Old Wace smiled back,pletely oblivious to his thoughts.


    "But what exactly made youe back?" Richard suddenly asked. "I’m sure it’s not just some dish that forced you to drop by. You’re up to something."


    Xander simply stared at Richard’s digitless hands, wondering what could have happened to him before he looked up at his brother.


    "Is there something wrong if I drop by for some home-cooked meal?" He asked.


    "Of course there is," Richard replied in a heartbeat. "First youe back from out of nowhere, and this bitch," he pointed to Anastasia who was trying to be as quiet as possible because she was sure Richard would call her names. "She got kidnapped, rumored dead and now shees back with a new face! What sort of movie is this? Something is happening and no one is telling me anything."


    Xavier’s hands clenched when he heard Richard’s words.


    Only the so-called <i>blood is thicker than water</i> quote managed to stop him whenever he thought of ways to kill Richard.


    "No one is telling you anything, because you’re not supposed to know anything." Kace finally spoke. "Did your injuries somehow manage to slow down your brain functions?"


    "What did you just say?" Richard questioned.


    Richard stood up, ready to fight but a re from Xavier forced him to sit back down and shrink.


    No one spoke a word except old Wace who tapped Xander a few times and tried to get him to say something now and then. And in a blink of an eysh, dinner was over.


    Anastasia went to the Wace garden to take some fresh air after the awkward dinner which wasn’t exactly awkward since old Wace spoke a few times.


    Her hands wrapped around herself as she sighed and waited for Xavier and Xander to finish their conversation.


    Staying in the same space as Xander made her blood boil, goosebumps rise on her skin, anxiety surge through her, and worst of all, it made her feel suffocated.


    To think she would have to forgive him someday.


    "What are you thinking about?" Kace suddenly appeared by her side and asked.


    Anastasia nced at him before she replied. "Just thinking about how I would have forgiven Xander one day after everything he’d done to me," she forced through her teeth.


    "No one is asking for you to forgive him though," he replied. "What he did to you was unspeakable so it’spletely fine if you don’t forgive him. Even I don’t forgive him for what he did to you," he added, looking at the stars.


    Anastasia turned to look at him. "Kace..."


    "I want to kill him," he dered. "I want to hurt him so badly that he’d start begging for mercy but that’s not my judgment. Both you and Xavier are the ones that have the right to punish him how you deem fit."


    Anastasia sighed once more. "I had so many ideas, but now that things took a whole different turn, I’ll have to think things through."


    "What are you two talking about?" Richard spawned from out of nowhere. "Xander did something, didn’t he?" He towered Anastasia, scanning her face with narrowed eyes. "Even with your new face, you still look like the bitch you’ve always been. Maybe on one of these days, you cane over and have fun. I was already used to your previous face under me, but now I would like to see how you look with this new one while I’m fuckin’ ya!!"


    Anastasia muttered a curse under her breath, her eyes narrowing with cold fury. Without hesitation, she clenched her fist so tightly her knuckles turned white, then drove it into Richard’s jaw with the full force of her rage. The sound of bone meeting bone cracked through the air like a whip, and Richard staggered backward, stumbling several feet before crashing into a nearby wall.


    He held his cheeks, baffled at what had happened.


    Anastasia wore an unimpressed look, wondering if this was going to be their new tradition whenever she visited the Wace mansion.


    "I’m starting to think you like being hit. What now? Do you want me to carve your face so you always have something to remind you not to cross my path whenever you look in the mirror because I’m starting to get bored of this already," she said.


    Richard took a step forward but Kace immediately blocked him.


    "If I were you, I would think before doing anything."