Chapter 4: Two Different Worlds

Daxton Mabbett went quiet for a beat. "Stop messing around. We're brother and sister." "So what? We're not even related by blood!" Aliyah Mabbett huffed. "I'm already engaged. You know that." "Then add one more. I don't mind!" Aliyah said, chin tipped up in stubborn pride. Daxton: "…" Aliyah giggled, then remembered something and sobered. "Oh, right, Brother. Elisabeth Looske came back with her father. The clan head and the others are entertaining them in the clan hall. A maid reported she saw you return to Pelton, so everyone's been waiting for you." "Elisabeth is back?" Daxton's eyes brightened. Elisabeth Looske was his fiancée. Their engagement had been set when they were very young. The Looske family stood alongside the Mabbett family, the Lashbrook family, and the Warth family as Pelton's Four Great Families. Elisabeth's father was Finnegan Looske, the current head of the Looske family. "The moment you hear 'pretty fiancée,' you forget you even have a sister!" Aliyah grumbled, instantly sour. Daxton chuckled despite himself, pinched her nose, and headed for the clan hall. The clan hall gleamed with gold and lacquer. Alonso Mabbett, head of the Mabbett family, was already seated with several elders, chatting and laughing with a middle-aged man. The man wore a brocade robe. He was Finnegan Looske. Beside him stood a young woman in a pale teal dress. She was as lovely as a lotus rising from water, yet there was a cool, aloof edge between her brows. The moment Daxton stepped inside, every conversation died. All eyes turned to him at once, and the warm, lively atmosphere drained away. "You're here." Alonso flicked Daxton a glance, as if everyone else in the room was beneath his notice. Daxton did not care. After his adoptive parents passed, most of the Mabbett family had treated him like this. He had long since grown used to it. He walked up to Finnegan and bowed respectfully. "Uncle Finnegan." Then he turned to Elisabeth, his voice softening. "Elisabeth, these past few-" Before he could finish, Elisabeth took a step back. Her expression stayed flat, her posture distant, as if she meant to keep him a thousand miles away. Daxton froze. She had never acted like this before. What happened? With a sneer, Alonso said to Finnegan, "Brother Finnegan, you tell him." Finnegan nodded and looked at Daxton. "Some time ago, Elisabeth heard from a few so-called geniuses at Cera Academy that your meridian shattered, your cultivation vanished, and you were expelled from the Azure Cloud Sword Sect. Is it true?" Daxton's gaze stalled. He finally understood how Henry Mabbett had learned about his expulsion from the Azure Cloud Sword Sect. The news had come back with Elisabeth. He glanced at Elisabeth's impassive face and felt the shape of the truth forming in his chest. "Uncle Finnegan, if you have something to say, then say it." "Fine." Finnegan read his expression and already knew the rumor was likely true. "Elisabeth is exceptionally gifted. Before long, she will step into the Bone-Forging Realm. She has already earned the qualification to test into Cera Academy. Entering Cera Academy is only a matter of time." "Cera Academy, I'm sure you know, is the Northern Commandery's top institution. Anyone who enters it is a peerless talent of the Northern Commandery. But you…" Finnegan's tone stayed calm, almost bored. "You're a crippled waste. If Elisabeth marries you, she'll ruin her life." "As her father, I won't watch my daughter jump into a fire pit. The entire Looske family won't agree to her marrying a cripple. So your engagement ends today." "The words may be harsh, but they're true. I trust you can understand. Take out the marriage contract you signed back then." Finnegan's voice was indifferent. Daxton smiled. So it really was a broken engagement. That smile made Alonso and the elders blink in surprise. A young man publicly cast aside, called a crippled waste to his face, humiliated in front of everyone, should have been choking on shame and fury. Yet Daxton smiled, unruffled, without a trace of anger. "You're breaking the engagement?!" Daxton did not flare up, but Aliyah did. She stepped forward, eyes blazing. "Elisabeth Looske, what is this supposed to mean?!" "I'm no longer in the same world as him," Elisabeth said. Aliyah bared her teeth. "Not in the same world?!" "Did you forget how my brother treated you all these years? Five years ago, you fell off a cliff. My brother nearly died dragging you back up!" "Three years ago, he fought five death warrior in the underground black market, risking his life just to win a Hundred Blossom Snow Lotus for your birthday!" "Two years ago, you were bitten by a black-patterned marten. My brother sucked the poisoned blood out without a second thought. He almost lost his life!" "And after all that, you say you're from two different worlds?!" She glared at Elisabeth as if she could burn a hole through her. Elisabeth's expression did not change. "He did all of that willingly. I never forced him." "You shameless-!" Aliyah shook with rage, looking like she might rush over and slap her. "Aliyah! Watch yourself!" Alonso barked. "Milo," Alonso added, turning to the elder beside him, "tell Franklin to keep his daughter under control. Brother Finnegan and Elisabeth are guests. Is this how she treats guests?" Milo Mabbett, the first elder, spoke coldly. "Outrageous." Briar Mabbett, the third elder, also chimed in. "It's disgraceful." Franklin Mabbett, the second elder, glanced at Daxton with a look of regret, then said to Aliyah, "Aliyah, step back." "Dad, they've gone too far! This is-" "Enough." Franklin's voice dropped like stone. Margot Duffus hurriedly pulled Aliyah away. "What does this have to do with you? Shut your mouth!" Finnegan did not seem to care about Aliyah at all. He only watched Daxton. Daxton kept a faint smile. Three breaths passed before he finally spoke. "Aliyah. Go to my room and bring the marriage contract." "Brother, you're really-" "Go." Daxton cut her off. Aliyah seethed, but in the end she still went and brought the contract back. "At least you know your place." Finnegan held out his hand to Daxton. "Give it to me." "No rush." Daxton stayed calm as still water. He looked at Aliyah. "Bring me a brush." The clan hall already had ink and brush. Aliyah fetched them quickly. Daxton unfolded the contract. His brush came down, the stroke biting deep into the paper. Divorced! "Take it." With a casual flick of his wrist, the contract landed in Finnegan's hands. When Finnegan saw the huge word written across it, he blanked for a moment. Then his face twisted with rage. "You dare insult the Looske family! Insult my daughter!" Writing "Divorced" on the marriage contract was not the same as ending an engagement. It meant Elisabeth had been cast aside by Daxton. Elisabeth's face darkened. She stared at Daxton as if she wanted to carve him apart with her eyes. Alonso and the elders all wore strange expressions. None of them had expected Daxton to do something like this. Daxton looked at Finnegan's fury and said evenly, "Those who humiliate others end up humiliating themselves. You've heard that before, haven't you?" Then he turned to Elisabeth. "What you said just earlier was right. We really are two different worlds now." With that, he turned and walked out.