“Desta was a baby. She was kidnapped. She’s a victim of your mother, same as you are.”
“My mother loved and wanted her and not me. She gave me up for her.”
My stomach churns, bile rising in my throat. I can’t believe the woman I trusted with the children could be capable of such cruelty. Fear and rage twist together, knotting into a tight ball that threatens to choke me. But beneath it all, a small, flickering flame of determination burns.
I won’t let her win. I can’t.
“Almost there,” Charlotte mutters under her breath, and I feel my heart rate increase. There’s no comfort in knowing we’re reaching our destination. It only means I’m one step closer to imprisonment, or worse.
The car comes to a sudden stop, its engine falling silent. I hear her door open and shut and then my side swings open as Charlotte yanks me out by my arm. I stumble over the rough ground, disoriented by the lack of sight. My feet sink into damp earth, cold and unforgiving beneath me.
“Where are we?” I ask, my voice barely audible. I can’t help but let the question slip past my lips, even though I know it’s futile to expect an honest answer from her.
“Somewhere safe where no one will ever think to search foryou,” she responds cryptically. “This was where I planned to take Marie and Desta once I found them.”
I’m dragged inside, my feet catching on the stone steps, and I’m dragged through a room, still blindfolded, only to have it ripped from my eyes as I’m shoved inside a cell. I blink rapidly, my eyes attempting to adjust as I take in my new surroundings.
The stone room is cold and barren, the only signs of life being the bed built into the wall, a toilet, and a sink.
“Here’s some food and water,” Charlotte says, her voice sounding hollow in the echoey space. “Don’t go through it too quickly. I don’t know when I’ll be back.” Her words are like a slap to my face, a stark reminder of how little control I have over my situation.
“Wait!” I cry out as she begins to leave, desperation clawing at my throat. But the heavy door slams shut, and I’m left alone in the darkness. I locate the switch on the wall, a push button that attaches to a wire that feeds into a hanging bulb overhead. It looks to be from over a century ago and likely a fire hazard, but that’s the least of my worries right now.
My breath comes in ragged gasps as I try to hold back the panic coursing through me. I can almost feel the walls closing in on me. The air grows tighter, heavier with each slide of grating metal on the other side of the door as she locks me securely inside the room. My vision blurs with tears, and I can’t help but let out a choked sob.
I stumble toward the small window near the ceiling, my hands outstretched as if trying to grasp any hope of escape. The window taunts me with its height, well out of reach even if I were to stand on the bed. It’s just another cruel reminder of how trapped I am, knowing there is a very real possibility this might be the end for me.
30
SEBASTIAN
The moment Bellamy walks out the door, leaving me standing alone in the hallway, my heart shatters. It’s as if every piece of the life we built together crumbles around me. I can’t breathe, can’t think. All I feel is a crushing weight on my chest.
“Fuck!” I slam my fist against the wall, pain radiating through my hand and up my arm, but it’s nothing compared to the ache in my soul. How did I let things get this bad? How could I have been so blind to the damage I was causing our marriage?
I need to fix this. I have to make it right.
“Why the fuck did I let her walk out of here?!” I yell to no one other than myself. “Why the fuck didn’t I fight for her? What is wrong with me?”
I can’t let this happen. I can’t lose her, not when she’s the one person who makes me feel alive. The one person who truly knows me. Who loves me for who I am, not what I am. I have to change. I have to be better for her, for us.
I won’t let this curse control me any longer. I will fight for her.
I will fight for us.
I stride toward our bedroom, desperate to find any semblance of her presence. Her scent lingers on the pillows, a mix of vanilla and sunshine, and I bury my face in them, taking solace in the familiarity. I inhale deeply, letting her essence soothe my shattered soul.
“No more distance, no more secrets. Just us, together,” I vow to the empty room.
As much as I want to chase after her and beg for forgiveness, I know she needs space. But I can’t just sit idly by, waiting for her return. I need to take action to prove to her that I’m committed to our love, to our future.
Fuck, I’m a fool. I let a curse, this motherfucking curse, control me. Rule me. Yet, who is king? I am. What is life without her? What is peace without her? For weeks I’ve been terrified—truly, utterly terrified. I was waiting for her metaphorical helicopter to fall out of the sky. I was waiting for her to die in front of me the way Nora did.
Only…maybe Rowan was right all this time.
Maybe my love for her will protect her. Maybe there is a curse and maybe there isn’t. But I never loved Nora. Not even remotely close to the way I love Bellamy. Fuck, do I love her.
So…could that still be enough?
