Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son

Chapter 77: Avril Noah Aljanah [1]

"Hmm?"

My eyes fluttered open slowly as I emerged from my sleep, feeling a gentle pat on my head.

Blinking my eyes, I adjusted to the dim light of the room.

"Good morning." A soft voice greeted me.

I turned my head slightly to see Christina sitting on the bed, her fingers delicately running through my hair.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she greeted again with a gentle smile.

I took a moment to register what was happening before I jerked upright, sitting straight on the bed.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, looking around, and I was still in Oliver's room.

"Oliver called me," she replied gently, getting out of bed.

"Why that fucking idiot." I mumbled softly letting, out a tired sigh.

'Thud.'

The sound of a book closing echoed inside the room, drawing my attention.

And...

A beautiful girl with purple hair and eyes sat on a chair with a book in her hand.

Just looking at her made my chest tighten, and even swallowing felt difficult.

"Hey, big sister—"

"Don't call me that." As I hesitated to greet her, she interrupted, glaring at me.

"Avril—"

"...Don't come in between, Christina," she interjected, cutting Christina off and making her fall silent.

Knock!!

Knock!!

All three of us turned our attention to the door as someone knocked, trying to force it open.

"I'll handle it," Christina said, moving towards the door before stepping out of the room.

But before she could close it, I glimpsed a group of students filling the corridor.

"Who are they?" I muttered, frowning.

"She's handling your mess," Avril replied, making me look at her.

"What do you mean?" I asked, standing up from the bed and moving towards the door.

"Azariah, we need to talk."

"But I don't want to."

"Azariah!"

"Stop shouting."

"Hey! Sit down, we need to talk." Avril grabbed my hand, dragging me back and making me sit on the bed.

"What now?" I asked, giving her an annoyed look.

"....Have you tried to talk with her even once?" she asked, glaring at me. "Do you have any idea how much she's doing to try and help you?"

"Why are you talking about Christina now?" I asked, standing up from the bed again. "And it's not like I ask her to do anythi—"

"Azariah! She is your fiancée. She will marry yo—"

"So what?" I interrupted, walking past her. "She is my fiancée, and I know her. You don't have to interfere—"

"How selfish can you be, Az!" Grabbing my arm, she jerked me around to face her. "Have you ever tried to know if she's happy or not?"

"Avril—"

"No! You haven't," she snapped, pointing her finger in my face.

"Because her happiness doesn't matter to you... the only thing that matters is if you're happy or not!"

"Yeah! That's what matters to me," I rebuked, glaring at her.

"I don't care if others are happy or not. All I care about is myself. Happy now!?"

"You know what?" she retorted, her eyes blazing. "You are selfish, just like Mother!"

"Don't you dare compare me with her!!"

"You are selfish like her—"

"I am not!!"

"YES! You are!" she shouted, pushing me back.

"Because of your selfish nature, you messed up all your relationships, including the one we had!!"

"That happened because of you!!" I shouted, my heart pounding against my ribcage. "You are the selfish one, not me!!"

"How am I selfi—"

[Azariah.]

"You ran away!!" Ignoring El, I shouted, stepping closer to her. "You fucking ran away the first chance you got!!"

"Then what the hell was I supposed to do?" she retorted, glaring at me.

"I ran away because being around you disgusted me so much that I couldn't stand it!!"

"Hahaha." I let out a weary chuckle as I stepped back. "Yeah, right, I was the problem."

"Yes, you were the problem," she affirmed, nodding her head. "Your jealousy, your selfishness, your narrow-minded behavior—"

"Narrow-minded? How the hell was I narrow—"

"Since we started to train, you were the first I wanted to share all my success with," she interjected again.

"...But I couldn't because whenever I did, you became sad, shouting at me to not become better than you!!"

"....."

"You made me feel guilty for my own success."

"....Don't spout nonsense now."

"It's the truth!!" she raised her voice again. "Have you ever once said you were proud of me? Have you ever praised me for doing better—"

"No!! I didn't!!" I snapped, glaring at her.

"I didn't like you being better than me!! I never liked you coming and rubbing your success in my face!!"

"See, that's the problem!! Your ego can't handle that I'm better than you!!"

[...Azariah, please stop now.]

"This, this... what you do, always making me realize how much of a failure I am... and how fucking amazing you are."

Click.

The door opened with a soft click, but Avril's words drew my attention.

"You know what, Azariah? You are a failure," she whispered softly, her eyes filling with tears.

"You failed as a fiancé... you failed as a brother... but most importantly, you failed as a son."

My heartbeat dropped at an alarming rate, and I took deep breaths to calm myself. "...Avril, please, shut up."

"Tell me, Azariah... do you feel anything?" Walking closer to me, she asked, "...do you have any conscience about what you did?"

"What happened to you?" I asked, frowning as I looked at Christina, whose dress and hands were stained with blood.

"I am fine," she replied with a sad smile, making me feel worse.

"Azariah, I am talking to you." Grabbing my jaw, Avril made me face her. "...Do you have any feelings?"

"Don't talk about feelings with me," I grumbled, jerking her hand away. "...you have no right to talk about feelings."

"Avril, stop it now—"

"...Don't come between us, Christina," she interjected sharply, glaring at her.

"You're one of the reasons he turned out like this. By forgiving his every mistake, you spoiled him."

"...I'm going to my room," I mumbled, walking past her.

"I am asking something, Azariah!" Grabbing my hand, she exclaimed, "Tell me, do you have any feelings?"

"YOU TELL ME, AVRIL!" I snapped, turning to face her.

"...where were your feelings when you asked Mother to throw me into the dungeon?!"

"...I didn't know Mother would do that—"

"You didn't know?!" I rebuked, glaring at her. "You didn't know what Mother is like?"

"Don't make it seem like she is some kind of monster—"

"Avril... she cut my hand and threw me into a dungeon for a week without any food or water," I whispered softly, my vision blurring.

"...Do you have any idea how I was suffocating in that place... how I was living in complete darkness? ...how it feels to get eaten alive? Insects crawling on your body—"

"Stop behaving like you're the victim, Azariah!!" She raised her voice again, pushing me back. "....you were punished because you deserved that."

"....."

Wordlessly, I took a step back as all the guilt and pain from that day started to resurface.

"...Tell me, did you even love her?" Avril took a step closer, her voice trembling. "...Look into my eyes and tell me, Azariah, did you ever loved her!?"

"...Tell me, Azariah!!" She grabbed my collar and shouted.

"Leave me," I whispered softly, not looking into her eyes.

"Why did... you try to rape her?" she choked out through her tears. "Why... did you try to rape Aunt Belly?"

"....."

I closed my eyes, lowering my head as she sobbed, placing her head on my chest.

I desperately tried to stop myself from patting her head. Opening my eyes, I looked at Christina.

Her eyes were filled with tears too.

"She was like a... mother to both of us," Avril whispered, raising her head and glaring at me. "...Why did she have to die because of you?"

"...Avril, calm down, please." Christina stepped between us, trying to separate us.

"...How can I calm down!?" Avril screamed, glaring at me. "She died because he couldn't control himself!!"

"Avri—"

"....Tell me, Az." Tightening her grip on my collar, she continued, "...Did you ever love her like she loved you?"

I looked into her tearful eyes before parting my lips. "...No."

She loosened her grip on my collar and took a step back, glaring at me. "...You don't know how much I wish you hadn't been born—"

Slap!!

Her words were cut short as Christina slapped her.

While I closed my eyes, taking shallow breaths...

Well, that fucking hurt....a lot....

Without saying anything I moved past her.

"I am sorry." Grabbing my wrist, she whispered."...I...I didn't mean—."

"...It's fine, big sister." I interjected, removing her hand, making my way towards the door.

"...Az."

"...Please leave me alone, Christina." As she tried to block my way, I requested softly.

"Hey, talk with me, pleas—."

She tried to touch my cheek, but I moved my head away from her reach, "...leave me alone, please."

She hesitated for a while before giving me way...