The Queen || ✔

Chapter 37: The Truth Revealed

Claudia

I didn't want to let my mother go, no matter how hard Blade tried to pry me off of her. He didn't physically try anything, but his words were pleading enough for him to sound desperate.

"Remember the plan Claudia. We can't risk anything anymore and now of all times, we are just wasting time. We need to leave before anything drastic happens."

"Don't talk like that." I told him, then sniffed while nuzzling myself deeper into my mother's neck, feeling her warm embrace comfort me.

Thinking of all the times I had been in tears because of Charles was just heartbreaking, but this moment wasn't as bad because this time I had my family to comfort me.

I cried silently in her arms while she kept rubbing my back and wrapped tighter each time she heard me sniff. This was all I needed, my mother's embrace. Her comfort, love and mere presence. This was my saving grace.

"Aunt Claudia, what is happening?" Noah asked me, he looked extremely confused with his phone still in his hand. He had just come off of the phone with Demi and told her that he was fine.

Something struck in me. A realisation. This wasn't normal for these people. My children grew up in this dysfunctional home their whole lives, they were used to me and Charles fighting tooth and nail against each other, not this intensely, this time was different, but they still knew what we were capable of.

My mother and sisters knew nothing. When they disappeared, I was still gentle and naïve, I ran away from guns and scattered from violence. Now they had witnessed me with a gun gripped tightly in my hand and a bucket load of curse words coming from my mouth. This was all new to them, and that made me feel guilty.

Hera's words replayed in my head, this would be shock to them and it would scare them away, and now I was almost certain that that would happen. They deserved an explanation, they deserved to know that their lives were now at high risk, that they have nowhere else to go other than to me, where they will be the safest and the most at danger. They deserved to know that near me, it was inevitable that they would get hurt.

That struck hard in me. They didn't deserve any of that. They were living their lives just fine before I came in, and that was only a day ago. It was all my fault, I started the war. I didn't even want this war to go on, I had my family back and Charles would get his soon enough. I was sick of the fighting, sick of the guns and violence. I just wanted to go home.

Yet still, something in me kept telling me to avenge myself. Fight back, harder this time, until Charles was on his knees. I deserved that much.

I pulled away from my mother and watched as her tears escaped her eyes effortlessly, making me swallow down my guilt. I was still unsure of what to do, fight or give up. Either way it was still my fault.

"Mom..." I struggled to get the words out of me, mainly because I didn't even know what to tell her myself.

"My baby. Care to explain, if you don't want to, you really don't have to..."

"... what's that supposed to mean?!" Ayurv snapped out of nowhere. He had Claudia Jr. in his arms and he was gripping onto her tightly. He was never one to talk much about anything else other than cricket or rugby, but this time was different. He had every right to be angry.