It's Aaron's funeral today.It's just the three of us here, watching the coffin being lowered in the ground. My mother and I are watching without shedding a tear. There isn't a single tear left inside of me. These past couple of days have been torturous; hopelessness and despair has been clinging to us like a cloud, and by us I mean mom and I. My brother's loss rocked us; I felt worse the second day. I woke up feeling empty, overcome with loss. I felt defeated, deflated, lost. Ferdinand has been trying to reach out to me, but I can't and won't let him in. I'm indifferent towards him solely because he didn't help Aaron, he let him die, but I'm sure that if my mother decides to tell me about him, the whole unfiltered truth, I'll despise him. She hasn't talked to me since the day I arrived. She hasn't said a single word. She was locked in her room the whole time, holding pictures of Aaron. It's heartbreaking and shattering.Ferdinand told us yesterday at breakfast that there would be a
My mother won't talk to me.It doesn't matter how hard I push her, she won't budge. How can she tell me she had an affair with Gabriel Keller and not elaborate? She just left me hanging, and I need answers. She needs to explain this to me in detail. How did Aaron find out about their supposed affair, and why would he want to kill him because of it? This just makes everything more complicated than it already is. I thought it was bad enough as it is. Did Damien know about this affair?I preferred it when I didn't know anything, when I was ignorant about my mother's past. I vehemently wish that I had gone home when I had the chance, none of this would have happened. She wouldn't have come here looking for me, and I would most probably never have met Ferdinand. Aaron wouldn't go to him for help. This remorse kills me. Frankly, I would have preferred never knowing about this. She slept with Damien's father, how fucked up is that?I'm in the dining room having brunch when Ferdinand stride
My heart's racing.He looks like he's seen a ghost, and perhaps that's exactly what I am to him. I don't even know if he found out about Ferdinand's deal with Hans, or if my presence here is a shock to him. I guess that shouldn't matter right now. I'll find out soon enough if the latter is the case. I wasn't expecting him to be here. I never in a million years would've guessed that Ferdinand would bring me to an event Damien would be attending. Perhaps he didn't know, but why do I feel like this was a set up? He didn't mean to introduce me to anyone, or rather, that wasn't part of the plan. I'm not an idiot, mom told me that he always planned on having a daughter so he could marry her into the Keller family. And I don't think he gave up on that plan.We stare at each other for a long time. Well, it feels like a long time, but it's probably only been a few seconds. I'm the first to look away, because I can't stand the intensity of his gaze. I can feel his hatred—or is it something els
Devon pours himself a drink first.I sit and wait patiently for him to start talking. I know he's doing this on purpose, he doesn't want to tell me anything. But I'm determined, and I'm not leaving until I get answers.He sinks into the couch with a groan, and I'm really trying to stay calm. He sips his drink, then sets the glass on the coffee table between us. He says, "Where do you want me to begin?""When you left town with Aaron, Ferdinand's was the first place you went, right?" I figured that out by myself. It's pretty obvious, where else would they go? Ferdinand was the one who sent them money to leave in the first place.He nods. "That's right. He took us in, showed us around the city. Aaron was excited to see him, he thought he was dead. He had fond memories of him, in fact he would tell me when we were younger, about parties and presents. I thought he was crazy. Or making it up. All I knew was poverty and I didn't think people lived different lives. My mother always told me t
Damien watches Amelia walk away, and every step she takes is a blow to his soul.Ethan watches him with an unreadable expression. Damien doesn't meet his gaze. He knows what his cousin is thinking, and he isn't going to go down that road with him. He doesn't need anyone's opinion; he doesn't expect anyone to understand."We have to go," Ethan says, interrupting his train of thought. "We're going to be late."They should never have come. If he had known Amelia would be here, he would've declined the invitation. But a part of him came to life at the sight of her. Her words stung; that conversation was the hardest one he ever had. Her pain was palpable, and so was her hatred towards him. Him. The deepest, most vulnerable part of him would take her in his arms, but Damien Eric Jameson Keller is anything but vulnerable. He can't afford to look weak, not before his opponents and especially not before his family, which is why he decided to have her killed in the first place, even though his
The smell of disinfectant tickles my nostrils.I hate how hospitals smell, and this doesn't stem from my childhood. I was a fairly healthy kid, I rarely fell ill. Perhaps it has to do with my mother. When she passed out a few days after Aaron was convicted, I was desperate. I didn't know what to do. They told me she was really sick, and I had to wait outside her room the whole day, waiting for her to wake up. I don't know what I would've done if she didn't. I remember feeling terribly anxious and afraid. What would I have done without her? I shake my head to get rid of these thoughts. I'm ready to go, but they're still keeping me here for some reason. Felix is gone, I don't know where he is. I haven't seen him since I got here. It's not that I want him around me; I know that he's probably already told Ferdinand about this and I'll have to deal with him when I get back. He must have followed me, which means he saw me with Devon. I wonder if that'll implicate him in some way. I'm mad
Devon rushes into his office and locks the door behind him.He sits behind his desk, then starts looking around for the bottle of scotch he kept in one of the drawers. He can't find it, which pisses him off. He slams the drawer shut and sits back, willing himself to calm down or he's going to lose his shit.That old woman, she said her name was Bertha Johnson, didn't want to cooperate at first, but Devon always finds a way to get someone talking. He threatened her, but when that didn't work, he promised to help her get what she wants. And when she talked, she fucking talked. He had a hard time believing her, but there was no way he couldn't. She knew exactly what she was talking about, her story made sense. He knew a small part, but now he finally pieced everything together.The story is too fucking crazy to be true.He needs to make calls, get people investigating this immediately, but Sam will be in his ass about this, because people need to be paid for their work, and the company c
Mom just shut down.As soon as I confronted her about it, she walked out of my room without offering me any explanation. I didn't go after her; it would be a waste of time. I can't understand why she won't just tell me. What's the worst that could happen if she did?I didn't realize that I fell asleep. I wake up and it's morning. I feel a deep ache in my bones, but I'm better. I shower, paying special attention to my hair because my head still hurts a lot, then get dressed in jeans and a black top. I wonder who bought all these clothes for me. They're exactly my size.I leave the bedroom and realize that the sitting and dining rooms are empty. It's around ten, which means that everyone's already gone. My mother must be in her room, that's where she always is, but I won't go to her, not until she opens up to me about all this. I'm disappointed and angry at her, I won't deny it. I kept secrets from her, that's true, but I'm still hurt that she'd not want to share this with me.One of th