Chapter 446: Still Reluctant

Third-person POV

Penelope ended up helping Electra clean up the mess in her bathroom, carefully picking up the shattered pieces of glass one by one and dropping them into a small pile by the side, her movements slower than usual as she tried to be cautious and not cut herself any further than she already had.

The entire floor was a mess, stained with dried blood and scattered shards that reflected the light, making the room feel colder than it already was. She didn't complain, even though her fingers were already starting to sting from the small cuts she had gotten while trying to clean up someone else's mess.

There was something tense in the air with Electra, so even she, who usually filled silence with noise, was quick to understand that this was not the time for that. She just focused on the task in front of her, her brows slightly furrowed as she worked, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling sitting in her chest.

Outside the bathroom, Irina was trying to deal with Electra, who looked like she would rather be anywhere else than standing there being examined like she was some kind of problem that needed fixing. She crouched slightly, reaching for Electra's foot with a focused expression, but Electra pulled back immediately, clearly annoyed.

"I said I'm fine," Electra repeated, her voice carrying a sharp edge as she looked down at Irina, her patience wearing thinner with each passing second. "You don't need to keep trying so hard."

Irina didn't even look up at her when she responded, her tone calm but firm. "And I said I don't care," she replied, grabbing Electra's ankle before she could pull away again. "You're bleeding. That alone is enough reason for me to not leave you alone."

Her grip wasn't rough, but it wasn't something Electra could easily shake off either. She inspected the bottom of Electra's foot, her expression tightening slightly at the sight of the cuts. "You walked all over broken glass like this and still think you're fine?"

Electra let out a frustrated breath, her shoulders tensing as she looked away, clearly irritated by how persistent Irina was being. "You're making this more dramatic than it is," she muttered, her voice lower now, but still filled with annoyance. "It's just a few cuts."

Irina finally looked up at her then, her eyes narrowing slightly. "And if it gets infected?" she asked, her tone sharp now. "Or if something worse happens? You're not invincible, Electra, no matter how much you like to act like you are."

That seemed to be the last straw.

With an irritated scoff, Electra pulled her foot away and straightened up, clearly done with the whole situation. "This is exactly why I didn't want to deal with this," she said, her voice cold now as she looked down at Irina.

Then, without another word, she placed her hand over the bottom of her foot, and in a matter of seconds, the cuts disappeared completely, the skin returning to normal like nothing had ever happened.

She lifted her foot slightly, showing it to Irina with an unimpressed expression. "There," she said flatly. "I'm fine now. So can you stop worrying about something that clearly doesn't need your attention?"

Irina stared at her foot for a moment before rolling her eyes, clearly not impressed by the display. "That doesn't change the fact that there's still dried blood all over you," she pointed out, her tone returning to its usual calm, though there was still a hint of irritation there. "You still need to clean that off."

Roxana, who had been standing by the side watching everything unfold with growing frustration, finally let out a loud, annoyed scoff, her patience clearly running out. She crossed her arms, her gaze sharp as it settled on Electra. "Can you just do as she asked and clean up the damn blood already?" she snapped, her voice harsh and deeply irritated. "This is getting ridiculous."

Electra turned to look at her, clearly taken aback by the sudden outburst. Her brows furrowed, and there was a flash of irritation in her eyes. "Why are you always yelling at me?" she shot back, her tone defensive as she stared at Roxana like she couldn't understand why she was being targeted.

Roxana didn't hesitate.

"Because you're always acting like a damn brat," she replied immediately, her voice just as sharp as before, if not sharper. "You act like everything revolves around you, like nothing matters unless you decide it does." She took a step forward, her gaze unwavering. "If you're not going to tell us what's got you acting like this, then the least you can do is respect the fact that we came here to check on you and stop acting like a stupid moron."

The room went quiet for a moment after that.

Electra didn't respond immediately. She just stood there, staring at Roxana, her expression unreadable as if she were trying to decide how to react. Then her gaze shifted slightly, moving between Irina and Roxana, and for a moment, it almost looked like she was considering whether to say anything at all or just ignore them completely.

Eventually, she let out a sigh, and without another word, she turned and walked toward the bathroom, deciding, at least for now, to just go along with it. There was no point in arguing further, not when her head already felt like it was about to split open from everything running through it.

When she stepped into the bathroom, she found Penelope still crouched on the floor, carefully gathering the last few pieces of glass. The pile had grown larger, and the floor looked noticeably clearer than before, though there were still faint streaks of blood that hadn't been cleaned yet. Penelope didn't look up immediately, too focused on what she was doing, but when she finally did, Electra's eyes dropped to her hands.

There were small cuts along her fingers. Some of them were shallow, but a few looked deeper, thin lines of red standing out against her skin.

Electra frowned slightly at the sight, a small shake of her head following before she spoke. "Give me your hands," she said simply, her tone lacking its usual sharpness.

Penelope blinked, clearly confused by the sudden request. "What?" she asked, glancing down at her hands before looking back up at Electra.

"Your hands," Electra repeated, a little more firmly this time, holding out her own as if expecting Penelope to comply.

Still confused, Penelope slowly extended her hands toward her, not fully understanding what was happening but not questioning it either. The moment Electra's fingers touched hers, a faint warmth spread through Penelope's skin, and in seconds, the cuts disappeared completely, leaving no trace behind.

Penelope stared at her hands in surprise, flexing her fingers slightly as if making sure it was real. "Oh…" she murmured softly, still amazed by the fact that Electra could do things like this, but Electra didn't react to her amusement because the moment she finished healing her, something changed.

A ringing suddenly filled her ears, loud and overwhelming, like a high-pitched sound that cut through everything else. Her brows furrowed immediately, her hand pulling back as she tried to process what was happening, but the sound only grew louder, making it hard to focus.

Her vision blurred, the room tilted slightly, and before she could even understand what was going on, her legs gave out under her. She fell to the floor without warning, and everything went black.