Emily immediately looked up at the two stupid men who decided to be generous at a completely wrong moment.

Her eyes glared directly at Kaiden and Shadow as she told them silently to shut up and back off. She was finally receiving the much-needed attention from Mark and the rest of her brothers and these two men were planning on ruining the chance.

​​

Kaiden was surprised when he found his angel glaring at him and soon realized that Shadow was receiving the same treatment which immediately made him feel good.

He felt someone tapping on his arm and when he turned to look, he found Shadow staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face but his eyes were telling him something that he failed to catch.

On the other hand, Emily hurriedly put on a soft expression on her face when she realized that most of her brothers had noticed her glaring at Kaiden and Shadow. Rylan and Crist were even smirking while Domenic just shook his head with a soft sigh.

The good thing was that Mark was too busy inspecting her foot that he totally missed the exchanges between her and the others.

"Alright. Heal it quickly or it will start to swell." Mark told Kaiden and Shadow as he turned to look at both of them. He did not care which of them was going to heal her as long as they could do the job perfectly.

"I'm sensing some kind of energy source in the northeast direction. You take care of her for now. The two of us will go and take a look around the area..." Shadow tried to cook up a story to leave the place and not destroy the plan that Emily had in her mind.

However, Mark had his plans because he immediately questioned them in a cold and low voice, "Are you both really thinking about helping her with her stupid idea even if meant that she would be experiencing pain and discomfort all the time?"

"Nearly more than four years had passed and she's still as childish and selfish as before. She had learned nothing at all, still loves to play with others' emotions, and love. Still loves to destroy others' trust..."

His words were filled with so much sadness and pain that even his brothers were shocked to hear him speak out the hurt that he had been keeping inside him all these years.

But to Emily, his words were like slaps on her cheek that finally pulled her out of her misunderstanding that she would be forgiven just by being cute and adorable all the time.

With a quick flick of her fingers, she healed her injured foot and knees before standing up hurriedly.

"What the heck are you doing, Em? You were not supposed to use your powers. Don't you know about the troub..." Rylan trailed off when he saw tears rolling down her cheek.

His brother was immediately beside her as he put his hand around her shoulder to comfort her but looking at her rigid state, it appeared as if comfort was the last thing that she needed at the moment.

Rylan felt his wolf becoming restless as it felt the disturbance in Emily's soul through their spirit guardian bond. He also noticed the restlessness in his brother whose wolf was definitely experiencing something similar or even more considering that the two of them were joined together at a deeper level.

Emily pulled away from Kaiden and gave him a soft assuring smile that was clearly forced. She then turned to look directly at her brothers who seemed to be disturbed but also confused. Her gaze stopped on Mark who still refused to look at her.

"I'm sorry... sorry for being selfish... sorry for leaving you guys four years ago all of a sudden... sorry for not keeping in contact after leaving... and... sorry for... trying to keep you guys safe... from me..."

Her voice was low but firm as she finally decided to take the chance to speak out the words that had been hiding deep inside her heart for so long.

"When I first returned to the mansion five years ago, I was barely invited in the family... but then you all opened up to me and accepted me as your family. You made me come out of my shell and look forward to our happy future together..."

"I know that you guys love me so much, that... that you all are trying your best to keep me safe and protected... but what I don't understand is the double standards that you all have created. If it's you all trying to keep me safe then it's fine because as my family and friends, you guys are allowed to do that..."

She quieted down for a few seconds to take in a deep breath before she continued, "... but why I'm not allowed to do the same?"

Her sudden outburst caused everyone to look at her in surprise. She seemed even more hurt and vulnerable than how Mark seemed just a minute before.

"Do I regret leaving for Nightfall Academy? No, I don't! If given a chance, I will still choose to leave but it's also true that I regret hurting all of you. If I can really get a second chance, I would have made sure to get permission from all of you. There was not even a si gel day when I did not miss you all. All my birthdays, Halloweens, Christmases, and New Years were spent away from you guys. Except for Shadow, Rylan, and Shane, none of you were there with me."

Another tear rolled down her cheek but she hurriedly wiped it away before she looked up to face the men who were looking at her with shocked expressions on their faces.

"Why... why I'm not allowed to protect you guys when you have the freedom to protect me? Is it because I'm the youngest or because according to you guys I'm the weakest one here?"