Chapter 448: Changes Nothing

Third-person POV

Electra waited for either Irina, Penelope, or Roxana to say something after she finished explaining about the ugly creature that had shown up in her room earlier this morning and told her about Solara, her mother.

She sat on the edge of her bed, her posture relaxed but her expression distant, her gaze fixed somewhere ahead of her without really seeing anything. She could feel their eyes on her, could feel the tension building in the silence, but she didn't rush to fill it. She had already said more than she intended to, and now it was up to them to react, even though a part of her almost wished they wouldn't.

She figured they already knew who the name Solara belonged to, seeing how none of them had reacted with confusion when she mentioned it, and the talk about the creature also didn't surprise them all that much, like it wasn't their first time hearing about it. That alone told her that this was something she had been connected to before losing her memories, but even with that, she could tell that what she had just revealed about her mother's possible death was new to them.

There had been no shock in their faces at the name, but there had been something else when she spoke about the younger sister. That was how she knew that this part of the story was not something they had known before, and oddly enough, that made her feel slightly in control of the situation, like for once, she wasn't the only one trying to piece things together.

At the same time, she was careful.

There were things she had deliberately left out.

She hadn't mentioned anything about her grandfather being the one who took her memories away, and she had no intention of letting that slip anytime soon. She knew exactly what would happen if they found out. It wouldn't just be surprise or confusion it would be anger, disappointment, and maybe even resentment.

They had all been trying, in their own ways, to help her regain her memories, to help her become the person she used to be, and if they found out that she had already been given a chance to get those memories back and had refused it, they wouldn't understand. Roxana would definitely call her selfish without holding back, and Irina and Penelope… they wouldn't yell, but they would look at her differently.

Electra didn't want that, or maybe she just didn't want to deal with it. So she still kept that part to herself.

After what felt like a long stretch of silence, Irina was the first to speak, her voice breaking through the silence in a way that felt both calm and direct at the same time. "Are you blaming yourself?" she asked, her eyes fixed on Electra as if she were trying to read through her. "For what happened to your mother. Is that why you've been acting like this?"

The question lingered in the air, and for a brief moment, Electra didn't respond. Her gaze shifted slightly, her eyes lowering just a fraction as if she were considering the question more seriously than she wanted to admit. Before she could even form an answer, Roxana spoke up, her tone firm, almost harsh, like she wasn't willing to let Electra even entertain the idea.

"That doesn't even make sense," Roxana said, crossing her arms as she looked at Electra with a frown. "How can it be your fault? You were a baby. You didn't ask to be born, and you didn't ask for any of this to happen. If someone killed your mother, then it's their fault. Not yours."

Her words were blunt, straightforward, and logical, exactly what someone would say when looking at the situation from the outside, and for a moment, the room seemed to settle around that logic, like it should have been enough to put an end to the question, but it wasn't.

Electra let out a dry, quiet laugh, the sound lacking any real amusement as she finally lifted her gaze again, her eyes moving from Roxana to Irina before settling somewhere in between. There was something tired in her expression now, something that hadn't been there before she started talking about her mother.

"I know that," she said, her voice steady but softer than usual. "Logically, I know that."

She paused for a moment, her fingers lightly pressing against the edge of the bed as if grounding herself before she continued.

"But it's not that simple."

Her eyes shifted again, this time unfocused, like she wasn't really looking at them anymore but at something deeper in her own thoughts. "There's a part of me…" she began, her tone tightening slightly, "a small part that still feels… human, I guess."

The word sounded strange coming from her, like she wasn't entirely comfortable saying it out loud.

"And that part…" she continued, her lips pressing together briefly before she spoke again, "that part keeps thinking that if my mother had just listened to the deities… if she had done what they wanted…"

She trailed off for a second, her expression hardening just slightly as she forced herself to finish the thought. "She would still be alive."

Electra let out another quiet breath before continuing, her voice now carrying a faint edge of something colder, like she was trying to shield herself from what she was saying.

"She was supposed to let me die," she said plainly. "Or not even be born in the first place. That's what they wanted, and if she had just… done that, then she wouldn't have been weak. She wouldn't have been vulnerable. No one would have had the chance to kill her."

Penelope shifted slightly where she stood, her hands tightening together as she listened, her expression growing more troubled with every word Electra spoke. Irina didn't move, but her gaze sharpened, clearly not liking where this was going.

Electra, however, didn't stop. Instead, she let out a small, almost bitter smile, her eyes still distant as she added, "But she didn't. She made a choice, a stupid one, if you ask me."

Her tone was light, almost dismissive, but there was something underneath it that didn't match the words she was saying.

"She chose to give birth to me," Electra continued, her voice flattening slightly. "She chose to go against all of them, to risk everything, just to make sure I was born alive."

Her fingers curled slightly against the bed, the movement small but noticeable. "And because of that," she finished, her voice dropping just a little, "she died."

The room fell silent again.

This time, the silence felt heavier than before, like none of them knew exactly how to respond to what she had just said. Roxana's frown deepened, clearly unhappy with the way Electra was framing everything, while Penelope looked like she wanted to say something but wasn't sure where to start. Irina, on the other hand, simply watched Electra, her expression unreadable, but there was an intensity in her gaze that hadn't been there before.

Electra leaned back slightly, resting her hands on the bed behind her as if she were done talking, her expression returning to something more neutral, more detached. "Like I said," she added after a moment, her tone almost casual now, "it's not like I don't understand the logic. I know it's not technically my fault."

She shrugged lightly, as if the conversation didn't matter as much as it clearly did. "But that doesn't really change anything, does it?"