Eternal Devotion of Manifest/Chaennie

Chapter 31

Jennie nodded, her expression softening. She shifted closer trying to cup my face though I jolted off her hand and when she lifted her wounded hand to cup my face I let her. "I'm fine, all good in front of you. Baby, please look at me." She dabbed my seething hot incisions.

I huffed, catching my breath and darting into her doe eyes. I eventually understood the language of the eyes as I read the love in hers. "Do you love me?" I questioned, my lips curling back.

She nodded. "Of course, Rosie. I lov—"

"Am I not enough?" I scowled at her, holding her injured hand's elbow to support her hand on my cheek.

She sighed. "Stop doing this. You can't ask me to choose between family and you. Don't ask for something you can't give either. Am I asking you to leave your family for me? No, All I want is your love, for you to be with me."

"I can't stand by you and watch you do things I hate, even if you're someone I hate—"

"Yet you love me. Why? Because I am who I am, Rosie. I'm not some other princess you get to marry; I'm Jennie, the most hated person. That doesn't mean I don't deserve to live or love. If you were raised the way you are, so was I. The truth is, I wanted to leave everything, but how can I leave the family who gave me this life, this name, love, my siblings, and you? By being part of the royal family, I got you here in my house, as my wife. I have you, Rosie. We have each other, so close, and no one can come between—."

"No one has to come in between when we are against each other, Jennie. Our relationship is already broken from the start, from the wedding day or maybe before then" I push her hand down serenely moving back.

She whined, "Ros—"

I ceased pivoting to look over my shoulder, "What's the point of being together if we would permanently stand against one another."

I ambled away, the sound of glass shattering echoed behind me, a harsh reminder of the chaos that seemed to follow Jennie everywhere. Her wrath was discernible, a storm that raged rampant. Each crash of broken glass was an exemplification of her disheartenment, to the sentiments she struggled to contain.

I reached our room, closing the door behind me. Leaning against it, I took a deep breath, endeavouring to steady myself. The tumult of the evening, the attack, and now this altercation, all weighed heavily on me. My heart ached, torn between my feelings for her and the deep-seated conflict that her lifestyle brought into our lives.

I could still hear her in the hallway, her fury unabated. Objects thudded against walls, more glass shattered, and I could almost picture her, wild-eyed and anguished, lashing out at everything around her. It was a stark contrast to the vulnerable woman I had seen merely moments before, the one who had whispered my name with such longing some weeks ago. The women who claim to love me forever and accept me, everything began to shatter even more. Fighting within myself was more problematic than I have ever thought of because I can fight myself, I can fight people, even Lisa but I cannot fight with her.

"Rosie!" Jennie's voice was raw, filled with anguish and outrage. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the sound. This was not how it was supposed to be.

"Love isn't supposed to hurt this much. Love should be calm, sweet, charming, devoted, passionate, adoring and pacifist—not filled with pain and turmoil."

I proceeded to the balcony, staring out at the darkened street below. The city lights glittered in the distance, a world away from the turmoil inside this house. Our house. The place that was considered to be a home, but instead had become a battlefield.

The door of the room burst open, and Jennie stood there, breathing heavily, her eyes wild, a key in her hand. "Why do you consistently walk away?" she demanded, her voice quavering with a combination of rage and desperation.