The prince and the orphan

Chapter 7

Candice couldn't hold anymore and burst into tears, finally releasing her feelings into sobs she was trying so hard to contain; they were small convulsions but audible enough, and immediately she tried to compose herself... Surely William must have heard her, and I just hoped he would be able to stay where he was, holding back his desire to storm the door and rescue her.

After a few seconds and with visible effort, Candice could finally control her sobbing enough to answer loudly and full of sincerity:

"If that is the price I need to pay, I don't want a father nor a mother!... I rather renounce the Ardlay last name than see Albert married to some-one el-se..."

She had said those last words with fear and anxiety, I could imagine she had never thought to see herself confessing her feelings, especially not to me. She blushed like I had not seen her before and lowered her face; she had run out of words.

I watched her carefully, trying to measure my words in order to achieve my goals. I thought that, since she was obviously nervous waiting for an unmeasured response from me, the best way to reach her was to speak to her with compassion and to try, even against our history, to gain her trust, enough for her to open up and tell me about her feelings.

If I was not mistaken, it was very possible that I was the first person to whom she was opening up, and in that case, her confession could easily turn into a catharsis. So, before she had a chance to stand up from her chair and leave me without a word, I asked with a voice as soft as I could muster:

"Candice... Are you in love with William?"

I decided to be blunt and to the point, I had no time to beat about the bush. Candice jumped slightly from her seat, she was not expecting that question, she never looked at me and when she started crying again she just nodded her head.

"Candice, please calm down and look at me... I won't bite."

The girl lifted up her eyes, I could see tears running down her cheeks, and I repeated my question; I needed more than a nod, that would be the only thing that could clear William's doubts.

"I'll ask you once more, but this time I want you to answer me, not just nod: Are you in love with William?"

I could see fear in her eyes, I'm sure she thought I would scold her, but behind that fear I could see determination, and when she finally answered she gave me a resounding "Yes" without regard.

"And may I know since when have you had feelings for him?"

"Aunt Elroy, please..."

"No Candice, I need to know!, it is my nephew we are talking about, I have the right to know!"

"I think it happened when we lived together at Magnolia House, after I ended my relationship with Terry..."

"I see... And how can you then say that nothing ever happened between you?"

"I was not aware of my real feelings for Albert, not until he left. When Albert left I felt like I would die, I searched for him everywhere and even when I found Terry in a deplorable state, I left him to fend for himself without even speaking to him, in order to keep looking for Albert.

It was then that I discovered my feelings for Terry were no more and that's when I knew that without even noticing, I had fallen in love with Albert. The only thing I wanted was to see him and tell him how I felt, but..."

"But what?... You thought he didn't feel the same for you?"

"Yes... No... I don't know... Sometimes when I remembered the way he used to look at me I thought that maybe he also felt something for me, but if it would've been so, why did he leave? Why abandon me?, why not confess his feelings?...