I coiled my arms above her shoulder and kissed her forehead. “This is alright. I just had a brief argument with your father.”

Maria pulled herself from my hug after hearing that. “That bastard! How dare he hurt my Adrian!” She stepped forward, but I pulled her into my embrace again.

“No, no. That was my fault. I started it all. More importantly….” I put two checks on her hands. “We’ve got this. You can start living freely and comfortably with these. These are all yours.”

“You are more important than money! I am not satisfied before I—”

I sealed her lips with mine, making her quiet. Maria’s body got relaxed, and she hugged my waist tightly. As she closed her eyes, my right hand traveled from her chin to the back of her ear, caressing it softly. She gave a low, enchanting moan, and it got me excited.

She replied to me, and we pecked each other. Sometimes, I touched her upper lip and changed to lower lip after a while. One time, she stole my lip inside her, and I didn’t want to feel defeated, so I targeted the tip of her pink lip, her most sensitive area. I felt like having the high ground when she moaned louder.

We stopped to catch a breath. Maria’s face was as red as a tomato. She giggled happily when I stared at her. I was about to continue the second round, but we suddenly heard footsteps from above.

She stepped back, leaving me dissatisfied. However, I felt ashamed too because I just realized we did it in her family’s house. I just hoped no one saw us earlier.

Two doctors shouldered Maria’s little brother. It surprised me to see this cocky guy injured. They stopped before us, and one doctor asked my condition, “Are you alright?”

“Um, yes. What happened to that kid?”

The doctors glanced at Maria, and I instantly realized she did something to her brother. “If you want us to treat you, you can visit us in the medical room.” With that, they continued walking.

As they disappeared behind the door of the room below, I asked Maria, “What did you do to her brother?”

She looked down and answered nervously, “I… he attacked me first, so I had to hurt him.”

“Maria, you….”

She shuddered, and I patted her head to calm her down. “You are a good girl.”

“Adrian isn’t angry at me?”

“Eh, why? You only defended yourself. In fact, if any boy gets closer to you, I want you to do the same thing to them.”

Maria looked up at me again and smiled. “Adrian is surprisingly a based man.”

“Eh, I don’t know what you are talking about. I always have been,” I said proudly. I didn’t want to see her hurting females, but I felt fine if she did it to males. I guessed I had a double standard.

Maria shook her head to signal me to not mind her words, and I just realized a red brush on her neck. I leaned forward to get a better look, and she suddenly kissed my cheek.

It threw me off guard. She gave me a teasing smirk. When I closed my face to her, she took several steps forward, avoiding me.

She tilted her head, letting her long hair majestically flow down. “I love Adrian. Can I become your girlfriend again?”

My eyes widened in a sudden realization. We technically had broken up when I left her. I felt embarrassed that I forgot about this.

I kept my calm appearance, approached her, and flicked her forehead. “What are you talking about? I don’t remember agreeing to break up with you. Let’s go home.”

She nodded enthusiastically and embraced my arm. Maria had a wide smile, and her cheeks blushed a little. She was so cute that I teased her a bit.

“But, man, it was painful when you threatened me like that. It hurt me, you know.”

She suddenly tightened her clutch. “I… I panicked too, but I….”

I pinched her nose, and she stopped talking. I smiled widely. “Hehe, just kidding.”

“No, I regretted my action. What can I do to make up with you?”

I suddenly stared at her soft breasts that were pressed against my arm. I shook my head. “Cook me something when I am home.”

“You’ve got a deal, hehe.”

She didn’t want to let me go as we walked. We met several maids on the way, and I could feel their weird stares behind our backs. I guessed it was weird to see both of us injured. However, we got outside of this mansion happily. After that, Maria released my arm.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Is it fine if I meet my little sisters first?”

I frowned when I heard it. Maria had hurt them in the past, leaving trauma in their hearts. Part of me thought it would be a bad idea to let them meet, but I shook my head and trusted her.

“Okay, let’s go.”

She held my hand again, but this time she was shaken. “Do you want to hear about what I have done to them in the past?”

I already heard about it from her father, but I thought letting her tell me her story would ease her mind, so I nodded.

“You can tell everything to me. I won’t judge your past anymore. Maria wants to change, right? So, I will always stay by your side,” I said as I tightened my grip against her hand.

She took several steps back and buried her face against the back of my arm. “I was selfish in the past. I always thought I was the center of the universe. I only cared about me.”

I stopped walking, turned my back, and caressed her cheek. “You aren’t that kind of person anymore.”

She rubbed her cheek against my palm. “I realized I love Adrian the most now.”

I smiled weakly. I cared for her for my sake and because I loved myself the most. I felt touched by her feeling, and I could sense the current Maria would do anything for me, but I didn’t want that. I wanted her to care about herself more. It wasn’t the time to tell her, so I only listened to her when she talked about her past as we walked again to the place where her little sisters usually played.

“I was very close to the twins. We bathed together, played together, and joked around together. They really relied on me for almost everything. However, everything changed when I entered junior high school. It began when I found out that other girls were disgusting.”

She laughed. “Yes, I actually found other girls inferior and disgusting. They always complained about everything, but couldn’t do anything by themselves. Well, I know that not every girl is like that, but most girls I have encountered are like that. It was fun to bully them. They couldn’t do anything.”

“Yes, I changed after my first time bullying my junior high school classmates. I had a lot of methods to bully people, including physical torture, but I was smart enough to not leave any evidence.

“Because of school and my bullying activity, I rarely stayed at home, so I didn’t spend quality time with my little sisters, too. When I was having a long school holiday, I couldn’t go out because people were gone with their families, so I spent time at home.

“Knowing it, my little sisters visited me frequently again, but I had changed. I thought of them as unpleasant and an eyesore. I didn’t find them cute anymore. I had done nothing to them yet until one day they simply played frisbee throwing with my mom’s diary. I was angry, and I shouted at them. They feared me but annoyed too because no one ever scolded them besides their mother.

“I was too lazy to reason with kids, and I was being a mean kid too, so I just resorted to violence. I just simply slapped their faces once, but blood flowed out of their noses. I panicked, but once again I felt a bit relieved. I always felt this every time I committed violence.

“The next day my father reprimanded me like when I threw a knife at my stepmother’s chest. He told me this and that, but I would never bow down to him. He made me crueler.

“One time, my little sisters innocently visited me again, and they even apologized for a simple childish, mischievous deed. I—hatred already possessed me. I trapped them and bullied them. That time I left a big trauma in their heart. I went so far that I just didn’t want to remember it. My past sin haunts me now. Every time I remember it, I just can’t stop shaking.”

I caressed her back. I already heard the complete version of what she had done to her sisters, so it was time to make her stop. “It is fine. You can stop. What matters now is you have changed. Endure the burden of your sins. It is fine if you aren’t forgiven, but you have to overcome your past.”

Maria shook her head. “My victims aren’t okay. To be honest, I still don’t care about most of them. My selfish side still lingers in my heart. However, I want to do this for you. I want to make you proud, and I don’t want to become a burden for you.”

My heart raced, and I felt touched. I couldn’t help but scratch my nape awkwardly as I averted my eyes. “Silly, you don’t have to go to that extent.” She only gave me a sweet smile. I whispered, “You aren't a selfish person.”

We finally arrived at our destination, the lake near the mansion. We instantly spotted Maria’s little sisters playing with mud on the edge of the lake. Each of them carried a scoop and bucket.

It stunned Maria when she saw them. She tried to take a step, but each time she did that, she subconsciously retreated.

I tightened my grip on her hand and whispered in her ear. “If you want to overcome your past, I will always be at your side.” I straightened my body and smiled. “However, this time, let me lead you.” I pulled her, and she braced herself to follow me.

It stunned the little sisters when they saw Maria as expected, but Maria trembled, too. They only stared at each other cautiously, so I broke the ice between them.

“Hello. What are you doing here?”

“LEAVE!” the oldest twin shouted as she placed her body in front of her little sister. I was stumped and didn’t know what to do.

Maria finally let go of my hand and stepped forward. The youngest twin clutched her big sister’s shirt and started sobbing.

“LEAVE!” the oldest twin shouted once again.

Maria suddenly knelt on her knees, letting her skirt dirty by the mud. “I just want to talk. After that, I will leave. I won’t do anything. I promise.”

The youngest twin said, “What do you want from us?”

“I—I just want to say that I regret every single action I have done to both of you. I am sorry.”

“Do you think we will forgive you?” the oldest twin said.

“No, I just want to say this. I don’t need you to forgive me. At least, you have heard me.” Maria stood up, and her hand probed to the back, searching for my hand.

I gripped her hand. I felt proud of her. “Good job, Maria. Let’s go home.”

As Maria wanted to turn back, the youngest twin called, “Wait, big sister.”

Maria held her tears as she heard that word. “Yes?”

“We can forgive you… but what can you do to atone for your sins.” The youngest twin was scolded by her big twin sister, but she placed a hand on her big sister’s mouth and stared at Maria.

“I—I will do anything if you can forgive me. I want us to get close again like we used to….”

The youngest twin suddenly threw a ball of mud at Maria’s face, making everyone stunned. “If you can endure us throwing mud at you until you leave the gate, we will forgive you.”

“What kind of condition is that? If you want to forgive someone, just forgive them.”

“Can big brother stay out of this? You do not know what she has done to us. I want to do this, so I can overcome my trauma too. Mommy and big sis always take care of me. I want to change too! However, every time I attempt to change, I always remember Maria’s face. I want to erase that from my mind!”

“Adrian, it is okay. I will do this. I don’t want forgiveness, but if by doing this they can change for the better, I want to do it,” Maria comforted me.

“Is this okay, Big Sis?” the youngest twin asked her big twin sister.

“Lil Sis is a genius. Let’s do this. Stay out of this, okay, Big Brother.”

I could only grit my teeth and fists as I took several steps back, and they threw mud balls at Maria.

Maria walked, and her eyes actually beamed, thinking she could finally become useful. However, I became emptier each time mud balls hit her body. Sometimes I was on the verge of going berserk. It was the first time I wanted to punch girls. However, I endured too.

On our way, we met the oldest brother. I approached him and asked if he could do something about those twin siblings. He looked at me as if I was just a fly. “Why should I? Maria isn’t our family member anymore, right? Looks, she seems to enjoy it.”

“How dare you! Don’t you have sympathy?”

“Shut up! You hurt my dad, and she injured my little brother. Serve you right.” He made a call with his phone. “Hello, this is me. Please open the gate. Maria will leave. She isn’t a member of this family anymore, so stay out of this.” He suddenly walked away and left us just like that.

I wanted to catch him, but Maria had already walked far, so I chased her instead.

Those little devils were cruel as they only targeted Maria’s face, and my girlfriend did nothing to defend herself from their attacks. I was about to lose control, but I suddenly saw the gate. I only needed to endure for a while, and we wouldn’t have anything to do with this damned family anymore.

Time seemed to pass slowly, but we finally one step away from the gate. The security actually enjoyed the scene as he sipped his coffee. To think I once gave him respect. I felt ashamed.

The little devils threw the whole buckets of mud at Maria as we stepped out of the gate. Maria breathed out of relief. When we turned back to see her little sisters, they had already run away, and the gate was closed.

“I….” Maria was stumped. She couldn’t hold back anymore as tears flowed from her eyes.

“OI! Come back! You owe Maria your forgiveness. Come back!” I shouted as I shook the gate.

The security suddenly approached us. “Sirs, can you leave? You aren't a guest in this place. If you don’t leave, I have to call the police.”

“You….” I was out of my mind and wanted to curse him, but Maria suddenly pulled me. “Maria?”

“Let’s leave.”

“But….”

“Let’s go, Adrian. Please. We are free from this place.”

I clucked, and with a heavy heart, I followed Maria. Someone already parked my motorcycle near to the gate. We silently went to my house.

When we arrived at my house, we were lucky that my big brother hadn’t come back yet.

“Ah, home,” Maria said weakly.

“Yes, this is Maria’s home. I swear if our relationship won’t last, you are still my family. I won’t abandon you.”

“Shush, don’t say that. I want our relationship to be everlasting forever. By the way, can I take a bath?”

“This is your home. You don’t have to ask permission for everything.”

Maria raised her feet to kiss my cheek, but she stopped when she realized mud covered her body. She giggled and ran to the bathroom. “I want to kiss Adrian one hundred times after I am done taking a bath.”

“Yes, yes, I will get you a towel.”

I went to get a towel from my mom’s bedroom. When I was on my way to the bathroom, I suddenly thought that Maria was really strong. She had become cheerful again after being treated like that, or so I thought, until I arrived before the door of the bathroom. I heard her cry, and it bled my heart.

Of course, she wasn’t fine. They promised her forgiveness when she genuinely wanted to change. I thought of a thing to cheer her on, and I remembered about one thing I could do for her.

I took off my shirt and opened the door. Luckily, it wasn’t locked. I already promised my big brother and mom to not do this, but sometimes a man had to make a different choice.

“I am sorry, Brother, Mom.” I locked the door as I entered the bathroom.