"Please don't cry, Bella. It hurts me when you do so," Jen said, leaning against one side of the door as she heard the sobs from the girl trapped inside.
"Then let me out, Jen. Please!"
"I can't Bella, you know I can't. Papa told me not to, and though I can't take your sadness, I do believe he is right," Jen said dejectedly, wincing as the sobs grew louder.
"Papa is not right, Jen. Trust me, I lived there for months. Adam is not the monster Papa believes he is. He is kind and loving, though a little shy. He is also very protective of his rose garden, that he loves beyond belief, which is why he was so angry with Papa. Yet, he confessed that he was not really going to make Papa spend his life in the dungeons. It was only to scare him so that he would not steal another rose," Bella explained.
Jen winced, wondering what she should do. "You seem so confident, I am inclined to believe you. But Bella, I can't help but trust Papa's words too. I don't like this, my little Belle, I don't like to choose between my family," she confessed.
"I know, Jen, I know."
----
Bella stared at the shard of glass in her hand, her efforts to leave the room renewing with every glance at the mirror.
For the first day, Bella had been terribly distraught about being locked in her room. Though she understood her father's views, and the turmoil her sister and her husband was going through, she could not grasp the notion that her own family did not trust her to make her own decisions, to lock her away like some animal just to 'protect' her. It was heartbreaking, but after a day, Bella accepted the thought and put it aside.
Then, Bella had decided to stare into the mirror Adam had given her, to check in on the place that had become her home over the past few months. The scene that greeted her shocked her to the core.
A crowd was gathered around Adam, the castle healer placing a nimble hand against Adam's forehead as he laid unmoving on his bed.
"The Master is deteriorating," he announced, "He doesn't have much time left."
Gasps rang out throughout the room and Bella felt tears gracing her eyes as she took in Adam's form.
His intimidating beastly form had been reduced to a shivering mess, making him look tinier than he was. Sweat coated his forehead, a shaky breath escaping his mouth every few seconds, as he gasped for air to refill his lungs.
Bella's heart shattered as she watched him writhe in pain and since then, Bella could not help but try to escape her room with renewed efforts.
Now, after a week, she was nowhere closer to leaving her room as she had been when she was first locked in. Although the hole in the window was big enough to fit in her plate of food and glasses of water throughout the day, it was not big enough for her to crawl through, nor was she strong enough to hit it and break through the thick glass.
As she contemplated other ways of leaving the room, Bella was jolted out of her thoughts as she heard the door knob opening for the first time in more than a week, blooming hope in her chest.
----
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The Beast Inside | ✓
Romance"I'm here to take the place of my father," Bella said, her heart pounding with fear. The beast smirked, his face the epitome of evil. "Well then, I hope you enjoy the dungeons because from now on, that is going to be your home forever," he whisper...
