Justin Devis
A Pool of Blood
Justin Devis lay motionless in a pool of blood.
His breathing grew weaker.
His fingers slowly loosened.
And finally…
He closed his eyes.
JUSTIN'S POV
Darkness comes quietly.
Not like a storm.
Not like thunder.
It doesn't announce its arrival.
It simply waits.
Like an old friend who knows exactly when you're at your weakest.
I know this darkness.
I've known it for as long as I can remember.
My name is Justin Devis.
The son of Jonathan Devis, head of the powerful Devis family…
And Amber Devis.
The woman everyone calls THE VILLAINESS.
But before I explain why I hate that name…
Let me tell you how my life began.
I Was Born Cursed.
My first breath in this world was taken without my mother beside me.
Amber never looked at me.
Not even once.
The doctors said she left the hospital shortly after giving birth.
She disappeared.
Just like that.
A mother who abandoned her newborn son.
A father who stopped speaking after his wife ran away.
And a family desperately searching for someone to blame.
Unfortunately…
I was the perfect choice.
My father, Jonathan Devis, became a completely different person after her departure.
His voice disappeared.
His smile disappeared.
Even his presence felt distant.
My grandparents raised me.
They fed me, protected me and gave me the affection every child deserved.
But even their love had cracks.
Whenever my mother's name was mentioned, I could see the disappointment in their eyes.
And whenever I walked past the servants, I heard the same whispers.
"That's the runaway woman's son."
"Poor Jonathan. He was abandoned by his wife."
"Perhaps the boy inherited her nature."
I was too young to understand what any of it meant.
But I understood one thing.
Nobody saw me as Justin.
I was simply…
The runaway woman's son.
As though her mistakes had become my surname.
The First Time I Wanted Something for Myself.
When I turned twenty-five, I finally fell in love.
Her name was Heather.
She was the daughter of a prominent businessman.
For the first time in years, I felt genuinely excited about my future.
I told my grandparents that I loved her.
And do you know what happened?
They smiled.
My grandmother actually smiled!
She was so happy that she personally went to Heather's family with a marriage proposal.
I thought…
Perhaps my life was finally changing.
Perhaps I could have a family of my own.
But they rejected the proposal.
Not because of my character.
Not because of my achievements.
Not because they disliked me.
They rejected me because of my mother.
They didn't want their daughter connected to the son of a woman who had abandoned her husband and family.
I couldn't even escape her reputation.
My mother had abandoned me, but somehow, I was still paying for it.
A Marriage I Never Expected.
Later, through a misunderstanding that still feels like a twisted joke, I ended up marrying Melan, the daughter of one of our household maids.
It wasn't the beginning I had imagined.
But I tried.
I genuinely tried to build a happy life with her.
I wanted to love her.
I wanted a home where nobody judged me for my mother's actions.
For a little while…
I believed I had finally found something that belonged to me.
But happiness never stayed long in my life.
The Villainess Returned.
One day, the woman I never wanted to see…
The woman whose name had destroyed every opportunity in my life…
Returned.
Amber Devis.
My mother.
She came back as though fifteen years of abandonment meant nothing.
As though she hadn't left a family behind.
And with her arrival…
My world began falling apart.
Grandmother died first.
Nobody knew the exact reason.
Grandfather followed shortly afterwards, as if he couldn't bear to live without her.
My father, Jonathan…
He killed Amber in a blind rage.
But the guilt consumed him soon after.
And eventually, he too was gone.
Within weeks, the family I had grown up with turned into ashes.
Melan and I lost our child during that terrible period.
The child wasn't biologically mine, but I had accepted that child as my own.
I loved that child.
And losing them broke something inside me.
Melan eventually left me too.
She moved on with another man.
Legally, she had every right to make that choice.
But I was left alone with another broken piece of my life.
And as if everything wasn't enough…
My uncles began fighting over the Devis inheritance.
They divided the properties, the land and the family wealth.
They tore apart everything my grandparents had protected.
When they were finished…
There was practically nothing left for me.
Nothing except a family name I no longer wanted.
A name soaked in abandonment, betrayal and blood.
The Final Day.
One day, I was sitting alone in my house.
The curtains were closed.
The rooms were silent.
I had stopped caring about my appearance.
I barely ate.
I barely slept.
I didn't even know why I was still waking up every morning.
I was tired.
Tired of being blamed.
Tired of losing people.
Tired of living a life that never seemed to belong to me.
Then…
BANG!
The front door suddenly opened.
A stranger entered with a group of people behind him.
I slowly lifted my head.
Before I could ask who they were, the stranger pointed a gun directly at me.
Stranger:
"YOU!"
I stared at him.
Stranger:
"BECAUSE OF THAT WITCH, I LOST EVERYTHING!"
For a moment, I didn't understand.
Then I realised.
He was talking about Amber.
My mother.
I looked at the gun.
Then at the stranger.
And strangely…
I wasn't even surprised.
I understood him.
I truly did.
Because I had lost everything too.
The people standing behind him didn't look frightened.
They didn't look sympathetic.
Some of them were smiling.
Some were laughing.
They were enjoying the sight of me sitting helplessly in front of them.
The son of the Villainess.
The last remaining member of the Devis family.
Apparently, watching me fall was entertainment.
Stranger:
"Your family ruined our lives! Now you will pay!"
I wanted to laugh.
Not because anything was funny.
But because…
What else could I possibly lose?
BANG!
The bullet struck.
Pain spread through my body.
My knees gave way.
I fell to the floor.
The cold surface touched my cheek.
Warm blood slowly spread beneath me.
The voices around me became distant.
Someone laughed.
Someone said something.
I couldn't understand anymore.
My vision blurred.
And as I lay in that pool of blood, one final thought crossed my mind.
Why?
Why me?
Why am I punished every single time?
Why must I pay for a woman I never knew?
Why does everyone hate me for being born to her?
I never asked her to become my mother.
I never asked her to abandon me.
I never asked to carry her name.
Then why…
Why must her sins be stitched onto my soul?
My lips trembled.
A single tear escaped the corner of my eye.
Justin (thinking):
I just wanted to be loved.
Was that really too much to ask?
Darkness slowly swallowed my vision.
And for the first time…
I stopped fighting it.
Justin Devis closed his eyes.
His story was supposed to end there.
Or so he thought…
TO BE CONTINUED…