Chapter 85 That's not her fault
The air in the room turned sharp and cold. Wayne’s grief suddenly shifted into a protective rage. Even though he was heartbroken, his loyalty to his wife was a line that nobody not even his own son, was allowed to cross.
"Watch your mouth," Wayne growled. The sound was low and dangerous, like a warning from a wounded animal.
Ezra flinched. The weight of his father’s stare was too much to handle, and he quickly looked down at the floor. The anger he had felt just a moment ago was crushed by the power of Wayne's command.
Wayne’s voice took on a desperate, pleading tone, as if by saying the words louder, he could make them more true. He looked at Ezra, trying to find some reflection of his own hope.
"She married me," Wayne said, his voice straining.
"In the end, she chose me. She let him down, she turned away from that monster to build a life with me. That has to mean something, Ezra. It shows that her heart belonged to me. No matter how hard he tried to pull at her, no matter what hold he thought he had, her heart beat for me,"
Wayne was desperate to believe this. He had built a "mirror castle" inside his heart a beautiful, fragile place where he was the only man his wife ever truly loved.
He used this belief to protect himself from the agony of her "inclination" toward the other man.
But Ezra didn't offer comfort. Instead, a slow, cold smirk spread across his face. It wasn't a smile of joy; it was a smile of sharp, cruel realization. It was a look that felt like a needle pricking into Wayne’s skin, drawing blood from his pride.
"Father," Ezra said. His voice was quiet, but it cut through Wayne’s words like a knife through paper. The smile on his face seemed to bite into Wayne's very spirit. "Stop counseling yourself. Stop trying to give yourself advice that you know isn't true."
Ezra took a step closer, his eyes cold and dark in the dim light of the room. "You know exactly what that was. You know why she protected him. You know why she wouldn't let you hurt him."
With those few words, Ezra crushed the "mirror castle" that Wayne had spent a lifetime building.
"Your love was not enough, that monster won," Ezra's words carried weight. Wayne got to his knees, and as Raymond saw him getting up, he ran to him and tried to pull him up. "My king," you are the strongest," Raymond said and Wayne broke down here.
" I know this hurts, but that's the truth, we need to finish that monster, as soon as we can," Ezra could not bear that her mother's murderer was still alive.
What was the reason for him being a distinct and brave king, as he could not let the murderer of his mother burn in ashes?
Ezra turned and left the place.
Go be his shield, Wayne said to Raymond and he nodded.
Raymond got matched to his pace, and Ezra asked, Where is that monster? Ezra's face was dull and full of agony.
" If he could not, then I would surely," Ezra said and Raymond nodded.
"My King you can surely, but without King Wayne's approval I cannot do this," Raymond said and Ezra turned abruptly.
" Is this your loyalty?" Ezra asked and Raymond looked down.
"My king," Raymond began, his head bowed in a show of deep respect. "I am but a diminutive protector of yours—a small shield in your great shadow. But I must ask: would you let the same thing happen to that monster that Esperanza saved?"
Raymond’s question hung in the air like a heavy smoke. He asked if Ezra was going to let that "monster" continue to live. He pointed out the irony: Esperanza had saved the man, but her act of kindness had created a nightmare for everyone else. Raymond was waiting. He was like a weapon sitting on a table, waiting for a hand to pick it up.
"You should not be asking this," Ezra let out in a deep dull voice, as his heart crushed.
"You are surviving from the same pain as your father did, and you know how arduous the decision is," Raymond's words hit him hard.
"She broke my heart, but still I am in love with her," Ezra murmured.
"That's not her fault, that monster is in the same situation as you are," Raymond's words caught his attention. Ezra frowned and wanted to hear more.
"What is the nerve you are pointing at?" Ezra asked and Raymond gasped.
" That monster came before you in her life," He said and Ezra nodded.
"But she never told me this," Ezra told him about his obliviousness but Raymond wanted to express what he had done wrong.