tried to et

squirm away, but there was no escaping. Charles' foot came down hard, and Michael blacked out from the pain.

"Take him to the police station. I don't want to see him roaming free again," Charles said, walking away.

"Yes, Mr. Jenkins," Aiden replied, dragging Michael out of the alley like a ragdoll and tossing him into the trunk of a car. He got in the driver's seat and headed for the police station.

...

Dahlia wasted no time driving over after getting a call from Sena. Once she arrived at the spot Sena mentioned, she called her back.

Sena picked up quickly, and Dahlia's voice was anxious. "Sena, I'm here. Where are you?"

Just as she spoke, she spotted Sena stumbling out from the shadows. But instead of rushing out, Dahlia stayed in the car, watching with satisfaction as Sena approached. Her Cheeks were swollen, and her appearance was a mess.

Though Dahlia hadn't managed to drag Evelyn down this time, seeing the once-proud Sena brought down so low was a sweet victory.

After savoring the sight for a moment, Dahlia put on a concerned face, jumped out of the car, and rushed to Sena, her eyes welling up with fake concern. "Sena, what happened to you?" "Dahlia..." Sena mumbled, running out of the hotel, completely lost. This whole ordeal had torn her world apart. The first person she thought to turn to was Dahlia.

Tonight, she and Dahlia had plotted

to drug Evelyn and ruin her life-a scheme that only Dahlia knew

about. Finding Dahlia felt like finding solid ground, and Sena collapsed into her arms, sobbing, "I'm not worthy of Brooks anymore. What am I going to do?"