Chapter 52: Tears of Regret

After her humiliating experience at the hands of Arias, Barbara stormed off toward Wayne Manor later that day as soon as night fell, not caring about the risks. Both Alfred and Robin, who were present in the mansion, tried to stop and dissuade her, urging her to leave and cool down from whatever was angering her.

Unfortunately, their attempts to calm her fell on the deaf ears of a young girl who felt betrayed by someone she had trusted wholly.

Unable to get past the two at the main entrance, she began to yell.

"Bruce! You knew, didn't you?! The same way you track us in our suits is the same way you track us in our daily lives, right?! You knew what was happening but just watched and did nothing?!"

"Barbara, calm down! He did it for your own good. The second you were in any danger, he would—OW!" Robin's attempt to reason with her was cut short as she elbowed him in the gut and backed away from him and Alfred.

"You knew too… you all knew…" Her voice grew shaky, a greater sense of betrayal quickly overwhelming her entire body.

"Miss Barbara, you must understand, Master Bruce would never let anything happ—"

"Shut up! Just shut up! He knew and did nothing! 'Never let anything happen?' Would he have just magically appeared to where I was if he tried to kill me? Rape me? Abuse me? It didn't matter, right? That's why you never told me—I'm disposable."

"Enough, Barbara." Bruce Wayne descended the stairs leading to the entryway, his tone firm as he addressed the angry Barbara.

She immediately looked at him with trembling, teary eyes, not sure what to say.

He continued, "Calm down and think about this. He's messing with your mind, using and lying to you."

Barbara laughed pathetically upon hearing those words. "Yeah, you would know a thing or two about using and lying to others. Then tell me, did he also lie to me about you and Catwoman, a criminal, being intimate?"

Although her question strayed from the main issue at hand, Barbara couldn't help but ask. It was perhaps more important to her than she even realized.

Bruce frowned and sighed, his expression hard to read as it remained largely neutral. "That has nothing to do with this. What exactly did he tell you?"

That was it—the very last, fragile string of hope that Barbara had been so desperately clinging to was cruelly cut by the person she admired deeply in her heart.

Her anger fizzled out in an instant, tears streaming down her face as a pained expression took over.

"Barbara…" Robin couldn't stand seeing her like this. He tried to reach out to her, extending a hand, but she swatted it away, her expression a mix of anger and sadness.

"Don't touch me! I trusted you all and…" She choked on her own words, unable to think of what else to say.

In the next moment, she took off a watch-like device that bore the Wayne Enterprises logo and tossed it angrily toward Bruce.

"Find someone else to lie to—I'm done. I don't want anything to do with any of you!"

Her declaration was sudden, but the clear look in her eyes showed she was entirely serious. After ridding herself of the device, she lowered her head and ran away without looking back, tears still streaming down her face.

"Barbara, wait!" Robin was quick to try and pursue her, but before he could get far…

"Let her go." Bruce gripped the device she had thrown at him tightly, a complex expression now on his face.

"But—"

"I said let her go. You'll only make things worse if you try to talk to her now. I underestimated Markovic and how much he knew. This is my mistake—I'll try and fix it once she calms down."

Robin saw an unfamiliar expression on Bruce's face, so he reluctantly agreed to drop the matter and not pursue her.

…

The taxi ride back home was intense for Barbara, who had nothing but depressing thoughts to keep her company. By the time she got home, her anger had subsided somewhat, but her mood was still far from stable.

The first thing she did was rush to her room. Once there, she began removing all her clothes, not knowing if perhaps some of them had trackers or listening devices. She practically turned her room upside down, destroying her computer, tearing her mattress open, and making holes in the walls.

At the end of it all, she could only curl up in a corner and continue to cry.

When her father, Commissioner Gordon, arrived, he was shocked and scared by what he found. He quickly embraced his daughter and asked what had happened, but she didn't speak—she only continued to cry.

…

The following day, early in the morning, Arias was once again woken up by the buzzing of his doorbell. However, since he hadn't spent another late night with his masochistic employee, his energy and spirits were high.

He opened the door expecting to see either Harley, whom he had kicked out, or Barbara, who should have learned some painful truths. To his surprise, it was neither.

"Commissioner Gordon?" Arias found the police commissioner waiting patiently behind his door in his usual trench coat attire. The usually stern-looking man had an aged expression on his face and looked deep in thought.

Gordon quickly cleared his throat and held out an envelope toward Arias. "Right, good morning, Mr. Markovic. This is the invitation letter for the Washington Gala. Without a mayor at the moment, the duty to deliver them was passed down to me. Thankfully, Gregor already had a list of recipients."

After delivering the envelope, he tipped his hat and looked ready to leave. "Good day."

However, before he could, Arias stopped him. "You look a bit exhausted. Can I offer you a coffee?"

The commissioner looked ready to refuse but hesitated and considered the offer for a moment before agreeing. "Alright, just a cup."