Chapter 1
"No! Please, no! I won't do it again, I promise!!" the woman's screams fell onto deaf ears as the man that she implored to landed another blow to her delicate face. Blood spurted out of her nose and she could feel it crack. "AAUGH!!" she screamed in agony. "WHEN. I. TELL. YOU. TO. SLEEP. WITH. ME. YOU. SLEEP. WITH. ME!" every screamed word was punctuated with another powerful blow on any part of her body that was open and vulnerable.
"Zhao! Please! Think of the baby!" the woman implored, backing into the corner whimpering like an animal. The man's violent onslaught of punches suddenly stopped, and the woman mustered up the courage to finally crack open one of her swollen eyes. "How DARE you speak to me in that manner." the man whispered dangerously.
"How LONG do you think I worked for the position I am in right now?" the woman suddenly began to tremble and she instantly curved in on herself, in a twisted version of the fetal position. "When you address me, you will call me ADMIRAL Zhao, you useless whore." He suddenly landed a kick to her side, causing three ribs to audibly crack. "AAAAAAAGH!!!!!" the woman's screeches seemed to pierce through Zhao's dead heart, and the drunken haziness seemed to lift from his eyes for only a moment.
He realized something important at that instant. Everything in his life that he loved, that he worked for. It all seemed to end up broken in his big, bumbling hands. He tried to love, but only ended up hurting. He tried to build bridges, but ended up burning them in a fit of rage. Master Jeong Jeong, The Banished Prince Zuko, they were all right. At that moment he realized, he was lonely.
He staggered forward, to the broken body of the woman lying in a puddle of blood. Her shallow breaths were accompanied by the movement of her swollen stomach. "Clean yourself up." he said, tossing her a rag. It landed gently upon her face. "Upon seeing that she didn't respond, he spoke even louder. "Did you not hear me? Are you deaf or are you just THAT stupid?" he sneered at the motionless body. He then noticed her chest wasn't moving. 'No. It can't be. I didn't… did I?' He couldn't bring himself to even think the word.
"J-Jin?" He implored. Once again, another wife, another chance, another child.
Broken….