The Greatest Journey To The Past

Chapter 32

Phillip's Pov 

A sadden Charity accompanied William Daniel out of the room and into the foyer, where I had been waiting for the last ten minutes or so since Anne had left. 

"Is she gone Charity?" He asked as he walked out of the room, two smaller girls which I assume are Barnum's kids following him. 

"Excuse me! Sir! Mr. Wheeler." I called out, quickly making my way up to where he was standing. The girls made their way to Charity's side in an instant after William turned to see who was speaking to him. "Anne doesn't want your money, I take full responsibility for bringing her to Paris." 

"As I said to the girl before, I want no more of this." He said sternly as he dismissed me. I kept talking though, old habits die hard I guess. 

"But I believe from the bottom of my heart that she is the Anneliese Wheeler."

"I will not stand for this any longer." William stated, emphasizing his words with every step he took as he turned away from me completely. 

I could not believe any of this. We had the real Anneliese Wheeler and he is too stubborn to recognise the truth. Almost like someone else I know. I shook off the thought about Anne quickly. I was doing this for her. 

"She only wants what is rightfully hers! Your recognition and your love!" I almost yelled out, not complete yell because their are children in the room. So both William and I kind of knew we had to keep it a bit turned down, so to speak, otherwise Charity would have both our necks. 

I didn't recognise what I did before I did it. My feet moved too swiftly as I went up to William Daniel and grabbed a hold of his jacket sleeve, restricting him from moving anymore. There was a moment of silence in the air, the tension rising. I could almost feel William Daniel's anger radiating off him as I caused him to a holt. 

"Just try to imagine her life since her parents, little brother were murdered." I tried to reason. 

He turned back around to face me, face plastered with some sort of stoic look. His voice was still as he spoke. " I don't have to imagine anything Mr. Carlyle. I live that image, every day. I do not need reminding of what happened to my family. I lost everything that day." 

"So. Did. She." I punctuated every word, standing up equally as tall as he was. "Anne survived for a reason, " I began, letting my voice me slow, "to heal what happened or New York will be a wound that never heals." I'm pretty sure that he went to punch me square in the jaw but glanced over to see the two girls holding onto Charity's skirt and rather let his fist fall.

"That. Is no longer a concern of mine. New York had damned itself for all eternity."

He doesn't want to even accept the fact that Anne is Anneliese. No, he doesn't even want to believe that Anneliese is alive. He has rather accepted the misery of himself and others. I felt my blood turn cold as I realized this, that he wasn't going to give Anne a fair go like all the others. The only difference being that he would find his sister if he just talked to her. 

"God will judge you harshly old man." I started very slowly, my voice as hard as ice, "History already has." With my matter-of-factly tone, I left the room, nodding towards Charity and the girls before I walked out of the foyer. 

***

Anne's Pov 

"It was my life you played with, telling me I was someone else. Letting me believe I was." I say to Barnum and Phillip as I packed up my bags. I was leaving Paris tonight, I should have enough to get on a train somewhere. I don't care where. Just anywhere but here.  "What is this?" I asked as I picked up a  piece of fabric , mutli- coloured and brightly lit with gold thread. 

"I bought it for you when we...."Phillip began before I threw, maybe chucked, the fabric at him. 

"I don't want it." 

"Where are you going?" Phillip sighed as I pulled on my big brown coat and carried some more things across the room to place them in my bag. 

"Anywhere that's far away from here. Far away from you." My voice cracked slightly, but I quickly fixed it. There are no words to describe the hurt I feel, thinking that I was someone else with a family was one thing, but making me fall... It doesn't matter. 

"Anne," Barnum tried to comfort me. 

"No wonder Charity's father sent them to Paris. You were, you were both, willing to hurt no one person but two people to get money. How cruel can you both be?" I said, making both of them look down. "Men like you deserve every bad thing they are served."

I turned my backed to them, finishing backing my bag but continued to ramble. "I admired you, the way you were proud of who you were Phillip. Despite your circumstances And you taught me to be the same. And this whole time you were tricking me." I hadn't heard them for a while as I picked up the History of the Wheeler family, a book they gave me when I first met them. 

"Hm. You better save this for your next Anneliese!" I almost yelled and turned to see that they were not there, but rather someone else. "Oh! W.D, I mean William Daniel I am so sorry, I thought you were someone else."

"The Carlyle boy I'm assuming? " I nodded, "Anyway" He continued ,"I believe History demands that we play this game to the end." He said, almost harshly.