Imprisoned by secrets

Chapter 17

Present Day...

When Hector finally finished telling his story, he leaned back tiredly. Telling the story had drained his physical and mental energy. He closed his eyes for a while because he didn't want anyone to know he felt vulnerable.

Like most men, he considered showing emotions as a sign of weakness.

The silence was abruptly broken by Beatrice.

She started laughing for no reason like she had lost her mind. It wasn't the cute polite laughter her mother had taught her, neither was it the sarcastic laughter she had learnt just to survive around Thomas whose 'charms' made her want to go to bed and never get up.

She laughed until water came out of her eyes and she even started coughing at a point. She swallowed some spit and continued laughing.

It was truly a beautiful sight.

At first, Thomas and Ethan watched her laugh, completely mesmerized by the sound of her delight.

If they had ever heard her laugh like that before, they certainly couldn't remember. Thomas was certain her laughter never lasted long around him. Ethan hadn't seen her laugh so hard within the time he had been around her.

Beatrice wasn't a woman known for expressing any emotion be it joy, sorrow, fear, or anger. Her face was carved and made of stone. Ethan once told her that he was sure she hadn't cried as a baby-she would have just shot the midwives an evil glare when they had spanked her booty to be sure she was alive.

Her parents didn't look pleased. They got the subtle feeling that she was laughing at them which was completely unacceptable.

Leila's neck looked red and puffy like she was holding back her fury. Her small eyes were drawn into slits making her look like a hissing feral cat.

Her lips were formed a thin straight line till they were almost invisible. If she could, she would have slapped her daughter again.

Hector looked even angrier than his wife.

Beatrice eventually had to stop laughing to catch her breath. She knew she probably looked crazy laughing her head off while everyone else watched her with a mixture of amusement and anger.

She dabbed her eyes with the back of her second finger.

"We've all heard the same story and yet none of us have been driven to hysterics. Have you finally lost your mind?" Leila asked.

Beatrice started laughing again.
"You have to admit this is hilarious!" She said, looking around to see if they had finally gotten the joke.

Thomas couldn't help but crack a smile when she looked at him. It was impossible for him not to. Ethan was looking at her with amused confusion. Hector still looked royally pissed. Leila looked like she was about to commit murder.

"Oh no, father. I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing at her." Beatrice pointed to her mother.

Leila turned red as a lobster and intensified her glare.

"You literarily walked over to father with the sole intention of snatching him away from your sister only for him to blow you off! Man! I'd have paid good money to watch that." Beatrice snorted.

Hector fought back a smile. He could tell Leila was livid that people knew there was a time a man had walked away from her.

Thomas and Ethan were unsure of how to react. Regardless of what had happened, they couldn't laugh the way Beatrice did. It would have been abominably rude.