Chapter 258

Lysandra

“Again.”

Carter collapsed, breath ragged, hands bloodied against the cold stone. He’d been thrown onto his back so many times his body had stopped bruising and simply began to swell in protest.

And though I knew that it was painful, I also knew that he needed to deal with it. I was also in pain. I had to admit, I never expected to deal with this much agony. When it came to fighting, it was never the one to combat. But Giovanni also taught me that giving up was not going to be an option.

Giovanni.

How the name of father became so foreign to my tongue that I noticed simply referred to him as Giovanni, who’s no longer my dad. He was no longer the support that I had. He was known that I had in my life. He was just a man that tormented me to get what he wanted.

“Lysandra… please,” he gasped. “I can’t. If I keep doing this, I can’t fight back, Lysandra.”

“You can,” I said flatly, circling him like a predator assessing a broken wing