Chapter 215

• Lucian's POV
• Jalin seized my chin, wrenching my face back to the mirror. "Are you waiting for me to dress you, Your Majesty?" His hands slid down, slow and possessive, unbuttoning my shirt with deliberate malice. The fabric parted, exposing my sunken chest, and his gloved fingers lingered, tracing the jut of my ribs. I grabbed his wrists, my frail grip trembling. "I'm tired," I whispered, voice a broken thread. "I don't want to see anyone today."
• Jalin sneered and tore the shirt from my shoulders, seams splitting like skin. He shoved me from the wheelchair, and I crashed to the floor, legs limp, a puppet with slashed strings. "Your brother's coming," he hissed, looming over me. "If you greet him like this - pathetic, lifeless - he'll think I've neglected my duties." His eyes burned with that familiar madness, a sadistic gleam that promised torment.