Tainted Innocence

Chapter XXXI

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Chapter XXXI

She didn't know what exactly had ended it, but somewhere between her return to Jerome's hideout and the early morning hours the crying and wailing had stopped. Maybe her body was tired, maybe she didn't have the strength anymore to voice her desperation, fear and grief.

Or maybe it had something to do with the thoughts that were preying on her conscience. She couldn't, for the life of her, stop thinking about the things Jerome had said.

Had Jeremiah really gone so far to make his brother pay for not showing him a dead animal? Was it true that he had lied about his brother wanting to kill him all along? Had he played on her sympathy and affection for years?

Lynn didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be true. Jerome couldn't be right. He had to be lying. For if he hadn't it consequently meant that she had married a manipulative, coldhearted man that had tricked his way into her heart with methods so foul they would have stunk if they had been able to produce a scent.

She felt sick. So sick... Nonetheless, she needed to know, needed to know that what she had seen in Jeromes' eyes had been nothing but a trick of the light. A monster like him just couldn't look hurt... A monster like him had no soul. A monster like him only told lies.

The door to the guest room opened to reveal the monster himself. Lynn looked up to meet his gaze, and for the first time since he'd kidnapped her, she was glad to see him.

"You've stopped screaming like a banshee. Have you come to terms with your fate, petal?", he asked with raised brows as he entered the room.

Lynn ignored the question. Instead of answering him, she took the leap of faith.

"Is it true? What you said about my husband... Is it true, Jerome?"

Jerome inclined his head.

"I love telling lies, sweetie pie. Especially to victims that believe in a good heart underneath all the bad, bad stuff. It's so exhilarating to see the disbelief in their eyes the moment they realise I've just been playing with their soft side.", he said as he flopped down on an old chair. He grinned, but it only lasted for a split second before his lips twisted into thin lines, resulting in a expression of cold seriousness.

"But I don't tell lies about my brother. Jeremiah is as crazy as I am, flower. Has always been, to be honest. He drove me mad. Made me the person I am now. Normally I'd be happy to rub it in, but and I can't believe I'm actually saying this, I'm sorry to break it to you, but you've married a lunatic that wouldn't think twice about killing you if you ever dared to cross his plans, sweetie pie. No matter how much he claims to love you, he'll always come first."

"But why lead his life the way he does, then? Why live in hiding, why the need to lock himself away when everything he ever told me about you was a lie? Where's the sense in that?"

She saw his lips twist into a smile that bore no sign of amusement.

"Think of it, flower. He left me with an abusive mother, knowing full well that the bitch would continue to beat me up for the next nine years... That's enough time to develop a real thirst for that rat's blood. Moreover, he likes to believe in the stories he tells others because that's the only way he can keep the narration of his being the victim alive. It's how he absolves himself from the guilt he feels deep inside that twisted, sick heart of his."