"Bow your head properly and apologise, Aaron!" Aaron's mother snapped at him, with an evident tone of anger in her voice.
He hadn't done anything wrong.
In fact, from his perspective, he was the one who was wronged. However, the status of his mother in his father's house doesn't leave him many choices. Also, his opinions or well-being don't matter when it comes to situations like these because, from the perspective of his father and stepmother, he was always the problem.
In fact, he is never given a chance to explain himself whenever any dispute or squabble occurs because they believe his very existence is the problem.
Seated on the balcony of a glamorous mansion was a tall, blonde-haired woman in her late thirties. She was beautiful and expensively dressed. She was Madam Judith, Aaron's stepmum. She was seated on an exquisite sofa with an irritated look on her face as she stared down at Susan, Aaron's mother, who had her head pressed against the ground in apology.
Aaron, a black-haired fourteen-year-old boy, quietly stared with a concerned expression on his face, listening to Madam Judith's angry scolds.
"He is a problem child! I have always known he is a problem child. He is just as useless and problematic as his ugly, slutty mother. If only you had aborted him as I and Charles had warned you to, this house would have been as peaceful and tranquil as it has always been. We would be one big happy family."
Angrily, she whipped her head in Aaron's direction.
"But no. You refused. In your infinite wisdom and limitless stubbornness, you decided to have a child no one would accept, and unluckily for us, the child is just as endlessly stupid as you are! Now I have to deal with more stupid people in my own husband's house."
With a trembling voice, Susan—Aaron's mother—pleaded,
"Th–This one begs for your forgiveness. Please... please pardon this one, for she will chastise her adamant son afterwards."
Ignoring her plea, Judith continued at the top of her voice, distracting the multiple servants that worked around the house.
"Your pathetic pleading only makes you more annoying!"
Unable to withstand the endless embarrassment his mother was facing, Aaron ignored the sharp, growing pain he felt below his back and bent his head all the way to his waist level.
"Thi–This one apologizes for the troubles he's caused!"
He said loudly, with an unsteady voice.
Madam Judith abruptly stopped ranting and stared at him for a long moment, with utter disgust etched all over her face. Aaron, meanwhile, maintained his apologetic posture, actively ignoring the growing pain in his back.
With his head still bent in apology, he took a quick side glance at the window and noticed slight movements behind the curtains in the house. He saw his elder sister, Abigail, observing them from inside the house.
'Ughh... I told her not to watch.'
He berated himself internally, rolling his eyes.
Aaron knew he would not have found himself in this position if he had completely listened to his mum and sister when they advised and reprimanded him. But how could he, when he also couldn't withstand his sister's suffering?
And the most absurd reason was that she was undergoing all of her current hardship for his sake.
She had told him repeatedly to look the other way when he saw things he couldn't accept and continue to work on improving himself, but how could he bring himself to do that when he's blatantly aware of the kind of pain, embarrassment, and ridicule she goes through, all for the sake of his growth?
Aaron chuckled bitterly, remembering the events that had happened earlier.
His seventeen-year-old, egoistic and selfish stepbrother, Damian, had forcefully slapped his sixteen-year-old sister for failing to properly organize his schedule for the day. There were enough servants and attendants in the house to do these things for Damian. However, Damian neglected them and purposefully picked on his elder sister without remorse because, according to him, 'She's more efficient.'
Aaron definitely would have obeyed his sister's request of him not getting involved in these altercations if it had been just one slap, but no—the egoistic psychopath just continued hitting her till he drew blood. Unable to withstand such a sight, he obviously got involved and got utterly beaten by his stepbrother.
This wasn't the first or hundredth time he was getting pummeled by his stepbrother. He knew he could not do much against Damian.
'Do much?'
He knew he could not do anything against his stepbrother, but that has not stopped him from repeatedly getting into fights with Damian because of his sister.
However, today was different. After messing him up badly, Damian had purposefully broken a sculpture of their dead grandmother—the only one their father had—and deliberately pinned it on Aaron.
Aaron had desperately claimed his innocence, but of course, he was ignored and reprimanded.
Turning his head slightly upwards, he caught a glimpse of Madam Judith, who was still quietly staring him down, fuming.
He knew she was aware of his innocence, but her hatred for him wouldn't let her publicly admit it.
Turning downwards again, Aaron's eyes widened a bit as he realized something.
Unsurprisingly, he just realized he has no memory of Madam Judith ever displaying any form of affection towards him or his sister. She had hated him ever since he could walk, which was partly understandable because his mother was just a lowly slave his father happened to fancy for a short period.
Madam Judith was the legitimate wife. He and his sister were just a nuisance in her life.
Aaron grimaced to himself as he remembered his father.
'He will be back soon.'
Aaron's father—a military commander who traveled a lot and was almost never at home—treated Aaron very harshly. He had been away for too long, so there was a high possibility he was going to arrive anytime soon. And when he arrived, Aaron was definitely going to be punished for a crime he knew nothing of.