The Binding Fates SEASON 2: The Present

Chapter 2

I don't remember much about how I entered the manor but I remembered holding the hand of someone else — its hands were fair skin so I thought it is a lady who brought me into the manor. I remembered that I was frozen to see the crest above the huge gates of the manor. It was terrifying and it also felt overwhelming to see such a crest, indeed they live up to their reputation that the family who is blessed by the Goddess of Wisdom and Justice is terrifying like the Goddess itself.

I entered the manor and was greeted by hundreds of servants. I remember a tall young and handsome man welcomed me to the mansion beside my mother. He was smiling from ear to ear — he was warm and sweet and reached out his hand to me. I reached out too and he held my hand. Then, all of the sudden, I called him my father and he nodded.

I couldn't remember the look on his face — it was black.

I was treated right for months because the duke favored me even though he has sons that he should be favoring. The servants in the Manor would whisper to each other thinking I might be the next head of the family instead of my half-brothers. My mother would also treat me warmly if the duke is around, but if the duke isn't around, she would try to hurt me giving me bruises and scars all over my body except the visible parts where the duke can possibly see.

My mother hates me ever since I was born. And I knew. Yet I still crave her love.

Months passed and the duke died of illness. The rain poured hard as we all dressed in black mourning the death of the beloved Duke. I was there watching his coffin slowly go down to the ground. I could hear my mother's fake cry from afar yet in the ears of the others, it was genuine. I silently watch while my half-brothers stand beside me as they silently watch the duke, their father on the coffin.

I can still vaguely remember the murmurs of the other guests who are not our relatives talking about how strong my half-brothers were for not crying. Meanwhile, I received nothing but backlashes. They say that I am not crying because I am finally thankful for the death of the duke. And it hurt me. It pains me to think that they think of me that way when I genuinely didn't do anything.

After the funeral, I quickly went to the backyard and I quietly sat down behind the tall grass in the yard. There, I hugged myself tightly with that, tears that I held earlier streamed down from my eyes as I silently cry. The duke is not my real father, I know it from the beginning even though I called him father. I know that, because of my and his appearance. We are different.

Yet I felt that little love he gave me before he died. Knowing that he genuinely treated me like his own daughter as I genuinely treated him like my own father, hearing the murmurs and whispers about me being glad that the duke is dead made me feel insulted and hurt inside. I need to contain my emotions, otherwise, mother will scold me again that's why I controlled my tears to not cry — yet I failed.

Because of that, I was left alone with my mother and my half-brothers. In the past, my three half-brothers would always bully me. In their eyes, I was physically and emotionally weak because of the treatment I got from the servants of this Manor. Secondly, it's because, in their eyes, my mother loves me more than they are not knowing what I had to go through for those "love" that they thought was right.

That is why Edward shouldn't be so surprised to see me being cold towards them. I don't see the purpose of them getting mad at me for nothing. Behind these gorgeous, elegant walls were the screams of pain that I have suffered for years — now I came back walking on these huge elegant hallways of the Manor while the maids won't dare to bring down their heads but dare to only glance at me like I was nothing in this family.

I was 7 years old when the duke died and now, I am currently in the age of 9 years old. I quickly went to my room as soon as I could before the night came. I grab a book from a shelf I built before and a book that I stole from the library of this Manor. I flipped through the pages of the Magic Book — a book where magicians learn how to use magic not only spells or mana but magic, the most advanced and powerful one.