The Beast Inside | ✓

17 | My Beast Can Do Nothing

After two weeks of bed rest and another two weeks of only being allowed to do light activities, Adam was frustrated beyond belief. He was no longer allowed outside that castle and Bella was always busy helping out the staff or holing herself up in the library for him to have her as company.

Even the King did not have anything for him to do and Adam hated feeling bored and useless.

Hoping to overcome these negative emotions, he started the search for Bella, taking less than a minute to locate her in the library.

He stopped for a moment, staring at her graceless figure as she sprawled herself on top of a reading bench adorned with cushions. Her hair was tied messily around the nape of her head and her dress had ridden up to an inappropriate level, showcasing her ankles.

Despite the lack of proprietary she showcased, Adam could not help but think she was an exemplary woman, one that was worthy of being the model for paintings and the inspiration behind love poems.

Then, as he realised how inappropriate his behaviour was, he cleared his throat, turning his face away and hiding a smile as he heard Bella stumble to her feet, tugging her dress lower to maintain a slight sense of her modesty.

"Did you need something?" Bella asked cautiously, hugging the book she had been reading tightly to her chest.

Adam shook his head, gracing her with a rare yet genuine smile. "No, I wanted to show you something."

Immediately, Adam knew he had captured her attention for Bella's eyes lit up with curiosity, urging him to satisfy it immediately.

"What do you want to show me?" she asked excitedly as she walked alongside him towards his bedroom.

Despite being there when they were both ill, Bella was never allowed into the west wing of the castle before or after the incident, which made her halt as Adam guided her towards it.

"Are you sure you want to bring me through here?" she asked nervously.

Adam nodded, pulling on her arm to hurry her along. He finally reached his bedroom and let go of her hand, walking towards the corner of his humongous room that housed a huge desk filled with random small objects.

A spherical globe, a door stopper, a shard of glass, an intricate container with a dying rise, Bella was perplexed at the items littering Adam's desk.

"Do you remember the fairytales about me? About the mirror in which I can find what I desire? And the rose that estimates the time I have left to live?" he asked hesitantly.

Bella nodded, part of her wondering why he was bringing that up.

"Well, this shard of glass here, this is what remains of the mirror after I broke it in a fit of anger. It is not as easy to look through anymore, but I thought you may find it useful in checking on your family," he replied shyly.

Bella's heart warmed as she absorbed his words, the last barriers in her heart, that had kept her from falling in love with him, shattering into tiny pieces. Reaching forward, she embraced him, tears of joy escaping her eyes.

"Thank you!" she said gratefully, leaning forward for another quick embrace.

Adam looked at her nervously, as though unaware of how to proceed with the situation. Bella took the time to wipe away her tears and satisfy her curiousity even more.

"May I ask you a question?"

At Adam's nod, she continued. "The author of the fairytale, who was so willing to help you break the curse yet she could not, did you love her?"

Adam nodded, turning away, and a part of Bella turned green with envy, which was immediately defeated with his next words. "Yes, I did. She was my half-sister, the only one in the family who cared enough to want to break the curse. Unfortunately, we both could not fall in love with each other the way the curse demanded and she wrote stories, hoping that someone would be curious enough to come searching for me to break the curse."

"Does that mean that the rose over there is the one that determines your life left?" she asked hesitantly.

Adam nodded and suddenly all the happiness in her throat fled.

"There is only one petal left on it though, and it is wilting," Bella pointed out.

Adam gave her small smile, easing her worries slightly with that look. "It is nothing to be afraid of. I still have a few months left."

"Three months ago, Mrs. Potts told me you had about two years though," Bella clarified.

Adam turned away. "Well, every time I fall sick because of the cold, my lifetime tends to decrease too," he confessed.

Horror filled Bella and she choked out an apology. "I am so sorry."

Adam refused to let her feel the guilt for it and immediately took her into his arms. "Do not apologise. I will have saved you a million times even if it ended my lifetime! Do not feel responsible for what happened, alright? Now, do you want to check up on your family?" he asked softly, guiding her towards the front of his desk.

Picking up the shard of glass, he pressed it into Bella's hand, who searched his eyes for forgiveness for her action before looking down at the piece of the mirror in her hand.

With a sight, she picked it up, placed it opposite her and thought of her family for what was surprisingly the first time in months.

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