The Torment of Concealed Truths

"Jushin! Why do you stand beside that abominable woman?" Almaria's voice shattered the heavy air, her tone a crescendo of disbelief and fury, each word a hot ember.

Jushin countered with a smile that never touched his icy eyes—an unsettling mimicry of joy. "Cease uttering my name," he hissed, each syllable laced with a venom so potent it seemed to sour the air, leaving a lingering, acrid aftertaste.

Almaria recoiled, visibly bruised by his poisonous words. She drew a deep, shaky breath to steady herself. "I never thought you'd betray me for her," she declared, her voice soaked in a potent blend of sorrow and outrage, "especially when she's the monster who took our child from us."

Jushin's eyes flickered with unchecked rage, veins on his forehead pulsating like livid snakes. "She was never my child; Glenna was yours and Xian's abomination!"