Dulled 21

Chapter 21 

The Mirror Cracks 

The mines in front of him was cold, unrelenting in its clarity. Ares stared at the man who no 

Jonger resembled himsell His face, once sharp and proud, was drawn, hollow the jawline, once 

chiseled with strength, now sagged beneath the weight of his defeat. He reached a trembling 

hand up to the mirror, tracing the scar that cut through his eyebrow an ugly reminder of the day 

his life had been shattered. 

He stepped back from the mirror, fists clenching at his sides, fighting the rising tide of anger that 

threatened to drown him. His breath came in shallow bursts, each one tinged with bitterness. 

“I hate this,” he muttered under his breath. He hated the weakness in his body. He hated the pity 

in their eyes. He hated the way the world moved forward while he remained stagnant, trapped in 

the past. 

A sharp pain shot through his leg as he attempted to shift his weight, and he collapsed to the 

floor, the fall echoing in the silence of the room. His hands slammed into the cool marble, the 

impact jarring him further. A curse slipped from his lips. 

“Damn it!” he growled, fury coursing through his veins. “Why the hell won’t this body obey me?” 

The nurse appeared in the doorway, her presence like a shadow, silent and watchful. She didn’t 

flinch at his outburst. Didn’t speak. She simply stood there, waiting. She had been doing this for 

weeks now observing him, tending to him, but never revealing anything about herself. 

He pushed himself up with trembling hands, anger clouding his judgment. “Get out,” he barked, 

his voice thick with rage. “I don’t need you here.” 

She didn’t respond. She just moved toward him, kneeling beside him, her gloved hands resting 

gently on his shoulder. 

Ares jerked away, his movements frantic. “I said get out!” 

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12:01 Sun, Oct 12 

Chapter 21 

Still, she remained quiet, her brauch firm but unyielding He could feel the weight of her eyes an 

him calm, unbroken. For a moment, het presence was the only thing grounding him, though he 

bated it. 

“Why won’t you leave?” he demanded, fury rising in his chest. “Why do you stay?” 

She didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she gazed at him with something in her eyes something 

be couldn’t place. Pain. Understanding. Regret? 

Finally, she spoke, her voice soft, but steady. 

“I know everything,” she said, her words cutting through the chaos in his mind like a blade. “I 

know who you were, Ares. And I know who you’ve become.” 

His eyes narrowed, confusion and anger warring inside him. “You don’t know me.” 

Her gaze didn’t waver. “I know everything.” 

The words hit him harder than any physical blow ever could. His chest tightened, breath 

catching in his throat. There was something familiar in her tone, something that dug beneath the 

surface and ripped open wounds he wasn’t ready to face. 

He wanted to scream, to fight back against the overwhelming flood of emotions that threatened 

to drown him. But he couldn’t. He could only sit there, defeated, staring at the woman who knew 

him better than anyone else. 

And yet, he had no idea who she really was. 

The first change was small, barely noticeable. A vase of fresh flowers appeared on the dining 

table, brightening the otherwise sterile room. Ares didn’t acknowledge it at first, too lost in his 

own thoughts, his own misery. But it didn’t go unnoticed. 

The next day, the curtains in his study were drawn open, letting in a soft morning light that 

bathed the room in warmth. He could hear the faint sounds of classical music playing softly in 

the background a stark contrast to the silence that usually enveloped him. 

Chapter 21 

Ares didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to admit that, for the first time in months, the house felt 

less like a tomb. 

But then came the photos. 

The ones that had hung on the walls since he was a child the pictures of his family, of him at his 

best were gone. The frames sat empty, no longer a reminder of his past achievements, no 

longer symbols of the life he had lost. 

He was furious. 

“Where are they?” he demanded, his voice low and dangerous as he entered the study. “The 

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12:01 Sun, Oct 12