Sinister Obsession: Macsen Massey (Emperor Series, #3) ✔️

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

It's already dark, and only the gloomy light from the old lamp posts brightens the way to nowhere. Bellona doesn't know where she's going. She's been in a haze ever since she left the Emperor's chamber. She hasn't gotten over it yet; it's hard, and it hurts. He was her first genuine love, so the pain is still striking her chest. He said it himself: she meant nothing to him, she must leave, and he doesn't want her at all.

A nerve-wracking pain hit her chest again. Thinking about the emperor just breaks her heart, but she can't stop thinking about him at all. The cold breeze hits her very long hair as it falls on her back. She doesn't care anymore. Well, good thing it's already late in the evening and it's dark; no one will recognize her. She's going to leave anyway. What's the point of disguising?

"Madame?"

A baritone voice from behind said so, and Bellona almost jumped in shock. She immediately looked around to check who it was. She was scared at first; there had been assassins in the past few days, and she was scared she might get attacked. But good thing the person meant no harm; it was the commander. However, he was staring at her in confusion. He looks so puzzled, examining her from head to toe.

"Hey," the commander greeted her after realizing she was just a servant. "Holy sh*t! You look exactly like her!" He whispered.

Her? Who?

"Commander," she greeted.

"What the fuck is this coincidence? No, this isn't! You look exactly just like her, for fucks sake!" The commander battled his thoughts; he might have noticed the dried tears from her eyes and cheeks. "Are you okay?"

"Commander..." She bit her lips to control her emotions, but she ended up bursting her tears in front of the authoritative knight.

"Hush, I know. I know. He's been bad to you, right? Are you not tired, my lady?" The commander said as he hushed her gently. He slowly reached for her back and tapped it with ease.

My lady?

"What do you mean?" She asked as she was confused about how the commander knew her sorrow.

The commander stared at her thoroughly for a very long time. She was getting uncomfortable, but he just kept staring at her. He took out a necklace with a circle pendant hanging on it. He opened the circle thing, and he was even more shocked upon witnessing the unknown view he was looking at.

The commander gulped. "I've been observing you, and my heart pities you, my lady. He's been telling you to leave. Don't you want to escape this hell?"

She wiped her tears. "What do you mean?"

"I can help you leave, right now," the commander replied.

Her heart hammered. She's really desperate to leave as well. "What? But I don't have a place to stay."

The commander tapped her back. "I know a place for you to stay."

"What do you mean, commander? I'm confused," she asked.

The commander smiled at her and gave her the necklace. "Hush, you just have to trust me. I'm with you. I'm not your enemy; in fact, I'm here to save you from the hand of the Vassilys. I'll help you escape, so come with me, my lady. I promise, I am not a bad person; I won't do anything bad to you."

Before she could even speak, the commander dragged her to the nearest carriage. He didn't wake anyone to drive them; he took the driver's seat instead and hit the horse to start the carriage. Her eyes widened in shock; it's very sudden, and she's so confused about everything that's happening. It's almost like kidnapping, if only she didn't know it was the commander!

"What's happening?" She asked in confusion.

"We'll leave now," the commander said as he added more speed while driving the carriage. "Finally, I found you."

---♡---

Where are they? She couldn't comprehend anything that was happening. She's so confused. The commander of the Emperor is right in front of her, driving to who knows where. It's so quiet; they have not spoken since they left the Empire. And now that they're far away, the carriage isn't stopping at all. However, she doesn't feel scared or regretful at all after leaving the Emperor. Perhaps because she trusts the commander or because she just wants to leave the palace so badly that she feels fine fleeing away from him.

After a long moment of silence, the carriage stopped. They're in the middle of a forest, and the commander stepped down to rest for a bit and to give the horse a short break. The commander is probably tired and needs a short rest as well; that's why he stopped for a moment. She couldn't contain her curiosity anymore; she stepped down the carriage to confront the commander, with lots of questions running through her mind since they left the palace.

"Commander, where are we going?" She inquired.

The commander heaved a deep sigh before responding. Then he looked at her with evident happiness in his eyes. "I'm so happy. I finally found you! After years of searching, I found you! I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you..."

"What do you mean?" She asked as her curiosity arose.

He looked at her from head to toe. "But what happened to you, my lady?"

He took out the circle thing, which she believes is an amulet, opened it, and gave it to her. Her eyes widened as she saw the image inside. What the heck is that? There's a couple in the picture and the woman looks just like her. She's almost like a carbon copy of her. She's aware of how she looks, and she's certain that the woman in the picture is similar to her.

The commander whispered. "She looks so much like you." He stared at her with a confused look. "Did you lose your memories? Don't you remember me? Don't you remember your childhood?"

She just stared in with wide eyes. She's so confused. Who's the person in the picture?

"I'm your knight! I promised to protect you forever!"

Her eyes watered. "I don't understand. I don't remember anything." In a brief moment, she started crying.

The commander cupped her face. "Tell me, what was the last thing you remember?"

"Mom..." She replied.

The commander's eyes dilated. "Who?"

She closed her eyes to reminisce deeply about the name from her forgotten childhood. "Fatima...?"

The commander exclaimed. "Good Lord, your memory is truly distorted."

"What?"

The commander started shredding tears as well. He replied. "Fatima is not your mom. She's my mom, but she's been taking care of you since you've been a child. She was the last person you saw, so maybe that's why you think she's your mom, but she's not."

"What?" She asked in a haze. She's so freaking confused. What the hell is happening?

"You got lost in the midst of the war between the families Aastha and Vassily. Your family almost got wiped out, but they begged for another chance when you got lost. But the Vassily family did not bestow mercy on them. They looked for you to torture you  just like what your family did to the abducted Vassily." The commander explained that made her even more confused. "Emperor Macsen was abducted by your family; he was tortured, but he survived. The Vassily family took their revenge, and a war happened. Your clan lost, and they totally lost you."

She's still lost; she couldn't comprehend a thing. He then added. "Your family and the Vassily family are trying to look for you. Your family's been looking for you all this time, my lady. So they sent me to the palace to search for you. All these years I couldn't find you; it's because you're in disguise all this time. It looks like the Vassilys couldn't find you as well. Damn, to think that you're in the lion's den all this time breaks my heart. I'm sorry, I couldn't protect you."

"I'm confused," she cried.

The commander wiped her tears. "In short, your mother is Duchess Wilhelmina Violetta Aastha, my lady. You are the daughter of Duke Valerian Luell Aastha."

He paused for a while and fondled her hair with a smile.

"And you are Lady Seraphine Bellona Aastha, my lady."