Rehab for SuperVillains (18+)-Chapter 278: Shadows fading
"You’re more than okay. You’re still standing—stronger for the cracks."
Her hand rested on her heart, feeling the steady beat beneath her palm. "I don’t feel empty anymore. Not really."
Kael leaned closer, his breath mingling with hers in the confined space. "That’s because your hands—" he took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers "—aren’t empty either."
And she looked down at them.
Her small hand in his, calloused from years of survival yet fitting perfectly.
Her trembling fingers now still, grounded.
And the image of the scared little girl huddled alone in this box, shivering and silent, began to fade—not erased, but no longer screaming, no longer defining her.
"Kael," she whispered, her black eyes meeting his with a newfound clarity. "I think I’m ready."
"For what?"
She breathed in. Long. Slow. Centered, drawing strength from within. "To leave her behind. Lila. My sister. My mask. My guardian. All of it."
He nodded once, slow and proud, his hazel eyes gleaming with quiet triumph. "Then let’s walk out of here together."
She didn’t wait, didn’t hesitate.
She opened the box door herself, her cuffed hands pushing against the wood with resolve, the hinges creaking like a final sigh.
And for the first time in years, the sunlight didn’t burn.
It kissed her skin, warm and forgiving, bathing her in golden light as she stepped out.
And she didn’t flinch, didn’t shy away.
Kael walked behind her, a hand on her back, steady and warm, a silent promise.
Tila looked ahead, the wind catching her curls, lifting them like wings.
Her footsteps were firm, purposeful.
And inside—finally—she wasn’t divided anymore.
She wasn’t shadow and light.
She wasn’t broken and glued.
She was whole.
She was Lital.
And she was strong enough to walk without a sister.
Because she wasn’t alone.
__________
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At Liss’s Villa.
The Twins’ bedroom 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
Lila’s hands trembled against the bedsheets, her slender fingers clutching the fabric as if it were the last tether to the world.
The double collars locked tightly around her neck bit into her skin, cold and unyielding, a constant reminder of the chains that had bound her—not just physically, but to the fractured soul she shared.
Her breath was uneven, each inhale scraping against something unseen deep within her chest, like shards of glass grinding in her lungs.
Freya stood stiff at her right, arms crossed over her chest, her sharp eyes searching Lila’s face for answers she couldn’t quite grasp.
Rhea paced restlessly by the foot of the bed, her gaze darting between Lila’s paling features and the faint, suppressed hum of energy emanating from the cuffs that restrained her hands and legs.
The room felt heavier than usual, the air thick with an unspoken finality.
Neither Freya nor Rhea knew exactly what was happening—Kael had only told them to watch over her, to keep her safe while he worked with Tila at god knows where.
But something in Lila’s eyes, in the way her body seemed to flicker at the edges like a candle flame in a draft, screamed that this was an ending.
Lila smiled faintly, though her lips quivered, betraying the storm raging inside.
Tears already glistened in her black eyes, pooling like ink on parchment.
"She’s... remembering, isn’t she?" Her voice was soft, fragile, laced with a quiet acceptance that twisted like a knife.
Freya tilted her head, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Tila? What are you talking about? Remembering what?"
Lila blinked slowly, a single tear tracing a slow path down her cheek, catching the dim light from the window.
"Everything’s shaking inside. It’s like... I was holding the house up, propping up the walls with my own bones, and now she’s found her own foundation. She’s building herself anew. She doesn’t need the scaffolding anymore." Her voice cracked, a raw sob catching in her throat.
"She doesn’t need me."
Rhea stopped pacing, her eyes widening as she stepped forward, her voice firmer now, edged with worry. "Lila, what’s going on? You’re acting like—like something’s ending. Like you’re saying goodbye."
"It is ending. I am glad it is ending.," Lila whispered, her breath hitching, her curls falling limply across her forehead as she leaned back against the headboard. "That’s why I needed to say this before I go. Before it’s too late."
Neither Freya nor Rhea moved, frozen in place, their hearts pounding in the sudden silence.
They just listened, the weight of her words settling over them like a shroud.
"She’s gone through more than anyone realizes," Lila continued, her gaze unfocused, staring at some distant memory that played out behind her eyes.
Tears spilled freely now, soaking into the collar of her shirt.
"Tila... she’s so angry because she’s terrified—terrified of being that small again, that helpless. She shouts because silence used to mean insects crawling over her skin in the dark, biting into her flesh while she begged for someone, anyone, to hear her. She fights because no one ever fought for her—no one held her hand or whispered that she was safe."
Lila’s head dropped back against the headboard with a soft thud, her breath shuddering out in broken waves.
"She doesn’t need pity. God, no. She needs... laughter. Real, belly-deep laughter that makes her forget the cold. Food—warm meals shared around a table, not scavenged scraps. Warmth. Someone to wrap her in a blanket on a bad night. She needs someone to argue over stupid things with, like who gets the last piece of pudding. Someone who waits up when she’s late, not out of fear, but because they care. Someone who steals fries off her plate and grins like it’s no big deal, like she’s just... normal."
Her shoulders trembled violently now, her small frame wracked with sobs she could no longer contain. "She just needs a friend. A family. Please... give her that. Be that for her."
Rhea’s lips parted slightly, her tough exterior crumbling as her eyes glistened, a hand rising to cover her mouth. "Lila... we—"
"And I know... I know we didn’t make it easy," Lila pressed on, her voice shaking, barely holding together as more tears cascaded down her face.
