The metal door slammed open with a bang.
Jenny stumbled through it, heels clattering on the concrete as she yanked her arm free—unsuccessfully.
"Let me go! You're crazy!" she shrieked, twisting like a caught animal.
Thalia didn't let go.
Her grip was like iron around Jenny's wrist as she hauled her forward and threw her onto the rooftop of the hospital—a 26-story building—with a harsh shove.
Jenny fell hard, palms scraping against the rough surface.
"Urgh!" She let out a sharp yelp, looking up in disbelief, tangled hair falling over her face.
"After ruining everything—where do you think you're running?" Thalia's voice was low, breathless, cracked at the edges from holding back too long.
After running away from Doctor Seleyena's cabin, she had noticed the Cruxius guards at the entrance, leading her to run through the hospital in search of a back exit.
There, she found Jenny sprinting, followed closely by Darithi.
Thalia, using AI voice technology from a sample easily found in the case of one of the richest playboy heirs, made a fake call and removed Darithi from the situation.
"H-How dare you!" Jenny pushed herself up with a glare, brushing off her designer clothes like that would fix her pride.
"You brought your boyfriend here to harass me? I swear I'll tell Mother—"
Smack!
Thalia's hand snapped out, landing a sharp slap on Jenny's face with enough force to make her stumble in that direction.
"He's not my boyfriend. Damn it, Jenny!" Her voice cracked now, more hoarse than loud. "You drugged me. You and your fiancé threw me alone with that animal!"
Jenny froze.
"Pfft." Then she laughed—short, forced, bitter.
"Why do you always say things like that? Like you're some tragic little heroine? Ugh. You're so annoying." She stood up fully now, flipping her hair as if this was just another schoolyard fight. She rubbed her cheek, wanting to slap back too, but the result would only be another, stronger slap.
"You always get everything, Thalia. Perfect grades. Perfect gifts. The smile Dad never gave me until he died. And now even a rich man to sleep with. You'll probably pop out the Blac family heir and live in gold." Jenny rolled her eyes to show how unbelievable it was that Thalia always got whatever she wanted.
Thalia's face twisted—rage and pain warping into something quieter, more dangerous.
"Cut it out, Jenny." Thalia clenched her fist, feeling too much pain and anger from this woman not even realizing what she had done to her.
"No," Jenny snapped. "You don't get to act wounded. Not you. You've always been in front. I spent years watching you shine while I was just 'the other girl'. I tried everything. I dyed my hair, I copied your damn handwriting, I—" She paused, voice cracking. "I starved myself just to look like you."
"...You..." Thalia took a slow step forward. Jenny instinctively moved back, but her heel hit the low ledge behind her. She stiffened.
"You think I wanted that life?" Thalia said, voice dangerously soft. "I just liked studying. Was it my fault that my handwriting is good or that I was born like this? I didn't choose to be good at anything when I was born! I lost my mother the day I was born, you idiot!"
Jenny blinked. She didn't speak.
"You think you're the victim? You gave me to that man. Like I was trash. Like it was some small matter." Thalia's voice cracked again, her fists clenched at her sides.
Jenny's arms dropped. Her lips parted slightly, face pale as she noticed Thalia's clenched fist, eyes darting around for an opening to run.
"I just… I just wanted you to finally fall," she muttered. "Just once. Just once. A-And Mother also gave her permission for this."
'!'
Thalia stilled.
"…What?"
Her eyes widened—not in shock, but in slow, spreading devastation. She stared at Jenny, blinking like she hadn't heard right, like her ears had betrayed her.
"You're lying."
But Jenny didn't deny it.
That was all it took.
Like a fraying thread pulled from the center, something inside Thalia began to unravel. Her knees weakened slightly, and her gaze lost focus, flickering across the rooftop as though she were trying to wake up from a dream—a nightmare.
'So even she…?'
A memory stabbed through her—of standing at the edge of rooms she was never really allowed in, offering smiles to a woman who never smiled back, working harder, quieter, better, hoping... just hoping one day she'd be called daughter.
But she never was.
Drip… drip…
"Wh…y… sob… why…?" Thalia's voice hitched, choking against the words she didn't know how to say. Her hands flew up to clutch her head, nails digging into her scalp as her eyes flooded. "You... idiots… all of you…"
The tears broke loose—wet trails down her cheeks, falling freely now.
Her knees finally buckled as she slumped against the railing, breath hitching as grief poured out, raw and unbearable.
She tried wiping them away with her sleeves, but they kept coming. Her shoulders trembled.
It hurt.
It ached.
Like something inside her was breaking in places that would never heal the same again.
"Don't act weak with me!" Jenny, finally finding an opening to run, hurled the words as she used both palms to push—shoving Thalia aside with full force to get away from her.
Hard.
'!'
'Huh?'
Thalia's eyes widened.
Her body staggered back—two steps—three—
The edge.
One hand shot out blindly for something—anything. Concrete scraped her skin.
And then—
Gone.
Silence.
Jenny just ran away, leaving the roof empty, with no one.