Chapter:17 Echoes of Estrangement

**Echoes of Estrangement**

Marcus's heart clenched at Anaya's outburst, her words piercing through the air like arrows of accusation. He struggled to find the right response, his mind racing with a flurry of emotions.

"Why did you come here?" he asked, his voice tinged with confusion as he tried to make sense of the sudden confrontation.

Anaya's response was a whisper, barely audible yet laden with raw emotion. "Why are you being like this?" she murmured, her gaze intense as she locked eyes with him.

As Marcus took in her bare feet, a pang of guilt washed over him. Without a second thought, he rose from his seat and gently lifted her onto the sofa, his touch tentative yet filled with unspoken regret.

"Your feet must be cold," he offered softly, his words an attempt to bridge the gap between them.

But Anaya shook her head, her voice rising with frustration and hurt. "Why now?" she demanded, her words a torrent of pent-up resentment. "After all this time, why suddenly show care and concern?"

Marcus felt the weight of her words like a heavy burden upon his shoulders. The truth of her accusation struck him like a blow, leaving him speechless and reeling with the realization of his own failings.

In that moment, as Anaya's fierce gaze bore into him, Marcus knew that there were no easy answers. He could only hold her gaze with a mixture of regret and determination, silently vowing to make amends for the neglect that had driven a wedge between them.

Marcus stood in stunned silence, his heart heavy with the weight of Anaya's words. He wasn't angry, but rather consumed by a profound sense of disappointment in himself. He knew all too well why Anaya harbored such resentment towards him.

"Don't act kind," she admonished, her voice trembling with suppressed emotion. "I don't need your pity."

Her words cut through him like a knife, exposing the raw truth of his neglect.

As she continued, her accusations echoed in the quiet of the room. "Don't act like you care for me after all this time. Or now that you're going to become a king, are you going to play the role of a kind brother just to bolster your image?"

Anaya's words pierced through the facade of Marcus's composure, leaving him feeling exposed and vulnerable.

"Don't worry," she spat bitterly. "I won't tell anyone your reality. So don't pretend to care for me when you really don't."

With those final words ringing in the air, Anaya turned and fled, leaving Marcus to grapple with the harsh truth of her accusations.

The sting of her rejection lingered long after she had gone, leaving Marcus feeling wounded and adrift in a sea of regret.

In the hushed sanctum of Marcus's study, the weight of silence hung heavy as Alexander and Veronica observed the unfolding drama before them. Each word exchanged between Marcus and Anaya echoed like a mournful lament, a symphony of anguish and resentment that reverberated through the chamber.

As Anaya confronted Marcus with the searing intensity of her pent-up emotions, Alexander's keen gaze flickered with a mixture of pity and remorse. He had witnessed the fractures in their familial bond, the fissures that had been deepened by years of neglect and misunderstanding. But even as his heart ached for the siblings' pain, a sense of resignation settled over him, knowing that some wounds ran too deep to be healed.

Veronica, ever the silent observer, watched with a heavy heart as Anaya's accusations pierced through Marcus's defenses like a sharpened blade. She had hoped for reconciliation, for the restoration of the bond between brother and sister. Yet, as she witnessed the depths of Anaya's anguish and Marcus's silent remorse, she realized that some wounds could never be fully healed, no matter how desperately one wished it.

In the quiet aftermath of Anaya's departure, the air was thick with unspoken regret and lingering resentment. Marcus's stoic facade crumbled, his mask of composure shattered by the raw intensity of his sister's words. With a heavy heart, he turned to Alexander and Veronica, his expression haunted by the specter of his own failings.

For Alexander and Veronica, the scene before them was a sobering reminder of the fragility of familial bonds and the weight of unspoken regrets. As they exchanged silent glances, a sense of foreboding settled over them, casting a pall over the impending coronation and the uncertain future that lay ahead.

In the wake of Anaya's departure, the echoes of betrayal lingered in the air, a poignant reminder of the rift that had torn apart the once unbreakable bond between siblings. And as the shadows lengthened in Marcus's study, a sense of melancholy descended upon them, casting a pall over the grandeur of the Aurelius estate and the tumultuous events that had unfolded within its walls.