A Beast Sees No Beauty

Chapter Nineteen

Throughout her entire life, Juliet had only been told one thing: her beauty was unmatched by any other. Yes, her sisters were beautiful, but something about Juliet was different. She was a different kind of beautiful. She did not flaunt it to get a husband or use it for her own betterment. Juliet was simply beautiful.

Juliet never really questioned her looks. She was not over-confident, she knew of a couple of flaws she detested, but there was truly nothing for her to harp and carry on about. It was her body so she might as well be comfortable with the way she looks. There were far more important and pressing matters to attend to besides her features.

But now it was different. Now she truly felt powerless against society.

One part of her said that she would heal and that there was nothing to be ashamed of, and another part of her felt completely powerless and devastated.

Juliet didn't sleep a wink that night, being too caught up in her thoughts to rest her eyes. When morning came she glared at the window, wishing for the light to go away so she could continue to wallow in her self-pity.

"Juliet, open the door." Vincent stood on the other side, his hand on the knob waiting for her to unlock it. His neck and back were stiff from sleeping on the kitchen floor, and his mood was sour after being awakened by a groggy Jeremiah. "I haven't got all day girl!"

The lock clicked a millisecond later, causing Vincent to wince at his lack of patience. No doubt it takes her a minute to get out of bed and across the room. Timidly, he opened the door a crack to see an unamused Juliet glaring at him.

"You haven't got all day? What about me? Have I got all day?" She turned in the middle of her rant, heading back to the bed. He tried to ignore the limp in her step and the wince on her face as she lowered herself back onto the mattress.

"Yes, yes I know. I'm an ass, but you don't need to be such a chit-"

"Chit? Chit?! I'm a chit? And what about you! You're more than an ass! You're-you're an insufferable pig! An uneducated swine! You keep secrets that you know will hurt people when they find out and-and-" Juliet stopped when she felt the familiar burning of tears in her eyes. "Damn these tear ducts!"

She wiped furiously at her eyes until she was sure none of them would spill over. Vincent couldn't help but sigh at the pitiful display she was executing. The guilt soon followed, seeing as his remark was what set her off in the first place.

He moved steadily across the room, taking a seat on the bed beside her. "Go away! Don't you think you've done enough already?"

"No actually, I don't think I have done enough. I let Harris Jones getaway that night. I don't care if he was found the next day, I still let him escape. In fact, I should have known better than to let Rosaline get in my head and distract me the way she did. I should have spotted him before he left the pub to go after you. I should have done so many things, but I didn't. I haven't done enough for you. I can only try to make this all up to you but I know I can't." Vincent began to rub his tired eyes with one hand and reached for Juliet's clasped hands with the other.

"Then have I... Have I paid off Joshua's debt?" Vincent didn't dare open his eyes to see the ripening hope in her gaze. He was used to her now - dare he say even content. He couldn't even imagine his life without her there. No arguments, no quiet moments, no soft compliments, or loud accusations. Nothing.

"I... No, not quite." Vincent sighed heavily, hoping beyond all hope that she wouldn't get upset. Her emotions were already scattered, he didn't need to make it any worse.

"I understand. His debt was substantial," Juliet bit her lip, deciding to move her gaze away from his face. He was handsome, sure, but his eyes remained closed and his expression unreadable. Instead, she chose to stare at his hand which covered her own.