~Beatrice's POV~I was still staring at my phone, my hands shaking as I remembered that horrible night thirteen years ago. Rebecca's cruel message. Those pictures. The way my world had fallen apart in that moment.The pain was still fresh, even after all these years. The betrayal. The humiliation that followed consistently after. The way Marcus had chosen her and not even Lilith. And now, he is acting and protraying himself as the saint and I the evil one."What are you thinking so hard about that you didn't notice when I entered your room?"Thomas's voice pulled me from my dark thoughts. I quickly put my phone face down on the nightstand, my heart jumping."Nothing," I said dismissively, not looking at him.How long had he been standing there? How much had he seen? I felt exposed, vulnerable and he didn't have to do anything at all, that's how much of a chokehold he had me on.Thomas didn't say anything at first. He just walked toward the bed and sat down. I could feel his eyes on me
~Beatrice's POV~I silently entered my daughter's room. Looked at her sleeping face. Looked a face that looked exactly mine when I was her age. She had her my eyes and her father's red hair just like Thomas.I sat closed to her and gently rub on her face. I had wanted to just let everything go. Forget I ever had a daughter after all, I have hurt her so much. I hated myself and how I lost myself after the betrayal of Marcus." I am sorry, my sweet girl. I am so sorry. I am only trying to protect you and myself. I am sorry for letting my rage for the Lockharts hurt you. But, I swear, I was only saving you," I whispered in between tears.I stood up, not wanting my tears to fall on her and wake her up. I wish I had been around and not let her get involve with Bastian. I wish Marcus wasn't such a foolish man and he had actually protected his daughter.I closed Lilith's bedroom door softly and walked to my own room. My hands were still shaking from everything that had happened tonight. The
~Lilith's POV~"Watch out!" I screamed.The sound of a gunshot filled the air. Then everything went quiet.I saw Uncle Thomas fall to the ground. Blood was spreading across his shirt. The man with the gun was also down, but I couldn't see him properly."No, no, no!" I screamed.Without thinking, I broke my promise. I jumped out of the car and ran toward Uncle Thomas. My legs felt weak. My chest was tight. I couldn't breathe properly.I fell to the ground beside him, crying so hard I could barely see."Uncle Thomas! Please don't die! Please!" I sobbed.My hands were shaking. My heart was beating so fast it hurt. I felt like I was drowning. Like the world was spinning too fast.This was all my fault. If I hadn't been so stupid about Sebastian's text messages, Uncle Thomas would be safe. He would be alive."I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I kept saying over and over.I couldn't catch my breath. Everything felt fuzzy and far away. My chest was so tight I thought I might die too.Then I
~Lilith's POV~The text message made my whole world stop.~Lilith, are you good?~It was from Sebastian. My hands started shaking as I stared at the screen."Lilith?" Uncle Thomas's voice seemed far away. "Are you okay?"I shook my head, still looking at my phone like it might disappear. Another message came through.~Lilith, where are you?~Uncle Thomas walked over to me. "What's wrong?" It sounded shook and worried but that didn't make me to lift my eyes from my phone.I couldn't speak. I just held up my phone so he could see the messages.His face changed completely when he saw Sebastian's name. He took the phone from my trembling hands and read the messages."Is it possible for him to be awake, Uncle?" I asked. The question was racing through my mind over and over. "Could Sebastian really be texting me?" I didn't want to think of any other possibility. I sincerely miss him deeply. So bad, my heart aches just at the mention of his name. "It's possible, Lilith," Thomas said slowly
~Lilith's POV~Uncle Thomas smiled gently at my question. "I've known for a very long time, Lilith. Your grandmother was my patient before she died. She told me everything.""Everything?" I asked."About Hellena Lockhart. About what she did to our family. About the real reason your mother left your father." He glanced at Mum. "Some secrets are heavy burdens to carry alone."Mum squeezed my hand. "Thomas has been helping me piece together the truth for years. Trying to understand what really happened back then.""The discharge papers are ready," Uncle Thomas said, changing the subject. "You can leave whenever you're ready. But I want you to stay close, Lilith. Rest for a few days.""She'll stay with me," Mum said quickly. "At Thomas's house. It's safer there."I nodded, still feeling weak from everything that had happened. The drugs, the revelations, the emotional weight of finally talking to my mother properly.An hour later, we were walking toward the hospital parking lot. The evenin
~Lilith's POV~The words were... "Mum...""I came home early from a political campaign meeting," she continued. "I was so excited because I'd been offered a position, a real position where I could make a difference. I wanted to tell Marcus, to share the good news with my husband."She laughed, but there was no humor in it."Instead, I found him with her. They were so caught up in each other they didn't even hear me come in.""What did you do?" I whispered."I left," she said. "I packed a bag and I left. I drove around for hours, trying to figure out what to do. When I finally came home, Rebecca was gone. Marcus was waiting for me.""What did he say?""He begged," my mother said. "He cried. He promised it would never happen again. He said he was sorry, that he loved me, that he wanted to make it work.""And you believed him?""I wanted to," she admitted. "I wanted to believe that our marriage could be saved. That our family could stay together. So I forgave him.""But it didn't work."