"The fuck!" Khrom cursed when the terrible odour wafted the surrounding. He peered at Calak and kicked and once more cursed. "You fucking piece of shit. Do you think you can shit wherever you want?!"

His nose twitched as the terrible odour spread in the shop. He slapped the man in irritation and once more kicked on his chest and shouted. "Confess!"

Calak gazed at Khrom's cold face and stuttered. "I-I didn't do anything."

"It seems you don't remember. Don't worry, let me help you to recollect your memory." Though he was feeling disgusted by the stench he still moved and held Calak's hand. Before Calak could protest Khrom had already detached a thumb of his right hand.

"Ahhhh!!"

An agonised shriek reverberated in the entire shop, as he rolled and quivered and cursed nonstop. However, no one felt pity for him except Rayna who thought he was innocent. As she thought about pleading once more, Kadyn's dark face fell into her view. She embraced her child tightly and remained silent. Not daring to speak.

Rayna thought that this place was a normal shop; and she came here to ask for help, as she had heard about the shop's reputation and knew that they sold miraculous potions. But only now did she realise that she had entered into a den of beasts. She felt incomparably uncomfortable. Calak's every shriek sent a shiver into her spine.

Elora patted her shoulder from behind and said. "Don't worry. My brother never does anything without a good reason. There must be a purpose behind this as well."

Rayna didn't know what to say. She had complete trust in Calak as she knew him for many years. She and her husband and Calak were childhood friends. How could she not know about Calak's character?

After her husband died in the forest while collecting herbs, it was Calak who supported and helped her. Never asking anything in return. Therefore when he proposed to her a month ago, she could not reject him. After all she was a single mother, Rayna knew that alone she could not give her son a decent life. She was an ordinary human after all. Therefore after a long thought, she accepted his proposal.

"Are you going to confess or would you like to lose another finger?" just as she was lost in past memories, Khrom's cold voice sounded. She bit her lip but stayed silent.

"Please, let me, let me go!!" Calak bellowed with pain and indignation. His eyes turned crimson and his body had been covered in sweat. He begged and pleaded, but to no avail. Khrom wasn't a kind soul like Kadyn. He had seen all kinds of colour in life and his heart had turned cruel. Though usually, he appeared normal, there was a vast grievance hidden in him.

"Looks like you've chosen a second option, huh?" Khrom grinned widely as he stared at Calak as if he was a kind of toy.

However, just as he was about to take another finger from his hand, Calak's terrifiedly shriek sounded. "It was me. It was me! I added poison in the milk because I knew that Kove drinks milk every morning."

Rayna heard him and her legs buckled. Elora—who stood behind Rayna—supported her, preventing her from falling. Rayna stared at Calak and her eyes turned red, as she screamed in rage. "Why? Why did you do that?!"

"Why? Don't you know?" Calak said with full of bitterness. "I have loved you since we were children. However, you rejected my proposal and got together with Melo. I was broken from inside. He wasn't better than me. Not in look, neither in wealth. But you still choose him over me." At this moment his face became cruel as a vicious smile appeared on his face. "Therefore I decided to destroy that bastard and snatch his woman."

Rayna's heart trembled as she heard his insane laughter.

Calak peered at Rayna and sneered. "After long planning, I got my chance. We both went to collect herbs, but a group of wolves attacked us. Melo wasn't as strong as me. Therefore, when we were trying to escape, I injured him so he would fall behind and wolves would not go after me. Two birds with a single stone."

He started laughing maniacally. "You know what? He died at that time, and he died miserably. I still remember his face that was filled with disbelief and confusion. Alas, he would never know the reason why he died."

Rayna trembled at this moment and tears fell from her beautiful eyes non-stop. She never thought that Calak, her closest friend, would do such a thing. He was the reason behind every terrible thing that happened in her life. She stared at him and asked with a voice filled with hatred. "Then why do you want to kill my son? He is just a child!"

"Isn't it easy to perceive?" Kadyn spoke from the side as he darted his cold look at Calak. "Kove is Melo's child and Calak hated him to the extreme point, as in his point of view, Melo had snatched his love from him." Then he shook his head. "People say that women are jealous creatures, but men aren't any different. Therefore, he couldn't stand the sight of Kove, as he was Melo's son. He wanted to kill him, but he also wanted to make you his woman. So he couldn't do anything to Kove openly.

"And to achieve his goal he had only one choice—to endure. He endured for five years, and acted kind and helped you as much as he could. And as time passed you started to realise that it isn't easy to foster a child—that's what Calak wanted to make you realise—your financial condition started to deteriorate day by day. That was the time he once again proposed to you, and the outcome was obvious."

Rayna started crying and fell on her knees. This time Elora didn't support her. It's better to wash your bitterness and grievances through tears, sometimes. "Why al you clyig, Maa?"