Chapter 599

Andrew panicked. He didn't know what to do or why Melina was crying so uncontrollably. He had been locked up here since he had been eight years old and had never cried, not even once. Crying, he thought, must mean she was hungry. He remembered the times he'd been so hungry that he had fought off the snarling dogs the woman had let in to steal his scraps of food. Like a child, Andrew pushed all the food toward Melina, his voice sincere and urgent. "Angel, what's wrong? Are you upset because you're hungry? Here, you can have all of it. I don't need to eat. I can go two days without food and still be fine. Please, just stop crying, okay?" Hearing his words only made Melina sob harder. She felt a deep sadness for him. The proud, confident Andrew she'd known had been crushed beneath the weight of this world's cruelty. He'd endured unimaginable suffering, stripped of all dignity and joy. All those times Andrew had casually recounted pieces of his past, he'd spoken so calmly that