Forcibly married to the person whom rejected me

XLIV

I run around this everlasting puzzle of identical trees, looking for the most shining leaf surrounded by the devils of darkness. And there he was, leaning on a tall stable tree, a tall stable tree that could carry the weight of the pain he held in. "Oliver.." I whisper as I move towards him slowly. Every step I take, my feet dig into this hard ground, creating a mark for the effort and courage I hold now. Every step I take, I inhale in all the oxygen around me so I don't suffocate before the Devine.

He turns his head to me as his body keeps his posture. And there i saw and felt the melancholy in him. I saw it as he lets it connect with my own eyes, with my own heart. I walk up close to him, I place my arm on his chest. "Don't hang up on your heart Oliver, it's been ringing for so long. It's time to answer" I whisper gently, looking at his face as his eyes lock with mine. And it felt as if I was the only thing he wants to see, the only thing he is able to see right now. I wasn't standing in front of these furious eyes, instead it was those soft loving eyes I always admired.

"I'm sorry, for earlier" he says, raising his palm to run it through my hair. "Don't be" I try to smile slightly through this silent chaos. "I've always felt left out" he trails off, "left out the royals. Felt different". I lean next to him, "I bet you can't say that to Caroline. She did her best Oliver" I say slowly, looking sideways at a wondering Oliver. "She still does. She's my mother, forever. Nothing can change that" he says clearing his throat in between those heavy words.

"Did you know?" He suddenly asks. I look at him, catching his glimpse. "No" I state. It didn't take time for me to consider lying. If I put myself in his place, it would be a pain that has no healing. Never. So I lied, lied about the fact that I knew long time ago. "Didn't think so. Caroline would have told me before, wouldn't she?" He asks a rhetorical question. "Yeah" I whisper as I look back down on my feet.

'I feel guilty. I need to say the truth' I say to my mind. 'No! Not after you lied' my mind protests. 'He would never forgive you' my mind continues, 'He will never love you'.

'Did he ever?..'

"I bet my mothers name is Matilda" he says calmly. "Why would you think that?" I ask switching my pose to face him. "It's just I've always loved that name. Caroline would always tell me about how I would go around singing the name 'Matilda' for no exact reason." He moves his face to look at me, "it's just I'm so attached to it. I feel a connection, with this name, so I've grown fond of it".

"And if it was her name that would beautiful" I gently say. Oliver looks up, sighs and then looks back at me. "You know what Elizabeth" he suddenly chuckles looking at me, "I've grown fond of you too". I feel the butterflies in me gain their air to fly all around, sending this shivering feeling of that so called love. "I myself believe you have changed to the better" I say raising my eyebrows at him. He scoffs and shakes his head, and even after his denial, the twist of a hidden smile appears on the edge of his perfect lips.

He was perfect. This was perfect. Until now.

He stays silent for a while before he inhales a deep breathe. A deep breath that left me nothing else to take in. I look at him, catching his slight emotionless glimpse. "I don't consider myself a good man Elizabeth" he says, voice steady and stern. "And why is that so?" I whisper. He looks at me, stands up straight and says "I haven't been completely honest with you..". And with that he moves his hands out of his pocket, holding the one thing that made all the silent chaos come true.

The necklace.

It was with him all along. It was with him and he yet accused me, he dared to make me feel guilty. I look at his palm as he shows the weak metal laying calmly, no pain no gain. I gulp in anger, in fear. "Why?" I ask, switching my eyes to his gaze, eyes full of tears, holding in the sorrow. And it's as if his lips were sewed with an invisible needle, a needle we call truth. He looked guilty, he should be. I gasp slowly as my tears fall down. "Thank you for proving my beliefs wrong." I say through a broken soul "Good day" I continue before walking away from him.

It was me, who left this time. I won't ever let our first meeting recreate itself. I was wrong. He didn't change.

I did.

———————

I walk back home after a slow hollow walk and the moment I say, "I'm home", I see two figures walking up to me. "Edward?" I whisper confused. "Darling, Edward here wanted to see you before he left." My mother says, smiling at Edward as he returns it back. It was his talent, to give the comfort needed to the other person, the security. But his action yesterday night proved him else.

"Shall we?" He says as he moves towards the door I'm standing at. I glance at mother who signs me to go, "hmm" I hum as I move back out with Edward.
We walk in silence before he finally speaks, "I looked for you at the castle, you weren't there". "Yeah. Haven't you heard what happened with prince Quill?" I try to pull out the truth from a bundle of his coming lies. "Yes I've heard" he states calmly. I look up at him, disbelief fills my curiosity as I demand the truth and the reason. "Edward", I say looking up at him. "Yes Elizabeth?" He smiles softly.

"I know you were prince Quill's liberator".