to stop, and then continue as I please.” At this, I laughed in a mocking way and told him,
“Like I said, Dickhead, I would rather die.” His grin turned a deeper depth of evil.
“Yes, but death is not something I class as a punishment… but now as for being forced to live out your life in a way that you feel is a living nightmare, well then, that is a much more fitting end. Besides, I have a feeling that once I've had a taste of you, I will not be so eager or so quick to give you up. After all, there is a reason my brother keeps you around.” I was once again about to hurl abuse back at him, when he stopped me by saying,
“But where are my manners speaking in such a way in front of his wife.” This was said with utter glee, and I frowned at him, before responding the way he no doubt wanted,
“Yeah, well I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not yet his wife.” At this he started laughing, once again clapping his hands, which seemed to be his habit, and said,
“Oh no, no, no, my dear, you have mistaken me, for I was not talking about you.” This was when I swallowed hard and shook my head a little, before trying to force myself not to give him what he wanted again. Which of course, was a reaction. But then this was near impossible, when his words had the power to affect me so much. But surely, he could not be implying what he seemed to be.
Surely it couldn't be true!
But then his eyes brightened in utter joy.
“Oh, I'm sorry, my dear, for I was not aware that Lucius would ever keep something like this from you,” he said, faking his astonishment.
“Something like what?” The unsure words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, and his grin widened because of it.
“But you two have met so many times now, that I'm surprised it never came up, or that Lucius never mentioned it… ah well, no time like the present after all, so please let me have the pleasure of introducing you now… Amelia, say hello to Dalene…” he paused in this pleasure as he reached out and ran a cold finger down my cheek, making me turn my head away. Only he grasped my chin in a painful hold and snarled down at me, finishing his sentence,
“…Lucius' wife.”
“No! No, no… No, that is impossible… Lucius would never keep something like that from me!” I snapped, hating that I felt the tears start to cloud my eyes.
“Oh, would he not, are you so sure about that? After all, I did witness that very touching moment between the two of you in the Temple. Don’t you remember it just before you stepped into Hell? Only moments after you first found out that Lucius had taken a piece of your soul, the very essence you were born with and yet, he kept that from you.” At this I ripped my chin out of his hold, despite the pain it caused.
“But I am surprised that you have never wondered what else he had kept from you. The knowledge of a wife perhaps, or even that…” He paused, bent his head closer to mine and whispered in a menacing way…
“…of a child.”
28
A Mother’s Hand
The second I heard this, I couldn't help but stagger back a few steps, as if I had been shot in the heart. It couldn't be true… it just couldn't be!
“You lie!” I shouted, unable to hide my reactions anymore. Because it couldn't be true. Lucius would never keep something like this from me! But then, even as I thought this, Matthias’ words played over and over like a weapon against me. Because I never would have thought that Lucius could have kept something as important from me as what he stole from me that day. Yet the truth was, I could not deny that he had. That, in fact, he had kept it from me all of my life. He had also lied and broken my heart purposely, making out as if I was nothing more to him than just some silly little girl with a passing fancy. That I was some spoiled little Princess trying to bag herself a King.
It was through these lies that my insecurities could not rule out what Matthias was saying as being true, even though I was near desperate to. I