Isambard ran upstairs as soon as they reached home while Philetus followed closely behind.
"These are the gentlemen I've given birth to. Well done!" Dariele shouted sarcastically as the boys rushed while her husband chuckled behind her.
Isambard reached the room first but Philetus easily pushed him over, reaching for the better bed first.
"This is unfair! EVERY TIME!" Isambard protested.
"Even someone as upright and dumb as you should've learned by now" Philetus said mockingly, jumping on the bed.
"When you both wish to act like the young men you are, come downstairs for lunch" Dariele's voice floated in and both the boys laughed.
It was the same each summer. They would fight over every little thing and annoy each other until one of them finally burst out. The sulker was always the loser and had to gift the other whatever they asked for. For the past 4 years, the sulker had always been Isambard.
'Not this time' Isambard whispered to himself as they descended into the grand dining room.
Everything was just like it always was and for some time, there was no academy, no studies, no war and no gossip to worry about. Then one morning, Dorothea's letter came. Quickly taking it upstairs to his room before anyone could see it, he tore it open to read what was written.
Reading the contents was enough to ruin everything for him. In the last letter, he had indirectly indicated that he loved her and in response, she had sent over a letter talking about how tragic love is and how it is better if they didn't rush into it.
Waiting until Philetus and his father left for the market, Isambard went to the gardens where he found his mother embroidering as she sat on the edge of one of the fountains.
"What's the matter?" she asked, knowing from the look on her son's face that something was wrong.
"Mother, I have something to tell you about," Isambard said before telling her everything- from the letters to the little escapades.
"Perhaps she is shy... Sometimes people are just not ready my dear, it does not mean that they are guilty of some sin" Dariele tried to explain but then she saw the address Dorothea had written on the letter.
Immediately, Dariele wanted to tear the letter into shreds and throw it all away. She would recognize the address anywhere. She remembered the address from the numerous letters Hywel had sent her, requesting to still be in touch.
"Is this Dorothea, by any chance, Dorothea Silazor?" She asked and wished that it wasn't.
"Why yes, she is. How did you come to know that?"
Dariele contemplated not telling her son all about the past but then she did. He needed to understand why this could never work out, why this had to end right then and there.
"This is what all those stories have always been about?" Isambard asked, suddenly realizing.
"Yes and my dear, you need to understand, Hywel was my soulmate, he was perfect but he couldn't handle love. I guess he passed it on to his daughter. Listen to me and please, do not ignore my words. I am not saying that loving her is or ever was wrong nor that it is the girl's fault, but Hywel never knew the dedication and endurance love required to survive and I can see that his daughter is just like him. It is not wrong to not be ready to love someone so early, but what she did was wrong. Love is not what this is and you have to put an end to this, now."
Isambard felt as if his whole world had fallen apart, but he trusted his mother more than anyone else. So, he took a parchment and pen and perhaps for the last time ever, wrote a letter to Dorothea, explaining how hurt he was, knowing that she wasn't even giving him a chance just because she believed love was a lie and why their relationship could hence not work out anymore. He sealed the letter and sent it and along with it, he sent away all his happiness and joy. About two weeks later, he received a letter in response.
Hearing her son cry in the kitchen late at night, Dariele knew what the matter was. That night, she too went to her study and picked out the bunch of letters she had read and then abandoned. The funny thing was, though the circumstances were different, it was as if history was repeating itself. Both the letters had the same thing written in them-
Is this the story of us? Is this the end? Strangers with a past..... so this is what we will be now?
YOU ARE READING
Love, Hate and Indifference
Ficção Histórica*Book 1 of Love and Loss Series* Many years ago, when the Titanic sank, so did Dariele's dream of marrying the love of her life. When her love returns after a couple of years, he finds her already married and with child. Now, ages have passed and th...
