Betrayal
OPAL
"Quinton, you're really scaring me right now," I admit as I start backing away from him. "I don't understand what's happening right now. What're you talking about? Why're you asking me for forgiveness?"
"Bruce isn't who you think he is," he says solemnly. "I thought...he guaranteed me that he would fix things, Opal. I never thought that things would get this far."
"Fix what? What would he have to fix? You're not making any sense, Quinton!"
He takes a deep breath before answering my question. "Your marriage to Bruce wasn't a coincidence or anything like that. It was a carefully planned event, even if it seemed rushed to you."
His words leave me cold. It becomes hard for me to breathe, too. The marriage...how many times had I wondered about this? I'd asked myself time and time again why he chose to marry me out of all the women he could've chosen; women from more influential families than mine.
There's a part of me that doesn't want to know the truth. I'm terrified. My mind is racing with all sorts of morbid explanations. None of them makes sense.
"Tell me," I urge him, even though I'm not ready to hear the truth. I know by now that it has to be something truly terrible, and that's the only reason why he's speaking to me in such a tone and even asking for forgiveness.
"Your father...he wanted to use you."
"Use me? For what?"
Quinton runs a hand down his face and looks around again. "I'm sorry, Opal. What I'm about to tell you won't be easy for you to hear. But Walter Hart isn't your biological father."
A small laugh escapes me. He's joking with me. I see it now. "What are you talking about? Of course, he is."
"No, Opal," he contradicts in a low voice. "I'm sorry, but he's not. Your biological father was a rogue named Dresmond. He was the leader of the rogues for many years, until he was killed. Walter knew this, so he kept you by his side. Raised you as his own. And when the right time came along, he found the perfect opportunity to use you and make you Bruce's wife."
"What sense does this make?" I ask as I struggle to grasp this explanation. It's a senseless explanation. "Even if any of this were true, why would he marry the daughter of a...a rogue to the future Alpha King?"
Quinton looks at me intently for a long time, then he says, "You were the only solution we had to stop this war. We would use you to threaten them and make them stop. Rogues...you can call them anything, but they protect themselves. They're loyal to a fault."
I shake my head. This doesn't make any sense and I won't pretend that it does. But why would he make all this up? What would the point of that be?
“This is…nothing makes sense. This isn’t adding up.”
“I’m sorry, Opal,” he claims as he steps toward me. “I realized that this was a sick and cowardly plan the second that I saw you in that wedding dress. At first, you were just a way out. It didn’t matter. Deep down, we’ve always resented the rogues anyway, so you’d be one more rogue we’d have to kill or use or whatever to make all of this stop. You have to understand that I’m only telling you this because I want to be honest with you. Dammit, I wanted to tell you about this for a long time. Bruce guaranteed me that he fell in love with you and the plan was off.”
As he talks, I can’t help but remember just how Bruce used to treat me. Everything in the beginning was so strange and mysterious.
But what seals the deal for me is the words he told me yesterday.
I love you no matter what.
Was this the reason why he said those words to me?
I meet Quinton’s gaze. He looks sorry. I hate the pity I see written all over his face. “I know we’re all terrible people, Opal. I’m sorry. This is my fault, too. Bruce fooled me. He knew I was going to tell you the truth and he lied to me. I can’t forgive him. I heard him yesterday with your father, and I haven’t been able to rest since. I knew I had to tell you.”
I lower my gaze and press my fingertips against the center of my forehead. I’m getting a migraine. This can’t be real.
It just can’t.
I can’t even begin to wrap my head around how betrayed I feel. What the fuck is this? How can this be possible? How is it that the only man I’ve ever loved lied right to my face for so long?
“Opal,” Quinton says more urgently, capturing my attention. “You have to go. Now. It’s only a matter of time before they decide it’s time to use you. This war is starting to get out of hand. The Alphas all around us are weak little bitches who are too used to comfort and luxury to actually fight. Cowardice will push them to make the decision to use you. That’s why you have to go. I suspect that this is the only reason why Bruce is letting your father, I mean, Walter, take control of everything.”
I feel sick. I want to throw up. I turn away from him and put some distance between us. I shake my head. “I can’t. Just…no! Don’t touch me!”
“I know you’re angry,” he claims as he grabs hold of my arms, “and you have every right to be, but let me help you. You have to go. Opal, if you stay here, you’ll die!”
“No,” I proclaim as I push him away from me. “I don’t want anything from you! I don’t need you! Let me go!”
I turn away from him and start walking. He calls my name again, but I ignore him. I hear him say, “Opal, please. You can’t trust anyone right now, especially Walter’s sister!”
This makes me whirl around again. “Don’t you dare talk about my Aunt Janice! Don’t you dare! What the hell do you know about her!?”
His expression softens. “I know enough to know that she can’t be trusted. She knew about all this.”
I shake my head. “You’re wrong. She would never—”
“She’s your biological mother, Opal,” he interrupts. “So, trust me when I say that she can’t be trusted, either.”
My world is falling apart all around me. I don’t know what to do with myself. I turn away from him, deciding that I need to get the hell away from this place. Quinton follows me and catches up to me.
“Use the car,” he says before I can tell him to stop touching me again. “Drive as far away as you can. I’ll order the guards to open the gate. This is the only chance you might have. Go somewhere far away. Don’t trust anyone. Please. Your friend. Maybe she could help you.”
He’s talking about Gwen, but I’m not in the right state of mind to pay attention to any of this.
I have to get to the bottom of this.
There’s only one place where I can do that.