“I see…” I murmured as I wondered what it was that I was really seeing. I guessed that Bradon no longer considered me his responsibility. The times when I head out to meet the prince as Dahlia, I would no longer be his contract bride and it probably made sense that he didn’t need to be responsible for keeping me out of harm’s way. Although I knew that this was how things were supposed to be, I couldn’t help the sinking feeling in my chest. “Of course, if you would like a driver or an escort, I would be happy to escort you,” Zain offered with a kind smile. “No, thank you. I am not going out today…” I replied before turning on my heels and walking back into the mansion.Little did I know back then that my decision to stay in the mansion on that day would lead to an unexpected encounter. It was early in the evening and there were no signs of Bradon returning home. I had gotten used to waiting for him to come home late into the night although I knew that I shouldn’t be waiting for him
Since she stopped me from giving Bradon a call earlier, I began wondering if he even knew that his mother had arrived. Jenna seemed to know her very well but she was nowhere in sight to help ease my burden. Was he even expecting her or is this just some random visit on her part?“I would like to apologize to you earnestly for all the trouble that my foolish son has caused. He’s always been a stubborn and useless fool ever since he was young. He is selfish and never does what he is told. He always has a temper and never considers what is best for our family. It is a miracle that my husband chose to tolerate him for this long. My husband is so kind and so merciful…” she said as the lines between her brows deepened. “I see…” I mumbled. “If it weren’t for this cursed child, I’m sure that my husband would still be with me. I wouldn’t be abandoned like this. I always told him that he needed to do better. He needed to be smarter and work harder than his half brother…” she complained bitte
Her words sounded very familiar to my ears although I was sure that I haven’t met her before. Brenda went on with her complaints as I wondered when she would simply shut up. It was frankly quite amazing how much she had to say against her own son. “I don’t understand why he doesn’t understand that everything he does wrong ends up being my fault. I’m the one who gets blamed for all his faults and shortcomings. They all say that it's all because of me…” she said as she ground her teeth together in anger. I stared at her as my smile faded from my lips. After having just met her for the first time, I quickly figured that there was nothing decent about this woman except for her extremely blunt and straightforward way of speaking. With each word, I could feel intensely dark emotions rising up inside of me as if she had the talent to flip all of my switches in all the wrong ways. ‘Why can’t you be perfect like Diana? If you don’t do this right, do you understand that your father is going
“Stop blaming your son for all of your failures. Your failures are your own to bear. If something went wrong for you, then it was probably because of you. If your husband doesn’t think that you’re good enough, then you’re probably not good enough. Stop dragging your son into your misery and stop using him as an excuse for your failures,” I warned her, loud and clear.“Stop…” she muttered as she refused to look me in the eye. I couldn’t bring myself to stop even if I wanted to. The real problem was that I didn’t want to. Pointing out her faults and mistakes felt like the right thing to do and it also brought me a sense of satisfaction like I had never felt in a very long time. “I don’t even want to imagine all the things he had to do against his will over the years just to appease you and your selfish lover and that family that you must worship. Just so that you can get your way and get what you want, he had to suffer for your sake every single step of the way!” I yelled at her witho
Even if I thought that it was the right thing to do and say, there was no way that Bradon or anyone in passing would think that way. After all, I had just yelled at his mother and it must have seemed like I was the one who had crossed the line. It did occur to me then that I may have been too harsh on her. I was not completely ignorant of her circumstances and what she must have gone through at the hands of the Vulkans. Since she was just a mistress, they clearly did not consider her part of the Vulkan family. Her pleading words as she begged for her husband even though he wasn’t even present came back to me and I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of guilt. Her past must have haunted her so badly for her to go mad. It was clear that Alfred had promised her that he would somehow move her to the main Vulkan estate as if something like that was even possible given that he had a legally married wife and a reputation to maintain. Before I could stop myself, I began wondering what it was like
Silence crept in on us as time slowly ticked by. I could no longer hear the commotion caused by his mother and assumed that she had made her way safely out of the mansion. Her safety and how she was doing couldn’t be furthest from my concern considering that I had my own situation and complex little problem at hand that I still had to deal with. I wondered if I should just come up and admit to my wrong doings and apologize or if I should remain defiant in the stance that I had decided to take. “It must have been hard…” I mumbled the first thing that came to my mind. The regretful and sorrowful way that my voice sounded along with the persistent aching pain in my chest told me beyond words just how much I could relate to what Bradon had probably had to deal with all his life. If his mother had always been like that, then I could pretty much imagine what Bradon had to go through as a child growing up. It also made me realize that there was always that possibility that he was still bea
It was all because I didn’t want to hurt her or see her abused anymore. She was just another victim because she couldn’t let go of the man that she loves although he probably never loved her back in return. When I was younger, there were times when I wondered why my mother couldn’t see my father for who and what he was. The period where I was also blinded by my mother’s hopeful words that that man would one day accept us truly as a part of his family was very short-lived. Unlike me, my mother never lost faith in the man that she loves. Sooner or later, I came to realize that there was no way that she could go on living if she ever accepted the truth that she had been used by him all along. I remember watching over her as she cried and grew weaker and weaker in both spirit and body. I remember thinking that I wouldn’t be surprised if she were to snap one day and then pass away if reality really hit her. Perhaps it was from my fear of losing my mother that I somehow became an active co
Her eyes widened before she quickly averted her eyes from mine. Seeing her meek and vulnerable side was quite a rare sight and that made me want to spend my time savoring it. At the same time, I felt an overwhelming urge to protect her. She would probably get very mad at me if she were to find out that I was acting this way just to tease her. She was right that my mother was mentally unstable, but her tantrums would have gone on regardless of what Dahlia did or didn’t do. “I already said that I’m sorry…” she muttered. “I don’t want your words of apology,” I replied coldly.Dahlia eye’s returned to meet mine and I could sense the frustration in her gaze as she glared at me. She let out a sigh after a moment of silence as if she had made up her mind to give in. “Then, what is it that you want?” she asked, although without much interest. “Not much. I’ll let everything slide, if you tell me why you said those things,” I replied. My words must have shocked her even more than before. A
Just thinking that the fool right in front of me dared to say he was in love with my sister, while he couldn't even tell the two of us apart, made my blood boil. It took a lot of effort to repress the urge to reach out and strangle his neck right then and there. I reminded myself that I had a part to play and quite an audience to impress."No... this can't be..." Mr. Malton whispered hoarsely from a distance, stepping even further away from me. I stood up from the table, grabbed his arm, and pulled him back to my side as I glared up into his face."It's actually quite simple to fool you. All I had to do was dress up in my sister's clothes whenever I met you and talk a little more sweetly..." I said, letting out a hysterical laugh. I could still feel everyone's eyes on us as the attention in the room escalated even more than before.Mr. Malton was speechless as he tried to pull his arm away from my grip, but I wasn't about to let him get away so easily."Well, now I guess the secret is
I had no idea how Diana managed to keep the girls silent up until that point so that the news wouldn't spread; however, I knew that it wouldn't be too long before everyone in school knew about this illicit affair. We would be extremely lucky if this news did not spread beyond the school walls. Despite the gravity of the situation, Mr. Malton was already ready to make his retreat."What if they don't believe us? I feel so scared. I don't want to be alone, and I don't want you to leave me," I said pleadingly just to see his reaction."You know that I would never do that. It would just be temporary until everything blows over. I promise that I will never leave you. How could I possibly leave you? I love you so much," he declared his love for me boldly.The more dramatic things became, the more I felt that his act of adoration was completely fake. No matter how many times he claimed to be in love with my sister, it seemed like he couldn't even tell us apart. I wondered what kind of face h
"Leya, you need to help me find a way out of this. Diana simply cannot make this kind of mistake," my sister told me slowly and clearly as she stared directly into my eyes."You're right. You can't afford to make these kinds of mistakes," I agreed solemnly."No one else must find out about this. We have to do something before word gets out because word is definitely going to get out,," my sister stated calmly, and I could tell that she had returned to her calm and collected self."Can't we tell them that they simply misunderstood and that it's not true?" I asked, daring to harbor a little bit of hope."They probably won't believe what we tell them, but they might believe what we show them," Diana replied, and I could tell her mind was made up.Without using any more words, it seemed like an understanding had formed between us, and once again, it felt like it was us against the entire world....**The Next Day**As I pushed open the back door to the building that was supposed to be off
The moment that thought entered my mind, I quickly killed it and pushed it out of my mind as if extinguishing a small flame before it would spread and engulf everything. I told myself that it wouldn’t have to come to that and that we could find another way to figure things out.“Does it matter? Why does it have to matter?” Diana asked, and her tone was cold.My sister’s response quickly snapped me out of my thoughts and back to reality. I narrowed my eyes at her as my irritation started to take over.“It does matter! Have you completely lost your mind? He’s our teacher,” I reminded her as I started to truly lose my head over what my sister had confessed to me.Had I known that the person she had been dating was one of our teachers, I would have definitely stopped her. That was probably the reason why Diana decided to keep it a secret, even from me. In reality, I had my own doubts about whether or not I could have persuaded my sister not to pursue her taboo relationship with Mr. Malton
"I guess he is not someone in this school," I said as I ran my mind through potential candidates who could be my sister's true love."It's a secret," Diana repeated again before pressing her index finger teasingly against her lips."Are you really not going to tell me?" I asked."Honestly, you have no idea just how much I am dying to tell you who he is. But you see, I did promise him to keep it a secret between us... at least for now," Diana said before flashing me a regretful smile."I don't think I will end up liking this guy. He's telling you to keep secrets from me," I replied teasingly."I'll make sure that you're the first one to find out," Diana promised me with a beaming smile."I guess that it's good enough for me that you're happy," I told her honestly."Thank you, Leya. I love you so much. You're probably the only one who truly cares about my happiness," my sister said before pulling me into her embrace.Back then, when I held my sister in my arms and hugged her back tightl
“Shall we?” Bradon asked as he offered me his arm invitingly.“Thank you,” I replied as I smoothly slipped my arm into his.Appearing in front of the public as Diana, with Bradon as my escort as he flawlessly acted out the role of Anthony, drew quite a lot of attention to us. I could tell that Bradon felt restless, even under his calm and collected exterior, and that was probably because he couldn’t wait for this engagement announcement to come to an end. Even though he should have been reassured now that Diana was taking my place at the ceremony, it seemed that nothing could make Bradon completely feel at ease given the situation.“I sincerely hope that they keep it short,” Bradon whispered right into my ear before planting a soft kiss against my temple.I was sure we looked like the perfect loving couple, and perhaps that wasn’t so far from the truth. For the life of me, I had no idea how Diana managed to convince Desmond to let her take my place at the engagement ceremony, but I wa
"So, are you going to get on your hands and knees to beg? How much longer will you keep me waiting?" I asked while pointing my index finger at the empty floor right in front of my feet.If looks could kill, I would have died an extremely painful death, stabbed by the millions of daggers flying out of my father's eyes from the way he was glaring at me. Even when I was clearly his only route of escape from the impending hell that was awaiting him, it was clear that my father felt nothing but hatred for me. I returned his stare with one of my own as I continued pointing to the floor where I wanted them to get on their hands and knees."I'm still waiting. Oh, but if you're not willing, then I'll make sure that some men will escort you out," I said before grinning at them. I could tell that my father was hesitating, and that meant that he was truly considering abandoning whatever pride he had left to get down on his hands and knees to beg for help from his long-abandoned daughter.Time mov
“Dahlia, dear! Please help your dear father!” The head of the Alnault family desperately pleaded for my help. I squinted my eyes at his face as I took in the evident panic and helplessness displayed on his features. I wasn't sure what I was hoping for when I wanted to see him, but his reaction surely surpassed even my wildest expectations. Gone were all of his confidence and arrogance. Perhaps, for the first time in his life, this man was feeling truly hopeless and helpless. “Dahlia! You have to help get us out of this. You need to help our family!”my mother's high-pitched voice begged openly for my help.I glanced in her direction. I wasn't at all surprised to feel absolutely no pity for her. The only question that went through my mind was why these two people were still standing on their feet rather than kneeling in front of me on their knees. My biological father continued begging while giving me countless reasons why I should help him out. However, most of his words were lost to
It was true that I had ample opportunities to tell Bradon about it, but it was also true that bringing it up would ruin the romantic and joyful mood between us and whatever we were in the middle of doing. Bradon came home early and in time for dinner every day, as if it was a change in habit. We spent time together just like regular couples—staying at home, watching movies, taking a dip in the pool, walking together in the garden, and doing many other things just to enjoy each other's company. It felt like we were making up for all the lost time.…**Around a week later**Diana's brewing plan kept me on edge. The secret preparation for the royal engagement announcement was in full swing. As for me, I spent a lot of time mentally preparing myself for what was to come. Each peaceful day that went by felt like the perfect calm before a raging storm. One day, I woke up to find Bradon sitting on the side of the bed, his eyes on me as if he was waiting patiently for me to wake up from my sl