Cinderella Story [Wriothesley x Reader]

Page 10 - I

This shoe of gold

and a second one;

both left behind,

Cinderella is gone.

╼❅╾

The door almost flew off its hinges with how much force was used to throw it open after Hematitia had unlocked it from the inside. All her hopes – that he had finally changed his mind and was willing to marry Pearl instead – crumbled the very moment she saw the expression Wriothesley wore on his face.

"Where is she?" His voice was ice-cold and dangerous, he demanded an answer and he demanded it now, without any room for objections.

"What are you talking about?" Despite being so intimidated by him that she was shivering again, Hematitia didn't answer his question.

"Where is my fiancée?" Wriothesley asked again, this time even louder than before. The noise attracted the attention of the other inhabitants of the house; Pearl looked down from the second floor to find out what the commotion was about and George and Jonas stepped out of the living room to join Hematitia in the hallway. With increasing anger in his voice, he repeated his question for the third time, as he got no answer from any of them, only blank stares.

Pearl finally came down and answered with annoyance, "You should know that better than we do. After all, isn't she supposed to live with you?" She didn't look too well, the death of her sister probably still affecting her badly. She was even wearing her Lashé dress, the dark purple one instead of her own pink one.

Without words, Wriothesley pulled three photographs from his pocket and shoved them into your family's faces. The first one showed Hematitia and Pearl, both armed with hand axes, in front of the door of your apartment. Your stepmother was in the middle of a swing, aimed down at the doorframe, exactly where the lock was located. The second one was of both of them entering through the now destroyed door. The third showed you, drinking from a small glass bottle. All three of the photographs were taken from the exact same angle, showing the door and the space right in front of it.

The women both turned white as they saw the pictures, but Jonas got curious and stepped forward to have a better look.

"What is this?" Pearl shrieked, filled with panic, pointing a shaky finger at the pictures. Hematitia tried to snatch them from Wriothesley's grip, but he pulled them away just in time.

"Photographs from a security system I've had installed," he answered your sister's question, calmly but coldly. "When it detects motion, it snaps a picture every few seconds. I knew I'd need it, with so many psychopaths in this family." His gaze tore through the two women, obviously talking about them. "And it seems I was correct in assuming I'd need it. I know you entered my apartment and destroyed it. I know my fiancée came home shortly after. Now tell me. Where. Is. She?"

"I- I don't know," Hematitia stuttered, her voice small and scared because of Wriothesley's shouting.

"Neither do I," Pearl added, a lot more confidently than her mother. "Really."

"Don't play dumb with me!" He stepped right in front of her and stared her down. She felt small and helpless, but still didn't avert her gaze, just kept staring into his face with a sincerity she lacked in most of her daily life.

"No, really!" Hematitia, likely wanting to save her daughter from the intimidation radiating from Wriothesley, grabbed Pearl's upper arm and pulled her to the side, closer to herself. "We have no idea where she is! We left before she arrived, we've never seen her, I swear!"