Chapter 263 Chapter 263
Chapter 263 Chapter 263
BELLA
“Why did you do it?” She asks.
I look away, folding my arms across my chest without replying. I am not here to speak to her. I am only sticking around to make sure that Damien will be in safe hands before I leave.
We sit in the garden, with Lucian and Brad standing a few meters away. I’d purposely taken a different bench from her and when Damien had tried to sit with me, I’d simply smiled at him and urged him to go to his mother.
I am human and I can’t deny the fact that seeing them together makes my heart ache. It feels like a searing knife through my heart, like a burning jealousy that cuts deep.
I do not try to hide or suppress it. I have every right to feel this way. It’s not fair that she gets to hold her child in her arms when I never got the chance to watch mine grow.
“Why didn’t you come back, mother?” Damien mumbles when she tries to peck his cheek but he pulls away. “You said you’d come back when you walked away. Father never visited either…I didn’t want him to though.”
“Oh Damien,” she says and sniffles, her eyes still glassy and heavy, “I tried to come back, but...but your father wouldn’t let me. There is nothing I wanted more than to see you, my darling.”
I stare into her eyes and I scoff bitterly. My insides curl with disgust at the mere sight of her and I feel so sick of her acts. I can see the guilt in her eyes even as she speaks, the desperation to push the blame away from herself now that Dominic can’t do the same. She hasn’t changed a bit, still the snake that’ll take advantage of a situation even if it ruins the lives of a thousand.
Ariana looks at me and seems to understand the thoughts going through my mind at that point. Her eyes flicker with regret and she parts her lips to speak, but I rise to my feet instantly.
I honestly can't take any more of her lies at this point. It will only fuel the rage and jealousy searing through my blood at this point.
I walk away from her, ignoring her as she calls back to me in a cracked, choked voice.
My wolf growls suddenly and a brief wave of a hot, primal desire coursing through my veins. When I stare ahead, I instantly understand why my body reacts the way it does.
This clearly means he hasn't accepted my rejection. That would also mean that he's been living in constant pain for the past two years.
The Bella who'd been used and betrayed by this same pack would have felt compassion for him, but the only thing bubbling in my chest is my anger and a desperate need to despise him more than I do now.
I take another route just so I can avoid walking in the same path as him.
After a while, I hear hurried footsteps behind me, but I do not panic. My wolf would probably be running wild if it was Brad. My heart thumps calmly as Lucian slides into step beside me.
“We have a lot of things to talk about, Bella,” He says, “first of all, I get the feeling that you've changed and yet in some unfathomable way, you've managed to remain the same.”
“The part of me that hasn't changed is simply due to the fact that I haven't lost my humanity, Lucian,” I reply flatly and stare at him, “I'm not like her.”
He scoffs and shakes his head, completely baffled, “Well, clearly. I don't think I'd have the heart to do what you did by saving that kid. I mean, it's the right thing to do, but fucking hell, Bella.”
“You think I'm crazy then?” I ask and he rolls his eyes. A faint smile crosses my lips and I look ahead again, “I am entrusting that child to you, Lucian. I want you and Esme to take care of him.”
He takes a deep breath, his brows furrowing deeply, “Bella—”
“He's a sweet kid, Lucian,” I say softly. “I haven't spent an awful lot of time with him, but I know he's a good kid. I'd take him with me only if I knew where I was going…but I don't.”
He cranes his head slightly, “What are you talking about, Bella? You're here now and isn't that all that matters?”
I halt on the spot and stare up at him wearily, “Do you really think I am going to stay here? This entire pack hates me already, what do you think they'd say when they find out I am the reason their huge wedding was stopped?” I ask softly and shake my head, “no, Lucian. I am not going to be the scapegoat again.”
He runs his fingers through his hair and shakes his head again, “He hasn't been the same without you though. Ever since you left, it's like his world turned upside down.” He says all of a sudden.
I frown at him, utterly shocked, “You are saying this because of…Brad? When did you stop despising him?” I ask.
He doesn't meet my eyes, “Who says I've stopped? I am only stating everything I've noticed,” He says.
I nod and scoff at him, “Good. He can go to hell and so can you, Lucian. You have no idea what I went through during that same time and as much as I'd love to scream it out and let out all that rage in your face, none of you deserve to hear it.”
His face places and he immediately springs up to grab my hands, “Bella, we looked for you! I swear to the goddess, we did.”
I pull my hands away from his grip and shake my head, “That's the same thing you'd have said had I not survived this.”
His eyes dim with regret and sadness. He sighs and looks away, unable to utter another word.
“You want to do me a favor, Lucian?” I ask, “when Ariana is done sulking, take that child from her and make him yours. Don't let her raise him—she'll only raise another monster.”