Water vs Blood

Pointless Murder

When morning arrived, Daphne hadn't slept at all. She endlessly scrolled on social media, tried to count sheep, but nothing worked. Stella stirred in her sleep and Rocco was already next to the bed, trying to find something his baby teeth could chew on. They probably wanted to go outside and do their thing.

She got up and took them both to the backyard. They ran out onto the grass yard and playfully bit one another. Daphne kept the back sliding doors open and went into the kitchen. She sat down onto the chair at the counter and laid her head down onto her arms.

"Good morning Mrs. Daphne." Chiara spoke up as she turned around from watching the dishes.
"Hello Chiara." Daphne felt her pills start to do their job and her headache calmed down.

"Are you okay?" Chiara turned and spoke to Daphne as she dried a pan.

"I will be. Is Aurelio here?" She asked her and looked around the room.

"No, he not been here since this morning at five." She said with her thick Italian accent. "Luca was here, but he left also."

"So he'll be gone all day." She said to herself and got up from the kitchen. "I'll be in the library if you need me."

Daphne went to the library happy to know that she had the whole day to think about everything.
When she walked in she saw a box and a note on the couch. She walked over and picked up the note.

I apologise for my inappropriate behaviour and I should've stopped it sooner. Wear this tonight.
-A.R.

She opened the box and saw a beautiful royal blue silk dress. She stroked the fabric and it was very soft to the touch.

She felt nerves spiking in her stomach as she thought about what his plans were tonight and the fact that she would have to face him after what happened last night.

The reminder of the day she read her book and took long naps in between. She played with Stella and Rocco while getting some fresh air under the Maple tree.

The air was getting warmer now that winter was passing, not swimming weather yet, but warmer nonetheless.

She took a long bath to soothe the nerves and clear her head by smelling the sweet bubbles around her.

She decided on curling her hair tonight and put on the dress. It was beautiful and she loved the feel of it. She liked the fact that only Aurelio would see her in this and not her father, mother or brother, and not even Edmund. Aurelio was bringing her out of her shell, and shining light into the dark parts of her.

She put on a necklace she had kept from her sister's wedding. It was small with a tiny heart charm. She put on her trusty high heels and looked at the mirror. She felt pretty, so she smiled to herself. Aurelio also seemed to like her in dresses which made her smile widen.

She liked Aurelio being proud of her, complimenting her and kissing her. But if she had to guess, he didn't like her like that, or else he wouldn't have been so crass about saying he did not want to do whatever they were doing last night. Daphne thought about it for a while, he was handsome and he probably has girls swooning over him day after day and night after night. He maybe even already has someone he spends his nights with to avoid causing complications with her.

Now she felt ashamed all over again.

How was she going to face this man?

Was she too ugly for him? Did he not want her in any way? Was the marriage purely because he wanted to take her from the toxicity of her house and gain his citizenship in America?

She heard the knock and kept quiet for some reason. A second knock came, and she grabbed her pill bottle swallowing down five.

Way more than she should have taken but she needed it and she needed it to work now.