She is the Queen

Chapter 32

There was a peculiar sensation, a deviation from the norm. As I brought my hands into view, the white bandages enveloping my knuckles served as a stark reminder of my prior outburst of anger. However, this did not unsettle me; it was something subtler, more elusive.

There existed a presence, an unwavering pressure that encircled me, enshrouded me. It was almost palpable, swathing like a burial cloth. I detected a rhythmic pulsation close by, a steady beat nearby me. To my shock, I comprehended that the drumming was a heartbeat - not mine, but belonging to another.

My eyes fluttered open to find his worried gaze. Aleksandr. He was there, a mere breath away from me, his inhalations whispering a silent tune in the tranquil room. With caution, I extricated myself from his firm grip, managing to totter onto the nearby couch.

"You were awake," He rasped, his voice heavy with sleep, slowly rising from the bed and approaching me. His movements were drawn out, leaving a zone of safety between us.

I remained silent.

He positioned himself on the coffee table opposite me, studying me intently with his penetrating stone-blue eyes.

"Laila, recollect what occurred. Was it because of me? Did you strike the mirror due to my actions? Reveal everything to me, darling."

He sounded so soft and concerned about me. I wanted to talk to someone, just someone, about everything. But would it make me more weak? Would it even help?

I just shrugged.

He slowly took my hands in his.

"I apologize for deceiving and intimidating you. In my realm, I have the power to do everything necessary to obtain my desires. Acquiring you was the target, compelling me to engage in distasteful tactics. I won't cloak my motives in deceit; your allure is undeniable, Laila. My self-centered belief is that if I can't possess you, then nobody should. It pains me to see you in agony. However, before we proceed any further, I implore you to bare your soul and reveal everything about yourself, my dear."

"I-" I couldn't modulate my sentence nor was able to let the words slip away from my tongue. I inhaled a deep breath.

"It is something I have kept only to myself and ignored it all this time. Something about my past. I am not in the right mindset Aleksandr, never was. I- I.."

I pull my hands away from his and I turn my head. I can't look into his eyes. Why is that?

His gaze is piercing, a searing intensity emanating from the depths of his eyes that envelops me. I can almost taste his disappointment, an emotion he has every right to harbour. As the stark reality of my life unfurls, I'm draped in a cloak of failure.

I've been a disappointment, with every fibre of my being resonating an echo of discontentment. I've wallowed in my weakness, allowing the stride of merciless men to violate my sanctity, my inability to counteract their intrusion serving as an evident testament to my feebleness.

My past haunts me like a spectre, my transgressions and cowardice casting long, burdensome shadows on my present. 

"Love, look at me."

He then gently grabs my chin and angles my head so that we are eye to eye.

"What is the thing you have kept it to yourself?"

"Well, there is only one person beside me who knows about my secret."

"Andrea." He says quietly. Of course he would think its Andre, yet I don't even know who the he is...