It's cringe read if you want and give me ur opinion William glared at his son in horror. He sat in tears on the floor, both hands clutching his bloodied face as the crimson-coated blade rested in the delicate, pearly hands of William's new bride. In normal circumstances, he would have raced to the child's side and intervened if he saw a woman beating a 4-year-old child and viciously slashing his face in a fit of rage. Yet, his son meant nothing to him, and his bride meant everything to him. If she got so angry as to cut him, it was for a good reason. That day he cast little Edgar out of his home and life. He was officially dead to him.

Alice stared at Edgar with warm but concerned eyes. He glanced back at her and quietly asked,

"What's wrong, Mama?"

She was not his true mother. She'd found him curled up in an alleyway crying and almost ran away when she saw his disfigured face. Still, because he was only a child, she took him home and nursed his injuries, ending up informally adopting him. Nobody but her, her father, and the house staff even knew of his existence. Fourteen years had passed since that day, and he still bore scars. There were two grotesque slashes on his youthful face which ran the length of his entire face. Both his eyes were cut, and although he retained some of his vision, his brown eyes turned yellow, without a visible pupil, which gave him an even more disturbing appearance. Because of him, she lived in a fully remote country estate. That way, he could be free and wouldn't have people looking at him with ridicule, or worse, fear.

"Nothing, Edgar." She said in a flat voice. He stared at her for a while before going out for a walk. Even though his eyes looked inhuman to a stranger, Alice could see the warmth and emotion in them.

Edgar's brow furrowed as he walked along the narrow trail that ran throughout their property. He turned 18 a week ago, and since that day, he'd been overcome by a stygian melancholy. As much as he loved his mother, he longed for other company. He thought of the looks people would have on their faces if they ever saw him. The scars on his face were tolerable, but his eyes were repulsive. Even the doctors thought he was demonic. Still, he could tolerate it. He squeezed his eyes shut and kept walking, hearing the crisp, rapid water of the river flowing beside him. He'd walked too far. Turning around, Edgar faced the large country house he lived in. A finely dressed man stepped outside a black carriage and into the house. A low combination of panic and interest drained into his lacquered eyes as he ran to the house.

Alice stood in the entry with sunken eyes. She looked like she'd aged a decade in the last few minutes.

"Mama?" Edgar asked, regarding the man speaking to her as invisible. The man slowly turned to face him, and his eyes were obviously disgusted. However, after studying Edgar for a short while, his solemn, pale eyes steadily relaxed. Before him stood a tall young man with two deep cuts on his face and pale milky yellow irises that blurred into a white pupil. Despite this, he exuded a gentle and honourable demeanour.

"Edgar, come inside." Alice muttered. The three of them stood in the living room nervously before the stranger spoke.

"My name is Emanuel White. I came from London to collect you because your father has just died and, as his eldest son, it is your right to inherit."

Edgar looked at Emanuel with indignant bewilderment, then to his mother, who looked vacantly at the floor with a solemn smile.

"My father has been dead for years." He proclaimed with unfaltering certainty, remembering what his mother told him. The man's face shifted into an expression Edgar couldn't read, but his lips pulled together closely.

"No, he has not. Your father is a rich landowner named William Loxley. Your mother is The Honourable Miss Elizabeth Forest, Lord Coin's daughter. Mr. Loxley remarried an evil lady from an ambitious family after your mother died. This woman violently disfigured Miss Elizabeth's only boy, you, and then abandoned you in an alleyway." Emanuel said.

Sorry it's too long so its like cut off