Chapter 67: SHE

When I return to the room, he is no longer pacing, he is sitting at the desk, his eyes full of relief as he beacons me to him. Hurriedly, my feet move in his direction, and he pulls me into his legs, plopping down, his face sinks between my neck and my face, my body shivers as our bodies touch.

“I missed you, where did you go?” he murmurs,

I swallow, unsure how to say that I went snooping around without coming off as creepy.

“Out.” I say when the silence stretched on for far too long.

He sighs, “I have heard people describe the property as beautiful, but all I see here is pain, I

don’t think I can ever see it as more.”

The urge to take this man as far away from this place is overwhelming, I wanted to protect

him, from the horrors of his childhood, from the horror that was his younger brother. Since

Greta told me what his brother had tried to do, I had become even more afraid for him, what was it like living with a monster and his son?

“You never told me you had a brother..” I start slow, testing my limits.

His hands rubbing across my back freezes for a second, I fear I have gone too far, crossed the invisible line that was labeled sub.

“Sometimes I wish I didn’t.”

We stay silent for a while, it seemed like it was a confession he has been trying to get out of his chest.

“Years ago, I had already started to frequent London to learn his trade, but I would come back for the holidays or whenever he needed me here. He always had a woman hanging on his arm, he thought of them as ornaments, so when one of them fell pregnant and was adamant about keeping it, I was shocked to say the least. I was even more shocked to find a baby boy on my next visit.”

There is fondness in his voice when he talks about baby Richard, he tells me about the times when he was finally happy to come home because he had someone to look forward to, he felt normal. He finally had the siblings he left at the orphanage, in one person.

“Then the games started. Richard always wanted his approval, so it was quite easy to make him compete against me, it was the little things at first, whoever could hold their breath the longest, who could run the longest or the farthest, I thought they were harmless, so I let him win most of the time, but father wasn’t satisfied, he threatened...” he pauses, I can feel him struggle to breath, and I hug him.

“He threatened to hurt him if I didn’t do my best, so I did, Richard started feeling challenged, so all of a sudden, it was real, and next thing we are holding our breath under water until the other person quit, but he was so stubborn, he passed out because he wouldn’t stop, and whenever I tapped out first, my father would hurt him. Slowly, we stopped being brothers, we turned into a competitive spectacle for him. It completely fell apart when he started to like the games, he was enjoying them, not just to win, but seeing me lose made him happy. That’s when I stopped having a brother.”

His words hung around us like heavy curtain, I could feel his loss for his brother, someone he has always and will still love forever, another thing his father stole from him. Was that why he really wanted the payment? To make sure his father didn’t take something else from him?

“Ever since we have been competitors, he also learned the trade from my father, and since then, it has been who was better, that was until I left the industry. I have no idea what he has been doing with his life.”

His exhaustion seeps through his words, but so does his care for his brother. Even if he tried to kill him, he still cared.

“I wonder if there was something I could have done to save him, to stop him from..”

“You were a kid yourself! Barely a teenager, taking care of a kid should not have fallen solely on your shoulders, especially in a household like this, it was the adult’s responsibility, to take care of both of you, none of it is your fault, you hear me.” I tell him sternly.

He chuckles before kissing the top of my head.

Smiling to myself, feeling proud of crossing one hurdle, making him smile, but I really needed him to understand that Richard had the best person to take care of him, but a monster’s son is all he really is, a monster’s son.

A knock sounded on the door, startling of both us,

“Master Abed, it is time for dinner.” Greta pauses, hesitating,

“Grand Master and Master Richard are both at the dinner table.” she whispered, the same way she had whispered to me to take Abed and leave.

Abed stiffened beneath me, I exhaled, I was about to meet the person who had tried to kill the man I was in love with, I was equal parts angry and terrified.

“It can’t be helped, he wants to have dinner as a family.”

I could feel the anger rolling off him.

“Before we go, are you sure you want to meet the person who tried to kill you.”

He pauses,

“You talked to Greta.”

“Don’t be mad at her, I asked. Will he be a threat?”

He turned me to face him, a small smile on his face.

“Are you worried about me right now?”

“Of course I am, I have been worried since I heard the bastard you literally took care of, tried to kill you.”

He chuckles, kisses my mouth.

“I am so lucky, you care so much about me.”

I bite back that I cared more than he would ever know, but now was not the time.

“Don’t worry about Richard, I was always better than him at everything, I told you, I always let him win, if he was able to, it was because I let it happen, if he tries it again, he knows it would be the last thing he ever tries.”

His word reassure me and worry me as we walk down the hallway to the dinner table, and my stomach is in knots, I do not care for food, I just want to leave this place with Abed and never return.

The table is too large for four people, but there is food to feed an army laid out, and only one man at the table, my eyes sweep the place, but I only find his security in the shadows, no sign of jerk face Richard.

“You came with him, interesting.” the father’s beady eyes are amused as they stare at me, I shiver, but do not back down.

“You still have your sight.” I say with as much venom is allowed in five words.

Abed draws a seat for me, I plop down, keeping my narrowed eyes on the old man who still looks amused. Abed sits next to me, we are pretty far from the man but a million miles would be far suited for me.

“Ah, finally, he graces us with his presence, I was starved.” The voice is familiar, I know instantly it belonged to Richard. I don’t turn towards him, not wanting to seem eager.

“Let’s see his guest.” he says pulling a seat and plopped down beside me, forcing my eyes to look up.

Our eyes widen, matching expression as we both shriek,

“Rachie?”

“Fairy godmother?!!”