Bound by freckles (Sebastian Sallow x Garreth Weasley x f!MC modern AU)

62nd Chapter - Thoughts

After dinner, the notary came and read the will of Arwyn's grandfather, who no longer had any titles, but left some wealth, which he distributed exclusively to his grandchildren.

After dinner, Arwyn pulled me with him and walked with me into the conservatory.

"Woah, I really want to go home. I don't understand why Trevyn won't just shut his stupid mouth," Arwyn puffed as he threw himself onto the sofa, "And I need to talk to Rachel too. I need to know what Rachel knew. Whether Rachel knew where my mum went. Maybe Paul knows something too. He's been Dad's secretary for as long as I can remember. But after this, I want to go home. I really don't have the nerve for Trevyn and his stupid babbling."

He sent for Rachel to join us and so we all sat down together on the sofa.

"Rachel, I need to talk to you." "What's wrong?" asked Rachel, looking worried."What do you know about my mother?" "I didn't know her. Why?" "Don't lie to me. And please tell me everything you know. I know you know each other."

"I don't know much about her. I've only seen her a few times. But why do you want to know all of a sudden?" "Because I'm in contact with her. And I want to know if what she says is true. I believe her, but I want to know from another eyewitness."

"Arwyn, I promised your dad I wouldn't talk about this," Rachel said quietly. "My dad is dead, Rachel. He's been dead for almost six years. He can't hurt you," Arwyn said quietly.Rachel looked shocked, "What do you want to know?" she asked quietly.

"What was my dad really like? How did he treat Gwen? How did he treat you? Did you know where Gwen went? And if so, why didn't you tell me?"

"Your dad was a great man. He's the father of my son, what do you want me to say?" began Rachel, but when she looked at Arwyn's face, something seemed to happen inside her.

"Merfyn was a good man. But not to everyone. He was always good to me, with a few exceptions, but he didn't treat me the way he treated Gwen. Gwen was rebellious, unwilling to obey Merfyn, so he tried to educate her." "With beatings?" "Yes. Also. Depending on what he felt was appropriate at the time. But you're a lot like your father in that respect," Rachel said with an affectionate smile, but Arwyn turned pale.

"Didn't you feel sorry for Gwen?" "No. Merfyn was fair. He had told Gwen that if she didn't want to, he would satisfy his urges anyway. I don't know what she expected, but I was hired by him on the premise of providing him with sexual services and I was glad of it." "Weren't you only sixteen? My father was almost twice your age." "Yes, he liked young women because he could shape them better." "He said so?" "Of course. He, much like you, made no secret of his dominance." "Please don't compare me to him."

"Why not? There's nothing wrong with that. You both sought out a submissive, younger lady, and you both had strict but clear rules. He raised you in his image, Arwyn."

"No. I thought I was like that, but my time with Caelie has shown me that it's much nicer that we think of each other as equals. And I wouldn't look for someone else just because she didn't feel like it either." "Do you really think it's better to force it on her when she doesn't feel like it?" "Heavens no. You can just do without once in a while, can't you?"

"No, your dad wasn't like that. If he wanted something, he got it. In every case." "And you were okay with that?" "Yes. I didn't want him to take someone else, so he was allowed to take me whenever he felt like it."

"Did you also know that he took my mum against her will?" "Yes." "Didn't that scare you?" "No, I knew he wouldn't do that to me as long as I treated him with enough respect." "What do you know about Yvain Weasley?" "The secretary? Handsome young man, but he didn't exude enough toughness for my taste. He's probably the one your mother ran off with." "I know, they're still married."