Beauty's Tale by Summer Cheng

Chapter 3

 Natsu sneered. He hated this life. It was not his fault most people viewed him as a beast. 

   Sure, he had unkempt hair which fell to his shoulders and had not shaved in years.   He had not harmed a soul.  So, why did people judge him so much?  It had been hard on him since his bride died five years ago. He had never gotten over her death.  

    He sighed.  He felt like he caused her to die.  It was all because she caught him standing in their bedroom with a lacy, pink nightdress. He tried to explain it was a surprise gift for her birthday.  He was afraid when she did not listen and backed away from him.

     To his horror, she stood on the balcony and lost her grip.  Her screams were the last thing on his mind as she fell to her demise. He felt sorrow and guilt. He should have known better to surprise her when she hated that sort of thing.  

      Natsu cried.   Today would have been her twenty-fifth birthday.  He recalled how all the townspeople thought it strange he married an older woman.  He shook his head.  He never could prove he had not pushed her off the balcony.  He spent two years in prison for her murder.  He always knew he was innocent. 

        He stood in the small place he moved to after he was released from prison. He could not bear to live in the place where he lost her.  It gave him nightmares, and besides, he found out soon after he left the prison grounds that his wife was with child.  

          "Why?  Sweetheart, why did not you believe me?  I swear, I never cheated on you!" He shouted into the silence of the living room in his new home.

          He saw a counselor twice a week.  A lot of good that did, he thought.  He shook his head. His father wanted him to remarry.   Who would marry a broken man with such a great burden as his?

         Find out more in Chapter 4

        -Summer out!