Beyond The Gaze: A Love Unseen

Chapter 33

He never said a word, never defended himself, because it was useless when his own father's eyes were closed to the mistreatment he had endured for years.

'What was the use of speaking the truth when my own father had already believed the one-sided story, not once listening to my side of the story?' Sven always thought.

"Why...Why were you here?" Sven averted his gaze from Elysia and asked in a slightly gentler tone, changing the topic. This little timid girl, who always had trouble talking to people, was surprisingly leaving him speechless every time she spoke, and he didn't know how to respond at all.

"I...I came to apologize," Elysia stated, surprising Sven more than he already was.

"I'm sorry! I'm really sorry for how I behaved with you earlier," Elysia lowered her head in guilt. A bitter snort escaped Sven's lips.

"Why are you sorry? You're not the only one who doesn't want me around. As you can see," Sven raised his eyes towards the Damaris mansion, "Pretty much everyone wants me to disappear," he couldn't help being sarcastic.

"No, it's not like that, please believe me. It's really not," Elysia explained honestly. She didn't know how to make him understand.

Sven looked at her for a moment before a humorless chuckle escaped his lips. "I understand Elysia, you don't have to feel pity for me–" his words truly shocked Elysia. He was taking it really wrong.

"It's not!" Elysia exclaimed, surprising him. "I'm not pitying you, and it's...it's not because of you," she told him, taking a deep breath.

"It's because of me," she said in a voice just above a whisper. Sven's eyebrows furrowed, watching her in confusion.

Elysia exhaled a long breath, intertwining her hands on her lap, and began explaining, "I...I had a different childhood, um, a little difficult, you could say," her eyes lowered to her slightly trembling hands as she rubbed her skin, a habit she had picked up whenever she felt anxious.

"I... was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder a few years ago." It was the first time she was talking about her past, and it was difficult to recall those memories, but she wanted to let it out. Sven paused in shock, his mouth gaping, hearing her words.

PTSD?!!

Elysia was suffering from PTSD? That explained her odd behavior a lot of times he had noticed, and now he was recalling her memories from her diary. He felt it was odd; her way of explaining things, her simple memories, her fears, her wishes, especially her odd behavior in school. Everything was falling into place, and now the reason behind her behavior was revealed to him. He felt like he could understand her better.

"I refused to speak for months. It took me more than a year to just interact with others, but I still feel anxious around strangers. When I finally joined school after my treatment, my parents admitted me to a high-class school because I was a good learner, but," she exhaled a long breath, "the students there bullied me because of my past situations and poor background." Sven's fists clenched tightly, and an odd thought of burying those people alive who bullied her was so strong that he had to shake his head to clear his mind of these outrageous thoughts. When he read her diary, it confused him, but he was unaware of her reasons.

"Since that time, I feel uneasy if I become the subject of attention, regardless of any reason." Elysia turned her face to look at Sven, who instantly neutralized his expressions. "I did run away because I didn't want to be seen with you, but the reason isn't whatever you're thinking," she explained. "You're really famous in school. Boys admire you, and girls squeal whenever they see you. You may not have noticed yet, but the class attendance is always higher whenever you are around. Your friends are popular in school because of you, and if someone gets acquainted with you, they also become the center of attention, and students start gossiping about them," Elysia continued, "It's not you I was running from. It's the attention that I was afraid of getting from others."