Chapter 184 For Nine Years
“What?”
They turned and saw William there.
The panic, the dread of his obsession being revealed had been vanquished. There stood a man with cold clarity as he stepped inside the room.
Luke and Arabella turned to see William standing in the doorway. He didn't look ashamed.
“It all began with this picture. My feelings, my love, my obsession.”
A faint smile touched him when he stepped inside the room, a man standing in his true sanctuary, his hidden gleam finally emerging.
“I wanted to keep her glimpse of me all the time. But, before I knew it, I ended up getting more ‘souvenirs’ than I intended.”
Luke stepped back, the whole sight, the imagination made him revolt, “What… How? Didn’t it feel disgusting, William?”
“Arabella was the first person who sincerely noticed me, Luke. My happiness, my sorrow, the fake smile. From my habits, likes to my allergies and dislikes.”
He ignored his brother’s horrified expression and walked straight to the birthday portrait. His fingers grazed the wood of the frame with a touch so reverent it was almost holy.
“Every little detail, she adapted that to herself– How could I have thought otherwise?”
And then curled it into a powerless, painful fist, pulling the fingers that worship her away, his gaze lowering in defeat for a moment.
“But, when I came to propose she was with my brother, accepting to be his girlfriend.”
Luke stepped back, his eyes widened in appall, trying to register the intensity and heaviness of the situation.
“That was the moment he swore I would make her mine, with or without force and in doing so, if I had to destroy myself and everything I built– I would gladly do it.”
“But, he swore he will never love me again.”
A brief, grievous smile came to Arabella’s lips as well, the heartbreaking moment that almost crushed her spirits crossed her mind.
“I had weakened him only to leave him in the end. He won’t let me do it this time. And made him… suffer for him.”
She stepped close, standing beside William whose eyes no longer greeted her with suspicion or animalistic fury. They were softer.
“Is- Is that why you left for London too? You yelled at me when I came to convince you not to go… Was it… because of her?” Luke asked in a spur of panic.
His steps retreating, refusing to stay longer in the room created by a blind worshiper only yearned to ‘feel’ his world.
“Yes. The pain was too much for me to handle. I had lost everything in my life, Luke, Arabella was the last straw.”
Running his fingers through his locks, he blinked a few times. His heart drummed madly against his chest. And then, everything began to make sense.
“And then your advice, you came back, the misunderstanding, and… and it was you who made her marry him… you were behind this?”
“Yes.” William nodded.
“... Why?” Luke’s face contorted into disgust, blending with sorrow that made his hand tremble, stunning his mind and ability to perceive.
“Why didn’t you tell me, William?” Luke walked towards William, a tear rolling down his cheek miserable.
“There was nothing I could have done for you. If you had asked once, I wouldn’t even have come near her…” Luke confessed, his lips trembling, his strength fading when everything came crashing on him.
“That’s the problem. I couldn’t do it.” William confessed in a heartbroken voice, his eyes affixed on the ground with extreme hesitation.
“I never asked for anything and to ask for her… was a life-threatening task… I couldn’t.”
Luke scoffed, rolling his eyes while wiping his eyes roughly, “But you orchestrated a web of lies and manipulation just to have her?”
“... I saw no other way. For once, I wanted to be selfish, I wanted to get what I want…. I wanted her to be mine.”
Luke yelled outrageously, “Were you out of your damn mind!?”
“Why not!? Why can’t I become selfish for once?!” William snapped in the same tone, his eyes widened with an unforeseen hysteria.
“I sacrificed all my childhood, my auldhood, I couldn’t fall in love because of my fucking responsibilities and when I found one source of happiness, you took her away.”
Clutching his heart, for the first time before Luke, William’s tongue unshackled and the complaint in his heart burst painfully. The truth he held back tore from this throat accompanied by a tear.
“Don’t I deserve to be loved? Can’t one desire of mine be fulfilled? Can’t I have the woman I love with me?”
“Oh William, my brother, you could have said once….” Luke whispered compassionately, his shoulders loosening with nothing but pure compassion.
“Look for how many years you suffered? And she…”
Suddenly, Luke turned his fury toward Arabella, his voice a thunderous crack. She flinched, her steps retreating in dread.
“WHY THE FUCK DID YOU AGREE TO BE MY GIRLFRIEND ARABELLA WHEN YOU LOVED HIM FOR NINE YEARS!?”
Luke spilled the truth wretchedly, glaring at Arabella for involving him uselessly in their mess. But the reality stunned William to no extent.
His head shot in her direction, “Wh- What?”
“When you both loved each other dammit why did you involve me in between?!” Luke continued furiously, pointing his finger contemptuously at her.
“That man laid out a game and jumped into the first opportunity he provided and let him think he won.. But it was you who won. You got the man you always wanted and NEVER TOLD HIM YOU LOVED HIM FOR NINE FUCKING YEARS!”
“What is he saying, Bella?” William asked breathlessly, the truth too much for his hand to grasp. His popped eyes were at his woman who was looking down with silent whimpers.
“Have you ever been in love so passionately to the point it hurts so damn much? The same thing happened to me.”
Curling her lips in a grievous smile, a weak, barely audible voice escaped her lips, biting her cheeks to not escape a sobbing yet it emerged.
“You were never wrong. I was in love with you but Helena.. She.. she said you think of me as a sister and I believed those words.”
Arabella cried sadly, tears uncontrollable spilling from her eyes glancing at William who was immobilized, consuming too much time to register the recently gained information.
“I tried, and tried, but my love got deeper and deeper and to get over you…” She glanced at Luke, “I took whatever ‘option’ was available.”
“See. She never loved me. She was only looking for a distraction. She loved you.”