Chapter 5: All I Had Left Was Hate

Words : 1784 Updated : Nov 13th, 2025

"Good. From now on, you're my slaves." Stefan looked down at the men, his gaze cold and distant. Prison or not, even if he couldn't kill openly, he had a thousand ways to kill them without anyone knowing. The simplest way was to flood them with a sickly energy, magnify whatever ailment they had a thousand times, and let them die in pain. Franklin bobbed his head frantically. "Yes, I'm your slave. Look, do I look the part?" The other inmates gaped at him, thinking, "Boss, you've got over a dozen lives on your hands. Aren't you ashamed?" They didn't know Franklin's courage had already crumbled. A moment ago, with a casual wave, Stefan had sent them flying, coughing up blood. No human should have been capable of doing that. Stefan ignored them. He went straight to his bunk, sat cross-legged, and started drawing in the prison's murky energy as he trained. No one dared even breathe loudly, afraid to disturb him and end up suffering like before. Franklin's heart pounded. This newcomer was no ordinary man. From the look of it, he was cultivating. Stefan sucked in the energy like a vacuum, distilled it into pure essence, and used it to harden every inch of his skin. After who knows how long, he'd tempered every inch of his skin. He felt a new toughness, like even a sharp blade couldn't cut him. If he tempered his flesh and blood next, he figured he could take a bullet and keep going. Only then would he have enough power to protect himself. Just as he was about to start on his flesh and blood, the cell door opened. Anya appeared in the doorway. Seeing him sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, she paused. What the hell was he doing? When she noticed Franklin and the others huddled in a corner, staring at Stefan in fear, surprise flickered in her eyes. Then the corner of her mouth lifted. Stefan wasn't some nobody. He'd already brought those vicious men to heel. "Stefan, someone is here to see you." He opened his eyes, startled. Who would come to visit at a time like this? When he reached the visitation room and saw who was waiting, a surge of nameless rage shot through him, and he forced it down, going cold. Beyond the glass stood three women. One was tall and fair, her features delicate as a painting, a true beauty. She was no stranger: Hailey, the ex-girlfriend who cheated on him. The second, a bright, lively girl, was Hailey's best friend, Alicia Hauk. The last was a woman not yet fifty, still elegant: Arya Sabey, Hailey's mother. "What are you here for? Checking to see if I'm dead?" he asked, sweeping his gaze over the three before fixing it on Hailey. His face stayed blank, his voice even. She'd been the one he'd stood with through thick and thin for three years, the one he'd promised to share joys and sorrows with. Yet because of her, he'd ended up here. Just wait. He'd make them wish they were dead. Hailey looked at him like a thousand unsaid words pressed behind her eyes. In the end, she just sighed, and her gaze turned icy; her voice went cold. "Yeah. I want to see if you're dead. Stefan, I never thought you were the kind of man who's a monster. I must have been blind to be with you. I'm glad we broke up." Alicia stared at her, incredulous. Pain ripped through Stefan, like his chest was being carved up. He hadn't expected that even now, she could speak with such ruthless finality. "Hailey, you weren't the blind one; I was. I regret wasting three years on you. But you can wait. I'll make you pay for every ounce of pain you put me through, a hundredfold, a thousandfold." His gaze turned razor-sharp. From that instant, his heart went ice-cold; there'd never be a place in it for that woman again. "Hmph. Stefan, you're a two-bit punk. Stop shooting your mouth off. You're about to be executed. How are you going to get revenge on us? Let me tell you, Jacob arranged all of this. Compared to him, you're nothing but an ant. So what? All you can do is rage; you can't do a thing. Be a good boy and rot in prison till you die. That's the price for pestering my daughter." Arya's voice was sharp and dripping with sarcasm. She looked at Stefan like some clown putting on a show. So he'd been thrown in prison under false charges because Jacob pulled the strings behind the scenes. Just wait. Stefan'd be coming for the other mansoon. Stefan narrowed his eyes at Arya, then looked long at Hailey before turning to go. From then on, there was nothing between him and Hailey but hate. Seeing him leave without a second thought, hate burning in his eyes, Hailey opened her mouth, but no sound came. Tears pooled in her eyes, and her heart felt shredded, pain down to the bone. "Daughter, you see? That little punk is hopeless. Today's the last time you'll see him. Let go of any lingering feelings for him. Marry into a wealthy family and build a good life with Jacob. Do you understand?" Hailey ignored Arya. She just turned, eyes vacant, and drifted toward the exit like a zombie. Alicia hurried after her, caught her hand, and asked, her voice full of hurt, "Hailey, why don't you tell him the truth?" A bit of color returned to Hailey's eyes. She let out a long, soft sigh. "What would it change if I told him? It would only add to his worries. The more he hates me, the better. That way his heart won't hurt like mine does." "Life's cruel. The world's not fair. You two are such star-crossed lovers." At the thought of Jacob and the Kenion family behind him, Alicia felt a deep helplessness. The Kenion family was a powerhouse. Compared to Jacob, Stefan was nothing. Even if their love had been rock-solid, it wouldn't have stood a chance against Jacob lifting a finger. "Star-crossed lovers, huh?" Hailey gave a bleak smile and heard Jacob's words echo again, "Hailey Yare, if you don't break up with him, do you believe I can make him vanish into thin air?"

Chapter 5: All I Had Left Was Hate

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