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The music thrummed through Eloise's veins, a discordant melody against the frantic beat of her heart. She saw Lilith slip out of the ballroom, a dark silhouette against the vibrant lights of the room, followed by a woman with a wide grin. Panic clawed at Eloise's throat, a cold dread seizing her. This could not be happening.
Eloise pushed through the crowd, her whispers of "Excuse me" lost in the clamour of the dance. She found the door leading to the quiet, dimly lit room where she had heard hushed laughter. The air was thick with the scent of jasmine and the woman's perfume, a heady mix that made Eloise's stomach churn. She stopped short, her breath catching in her throat.
There, in the hushed glow of a single candle, Lilith was leaned against the wall, one hand brushing against the woman's cheek. The closeness, the intimacy, sent a wave of nausea through Eloise. Rage, hot and immediate, boiled within her.
"Leave us be" Eloise spat, her voice a hissing rasp in the heavy silence.
The woman, startled, turned, her smile faltering. "Oh! Miss Eloise, I-" she laughed nervously.
"I said, leave...us...be" Eloise snarled, her eyes blazing.
The woman, her face pale with fear, quickly left, the click of her retreating heels echoing in the stillness.
Lilith, her brow furrowed, met Eloise's gaze."What is wrong with you, Eloise?"
The question, laced with a chilling indifference, was the final straw. Eloise, in a fury she couldn't contain, ripped off her shoe, a delicate silver slipper, and hurled it at Lilith.
Lilith swiftly stepped to the side, barely dodging it.
"How?" Eloise gasped, her voice thick with emotion, "How can you kiss me like the world is burning, like there's no tomorrow, and then..." she choked, her voice cracking. "And then go to another woman?"
Lilith didn't speak. She simply stared, her face an impassive mask, her eyes bottomless pools of ice.
Small grunts pushed past Eloise's lips as she slipped off the second slipper. "Answer me!" she screamed, throwing the slipper at Lilith. "Tell me right now!"
Lilith tilted her head a bit, effortlessly avoiding the next silver slipper. "We simply shared a kiss" she sighed, leaning against a nearby wall. "That is all"
"That is all?" Eloise echoed, leaning against the opposite wall. "I felt something i- i felt..." a wave of emotion, raw and unfiltered, washed over her. "I felt that burning in my chest once. With a gentlemen, his name was Theo, and I lost him. I lost him, and I thought I'd never feel like that again. But then I met you, Lilith, and...and..." her voice cracked, tears stinging her eyes. "I...I don't want to lose you. I can't"
She sank to the floor, her back against the cool stone wall. The silence, now filled with unspoken feelings, was suffocating.
Eloise had never been afraid of anything, but the fear that was now eating at her, gnawing at her insides, was like nothing she'd ever experienced. The fear of losing Lilith, of her disappearing into the night, leaving her with only the echo of a stolen kiss and the bittersweet memory of what could have been.
The world blurred around Eloise, a swirl of grey and black. She sat on the floor, tears hot and relentless, a river of despair flowing freely down her cheeks. Her sobs were choked and ragged.
Lilith, her heart heavy with the weight of Eloise's misery, knelt beside her, one hand reaching out to gently smooth out Eloise's freshly trimmed bangs.
"Eloise" Lilith whispered, her voice soft as a summer breeze, "My little raven" she cooed, wiping her eyes.
Eloise's legs felt dead, utterly useless. Lilith carefully pulled her to her feet, her strength a comforting anchor against the storm of sadness. Eloise clung to her, burying her face in Lilith's neck, her tears soaking into the soft fabric of Lilith's gown.
"I can't lose you," she choked out, her voice muffled, "I can't, I can't, I can't..."
Lilith held her tightly, her arms a haven of cold against the heat of Eloise's despair. She pulled away slightly, cupping Eloise's face with one hand, her thumb tracing the delicate curve of her flushed cheek.
"Eloise you will not lose me. I am here, and I will always be here" Lilith sniffled, boring her eyes into two pools of blue and grey.
"I love you" Eloise confessed quietly.
The fronts of Lilith's dark brows knitted themselves together. "What did you say?" she asked, unable to hear what the woman had previously said.
Eloise's tears flowed anew, a torrent of anguish. "I love you" she spoke louder, her voice ragged with emotion. "I love you more than the stars love the sky"
The corners of Lilith's lips turned down, a single tear tracing a path down her pale cheek. Her ice cold heart ached with a familiar pain, one that she experienced only once before. It felt suffocating, overwhelming.
"I love you, Eloise" Lilith began, her touch loosening as her voice cracked. "But i am not yours" she sniffled.
Eloise's breath hitched in her throat as her body trembled with a sorrow she couldn't contain. She pushed against Lilith's chest, the force of her pain barely enough to move the stronger woman.
Lilith stumbled slightly, she shook her head slowly as her tears began to fall freely. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Not even a single sound.
"Who!" A heartbreaking cry left Eloise's mouth, she pushed the woman again. "Who turned you so cold?"
With a final, agonizing cry, Eloise stumbled back, her body wracked with sobs, and fled the room, leaving Lilith standing alone in the silence, her heart heavy with the weight of a love that she wouldn't allow.
She burst through the ballroom doors, a storm of satin and tears, her face pale, her eyes wide and frantic. The music faltered, replaced by startled whispers.
Her family, drawn by the disturbance, gathered around her like a protective circle. Lady Bridgerton, her face etched with worry, rushed forward, arms outstretched. Eloise stumbled, her legs refusing to hold her, and collapsed onto the polished floor, a crumpled heap of lace and despair.
"Eloise, my darling!" Lady Bridgerton's voice was a mixture of concern and panic. She knelt beside her daughter, her hands reaching out to comfort. But Eloise moved away, her eyes squeezed shut as if in pain, her fingers digging into the delicate skin of her chest.
"It hurts, Mama!" she choked out, her voice a raw, strangled scream. "It hurts!"
Her mother, her brothers, her sisters,they all hovered, their expressions a mixture of confusion and fear. They understood nothing of the agony that gripped her, the sudden, inexplicable ache that threatened to consume her.
Nine words...
"I love you Eloise, but i am not yours"
All it took was nine words to ruin her, nine words that made the world stop spinning.
A love that was forbidden bled into her soul. A love that once was a dream, now shattered her entire world.
"It hurts...it hurts....it hurts" She sobbed quietly, sprawled out on the cold marble floor, trembling as tears traced a million paths down her face.
