"Bang!"
Right after Evangeline finished speaking, Venus slammed her hand on the nearest table. The plates and cups on top rattled from the force.
"Stop saying that!" she shouted, her voice sharp and trembling. "I don't need time! I don't want your pity... or his fake kindness either!"
Her eyes glistened, but she refused to let the tears fall. She looked at Ryu, jaw clenched, frustration etched into every line of her face.
"You don't understand what it feels like," she said bitterly. "To train every day, to push yourself beyond the limit, hoping that maybe—just maybe—you'll awaken. And then to be told you never had a chance from the start?"
She sniffed and looked away, folding her arms tightly over her chest.
"You don't get it, Ryu. You already have a system. You got lucky. You're strong now. Everyone will praise you and admire you. But me? I'm just a weak, useless girl who wasted years chasing a dream that was never mine to begin with."
