Angelina’s POV
I turn around to face him because I can’t take this anymore.
He was going to hurt me to get the truth anyway. And even after I tell him the truth he’s going to hurt me nonetheless.
The way I see it, it will hurt either way, so might as well get it over with, right?
He must have seen the look of defeat and immense pain on my face, because he starts walking in my direction and I let him.
He stands right in front of me and I don’t flinch, recoil, or look away.
He says softly “Why in the world won’t you tell me who you are Angel? What are you afraid of exactly?”
I take a deep breath, the last deep breath I’ll ever be able to take most probably. His softness was appreciated compared to the dangerous, feral look he was giving me before when he asked me the same question earlier.
“Afraid you won’t believe me anymore” I said vulnerably the tears pooled in my eyes, partially obscuring my view of him.
When they spilled down my cheeks and I could see him clearly again, I saw the softness that I haven’t seen so deeply before from him, and it was directed at me. It made me doubt my sight for a second, even doubt him. He was playing me right? Just trying to do whatever it takes to make me talk? He would never look at me like that when he learns the truth. Never.
“I’m afraid of telling you, because….I’m your eye for an eye, Lucas” I said emotionally.
And just like I expected. His expression changes drastically as he says darkly “What does that mean?”
The next words are the single most hardest words I ever had to say, but I say them, because there was no going back from this, not anymore.
“I’m his daughter” I said forcefully.
A long silence stretches around me but I don’t dare to look anywhere else.
I know everyone heard what I just said.
Everyone heard but no one was making a sound or reacting.
Not even Lucas.
He was frozen. Paralyzed. Not blinking, probably not even breathing. It was written all over his face, how much he didn’t expect or see that one coming at all, not in a million years.
I should have kept going. I shouldn’t have stopped at that sentence. I should have explained my side of things. But I remained quiet. Afraid of the sting of disbelief I will see on their faces or hear from their voices.
We already established that I am a coward.
And I was too much of a coward to have faith in the goodness of these people only to be shot down with disappointment if they don’t believe my story.
I can’t begin to describe how much it hurt me, admitting that I was Zade’s daughter out loud, to the people who hate him most in this world.
It fucking gutted me, sliced me open and drained my blood if my streaming, non-stopping, tears were of any indication to my crushing wounds.
Finally, after what felt like forever, Lucas whispered tightly as if the words didn’t even want to pass through his mouth “Zade’s?”
Why do you have to kill me twice in the span of one minute Lucas!
I couldn’t get my voice to come out, no matter how much I tried. So I nodded my head in confirmation.
I watched something die within him, right there. His eyes turned colder than the snow itself, his face hardened like a rock. And I knew I was so done for. I knew there was nothing I could say that can make him believe how disgusted and ashamed I am of being that person’s daughter.
The coldest tone I have ever heard from him so far along with his words made my insides run ice cold “Angelina Zade. I have to admit, didn’t expect that one, not even a little bit. The devil himself has a daughter and he named her Angelina? That is about the most ironic thing I have ever heard in my whole damn life, and nothing can top that one”
I remained silent for a while, waiting for that pain he just caused me to lessen. Because what the hell can I say in my defense? The truth? If his tone was any indication, it will only make things worse.
So I do the exact opposite.
“Go ahead, make the devil’s daughter pay for his sins. It’s only fair right? Killing him will never satisfy you enough. You need to make him die a thousand times before that” I said in a strained voice.
I didn’t think my words would get to him, not in the way I was expecting them to. I thought he would grasp at the opportunity to do just that. But instead, his coldness shifted to something close to being hurt or offended, but I couldn’t be sure because it didn’t last very long as the coldness came back even fiercer than before.
“You know what? I think you’re right. Fair is fair after all” he said darkly before he grabbed both my arms from the elbow, pinned them behind me, and started dragging me across the front yard.
His hands on me were iron clad, thinking I was going to fight against him again like the last time, prepared for me to do just that, but I didn’t move a muscle this time as I let him drag me over.
“Lucas!” his mom called him over emotionally and ran over to stand in our way.
We were forced to stop in front of her and it was the first time I was looking at her after my confession.
I don’t know what I was expecting to see exactly but it certainly wasn’t this sympathetic, determined look at all.
She was looking at me in anguish, her eyes as tender as they have always been. It still gets to me every time and bearing the truth to her didn’t lessen the still lingering guilt within me one bit.
She didn’t say anything to me, even though I could see plenty of things she wanted to say at that moment. But she diverted her gaze from me towards her son who was standing behind me, still holding my arms against my back tightly as she said in a hard tone “Let her go. You’re not doing a damn thing to her, you hear me?”
“Who said anything about doing something to her? I’m just going to have a little chat with her that’s all” he said casually.
“Why are you taking her into Mathew’s house then?” she inquired tightly, not believing him in the slightest.
“Because I want to have that chat alone, in private. She’s still going to be under your roof, just like you wanted” he said patiently.
His calmness was not soothing me at all and neither was his admittance that he was just going to ‘chat’.
She shook her head at him determinedly.
“I’m not leaving her alone with you” she said tightly.
“You know your lack of faith in your own favorite son is a little insulting mom” he said sarcastically.
Even though his tone was jokey, I could still detect the cutting hint of it underneath it, and Diana caught it too as she looked a little unsure about what to say to that.
She didn’t want to outright tell him that she doesn’t believe he’s telling the truth and cause him any pain, but she didn’t exactly trust him not to back down from his own promise not to do anything drastic to me either.
So I jumped in, for her sake of course and not for Lucas’s.
“It’s okay Diana. I don’t mind being alone with him. It’s totally okay, I swear” I said softly and as convincingly as I could manage despite my opposite feeling towards the situation. I was so far from being okay with being alone with him.
More lies. More guilt. Whatever. It’s all going downhill from here anyway, what’s another stupid lie right?
She looked at me fiercely, not fooled by my forced honesty at all. She could see right through me and it hurt even more that I was caught yet again with another lie. Another deception.
But she surprised me as she addressed her son seriously “I will not hear any screaming or crying coming from inside that house. Am I clear, Lucas?”
“Crystal” he said instantly before dragging me again past her and towards the front door of the small house.