Bound By Scars

CHAPTER 2: “The Apology”

The first thing I noticed was the cold.Not the kind that came from the night air outside.The kind that came from the marble floor beneath me.My fingers barely moved as I tried to push myself up. Every part of my body protested, reminding me of what happened on that rooftop.

The pain in my ribs.The burning on my cheek.The sharp ache spread through my entire body.I had made it home.That was the only thing that mattered.

My vision blurred as I stared at the grand staircase in front of me. The same staircase I had walked past every day.Family portraits covered the walls beside it. Every smiling picture looked perfect, yet none of them showed how lonely this house truly felt. Looking at them only reminded me how good we were at pretending everything was fine.

The same staircase where I had spent countless moments feeling like a stranger in my own house.

I wanted to call for help.I wanted someone to notice.But my voice refused to come out.Because after so long of being ignored, you learn something.You learn not to ask.

You learn not to expect anyone to come.

My hand slipped against the smooth marble.My strength disappeared.And before I could stop myself, my body gave up.I collapsed.

The sound of my fall echoed through the enormous foyer.But for a moment, nothing happened.No footsteps.No worried voices.No one rushing toward me.Just silence.

The same silence that had followed me everywhere.Then suddenly...The front doors opened.I heard voices.Footsteps.A familiar voice calling my name.“Ariana?”

My eyes slowly opened.The world around me was blurry, but I recognized the sound.My mother.For a second, I wondered if I was imagining it.Maybe I wanted someone to come so badly that my mind created the sound.

But then I heard the panic in her voice.

“Oh my God.”Her footsteps became faster.“Ariana!”The next thing I knew, she was beside me.Her expensive bag dropped onto the floor.Her perfect appearance disappeared the moment she saw me.

Her expression changed completely.

The woman who always looked calm and untouchable suddenly looked terrified.

Her hands moved toward my face, but stopped halfway.Like she was afraid touching me would hurt me more.Tears gathered in her eyes, and for a moment she looked less like the powerful businesswoman everyone admired and more like a mother terrified of losing her child.

“What happened to my daughter?”Her voice cracked.I stared at her.My daughter.The words felt strange. Almost unfamiliar.My mother had always been busy.

Meetings.Travel.Business dinners. Important people.I had gotten used to seeing her leaving more than seeing her staying.But now she was looking at me like I was the most important thing in the world.And I did not know what to do with that.

Behind her, another pair of footsteps stopped.My father.I slowly looked up.The expression on his face changed the moment he saw me.Confusion.Shock.Then something darker.Something I had never seen before.

Anger.Not at me.For me.“Who did this?” he asked.His voice was quiet.Too quiet.I had heard my father speak thousands of times.But never like this.

I tried to answer.My lips parted.Nothing came out.My throat felt painful.My mother immediately pulled me closer.“Don’t force yourself.”Her voice trembled.“You don’t have to explain anything right now.”

A strange feeling moved through me.

Because those words were something I had waited years to hear.You don’t have to explain.For once, someone was not asking me to prove my pain.

My father knelt beside us.His expensive suit touched the marble floor without hesitation.He reached for my hand carefully.Like I was something fragile.Like I could break.“I’m sorry,” he whispered.I looked at him.

Sorry?The word sounded impossible.

My father had never been the type of person to apologize.Not because he was cruel.But because he was always somewhere else.

Always too busy.Always too focused on things outside these walls.I swallowed painfully.“Marcus,” I finally whispered.My mother froze.My father’s eyes hardened.

“Marcus?”I nodded slightly.“School…”

My voice broke.“He and his friends ”I closed my eyes.The memory came back.The rooftop.The laughter.The pain.“They beat me.”

I could still hear their laughter echoing inside my head. Every kick, every punch, every cruel word felt as fresh as if it had happened only seconds ago

The room became completely silent.My mother covered her mouth.My father looked away for a moment.And somehow, that hurt more.Because I saw the guilt on his face.The realization.

The understanding that while they were building a powerful life.I was surviving a painful one.A maid walked into the room.Catherine.She stopped when she saw everyone gathered around me.

Her expression changed slightly.But not enough.My father slowly turned toward her.“Did you know?”

The question was simple.But the meaning behind it was heavy.Catherine looked uncomfortable.“I…”

My father said,“Did you know my daughter was coming home injured every day?”She looked away.That was enough. My mother’s eyes filled with tears again. My father’s expression became colder. “Leave.”

Catherine looked shocked.“Sir?”“You heard me.”His voice remained calm. “Leave this house.”Her face turned pale. “But I have worked here for years”.“And my daughter has suffered here for years.”

The room became quiet.

“You were supposed to protect this household. Instead, you became another person who made her feel unwanted.”

Catherine had no answer.

She lowered her head and walked away.

For once.

Someone stood up for me.And I did not know how to feel about it.My mother helped me stand carefully.She held onto me as we walked toward the living room.

Every step hurt.But for the first time in a long time, someone was walking beside me.

Not ahead.Not behind.Beside me.She sat me down gently and covered me with a blanket.“I should have noticed,” she whispered.I looked at her.“I should have seen the signs.”Her voice became softer.

“The bruises. The way you stopped talking. The way you stopped asking us for anything.”She wiped away her tears.“I thought you were becoming independent.”She gave a broken laugh.

“But you were just learning how to survive without us.”I looked down.Because she was right.My father sat beside me.“We failed you, Ariana."Neither of us spoke. The room felt heavy with everything we should have said years ago but never did.

Not because they were cruel.Because they were true.“We were so focused on protecting our company, our reputation, our future…”He looked at my bruised hands.“And we forgot to protect you.”

My eyes burned.I wanted to say something.I wanted to tell them how much it hurt.How many nights I waited for them.How many times I wished they would notice.But the words stayed trapped inside me.

Because pain that is carried for years does not disappear in one night.My father gently squeezed my hand.“We are going to make this right.”I looked at him.For the first time…

I wanted to believe him.But a small voice inside me whispered What if they leave again?What if tomorrow, everything goes back to the way it was?I looked away.

Because hope was dangerous.I had forgotten how to hold it.And somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew something.

The wolves at school were not finished.

They had only started showing their teeth.