Chapter 2 I Hate You

“Minnie!” The wheelchair-bound Freya could only cry out in anguish. She was unable to lift even a single finger. “I’m warning you, Calvin! Touch Minnie again and I’ll call the cops, you son of a b*tch!” “You’re threatening me?” Calvin cursed and kicked her wheelchair over, sending her toppling over into a pool of mud. “F*ck you!” He began to repeatedly kick the woman. “How dare a cripple like you threaten me? Do you think you’re still the high and lofty Ms. Harrison? You’re just a waste of space now. If I were you, I would’ve killed myself a long time ago, b*tch! Let’s see you fight back now!” “You stop it!” “Mom!” Minnie threw herself in front of Freya and weathered a few blows. She gritted her teeth and refused to make a sound. She instead jabbered on, “You can hit me. Don’t hit my Mommy. Stop hitting her… She’s ill. Just hit me instead…” “Minnie!” Freya felt so useless as she lay on the floor. She was a wreck who couldn’t even stand up and do anything but watch her daughter be beaten. She was a useless person who couldn’t even protect her own daughter. “Help! Please save my daughter!” She begged for help from the crowd of onlookers. “Let’s just see them try. I’m the son of the Harrison family. Everyone who crosses me will wish they were dead!” He roared with fury. This scared everyone in the crowd. No one stepped forward to help the mother-daughter duo. The man was from a powerful family after all. The rest of them were just ordinary citizens who couldn’t afford to poke the hornet’s nest. “Ahhh!” She cried herself hoarse as she watched Minnie be assaulted and her face pressed into the mud. Every scream out of the little girl only added to her hatred. She cried out in despair, “I hate you, Lucian Gray! I hate you!” I hate you! Freya’s eyes were filled with overwhelming anger. She looked like a feral beast ready to go on a rampage. She screamed in anguish at the group of indifferent onlookers. I hate… I hate that heartless man who ruined my life. She had been a school belle. Her talents in running a business shone after her graduation. She successfully served as the president of the Harrison Group and was worth millions. Her future was one of endless possibilities. Yet, she gave up everything she had for love and eloped to the countryside with Lucian and got married. She gave everything she had to him but all she received in return was him being gone from her life. She found out about her pregnancy only after the Harrisons had forcefully removed her from his side. The fetus was a product of the love between her and Lucian, which was why she concealed the truth that she had given birth to Minnie and incurred the wrath of the Harrison family. It made her the joke of Sioux. She lost her former glory overnight. She didn’t care. She brought the then three-month-old Minnie in search of him as a surprise only to hear that he had enlisted into the army. She wrote letter after letter but it was as if they had all been swallowed up in the void. No news ever came back. It had been seven years since then! “Stop it, Calvin. Everyone here knows Freya and Minnie are well-known people who are suffering hardship. Stop picking on them.” A woman carrying a basket couldn’t stand it anymore “You want to die so badly, b*tch?” He jabbed a finger in her face. “Trying to offend the Harrisons now, huh?” “I…” The woman trembled in fright and retreated into the crowd. She was just an ordinary person who couldn’t afford to go against a family like the Harrisons. She had no choice but to back down. “I’m going to break this bastard brat’s legs today. Let’s see who can say anything about it.” “I am the law here.” He snarled arrogantly. “You’ve got guts.” Suddenly, there came an enraged yell from nearby. Everyone turned to look to see a military vehicle drive up at a breakneck speed before stopping. Lucian, who was in military boots and a dark green coat, jumped out of the car. His firm facial features exuded the air of a king. The indifference in his eyes made him look like a mighty beast in slumber. It was as if the air around them had stilled by his mere presence. “L…Lucian.” Freya, still lying in the dirt, was shocked to see him. She had waited for seven long years. He was finally back. Why did you even come back for…? She burst into tears as the light in her eyes went out. She lay motionless on the ground as if she were dead. Minnie, who was lying protectively on top of Freya, noticed that something was wrong and looked up to see Lucian. She trembled when she noticed the familiarity. Icy anger surfaced in her eyes. She understood in an instant that the man before her was her father that had gone off the grid for seven long years. No. I don’t have a father. I’m a kid who doesn’t have a father. Everyone knows that. “Who the f*ck are you?” Calvin stared at Lucian and came to a realization. His words were mocking. “Oh… And here I was wondering who you were. If it isn’t the exiled Mr. Lucian himself. I heard you joined the army. Done with military services?” He was looking at the mother-daughter duo lying in a heap on the floor. Lucian didn’t pay Calvin any attention. He could see Minnie’s eyes clear with hatred for him. Guilt overcame him to see those eyes on a little girl. He had wanted to avenge his family but Minnie’s hatred and Freya’s indifference stopped him in his tracks. He was no longer a war god. He had become an irresponsible husband and father. “Bullying my daughter?” He glared at Calvin and spat through gritted teeth. “Hehehehe.” Calvin, with his hands folded across his chest, glanced condescendingly down at Minnie and guffawed. “She’s such a little b*tch. Those were just a few kicks. Let’s see her upset me again. Next time, I’ll break her legs, kill her and feed her to the dogs!” “F*ck you!” Lucian, who’d been largely silent, let out a heart-wrenching scream as tears rolled down his cheeks. He rushed up to Calvin at the speed of sound. Bam! His fist connected with Calvin’s chest.