Imprisoned by secrets

Chapter 23

Present day...

"I'm thirsty." Leila abruptly ended her story just when it was starting to get interesting. She ignored the looks everyone gave her and tossed her head arrogantly.

Beatrice made an impatient noise but her mother refused to continue speaking until she got water. Leila could be annoying and stubborn like that.

All of the bright lights in the room went off and came back on almost instantly. Suddenly, there was a glass of water in front of Leila.

She drank deeply from the glass amazed by how thirsty she was. Perhaps being an evil witch made her thirsty.

Leila knew that everyone was watching her and waiting for her to continue her story. She could feel the glares they were sending her(apart from Thomas who was glaring at her for an entirely different reason).

She usually liked being the center of attention but she certainly didn't like spilling all of her secrets. She drained the rest of her water.

When she had finished drinking the water, she licked her lips and rubbed her temples tiredly. She doubted she'd be able to sleep when all of this was over.

Like they say, there's no rest for the wicked.

Leila shivered and rested her feverish head on her palm. She wasn't exactly eager to tell everyone how the story ended. She was still thinking of how she'd even tell them what happened next.

When she lifted her head, she looked exhausted.

"I'm a little tired. Can we take a short break?" Leila asked.

Most of the other members of the room looked at her and shrugged. They all believed that Leila was indeed tired because of the look in her eyes as well as the fact that they were also tired.

Beatrice wasn't fooled though.

She knew her mother was trying to drag the story for as long as she could but she knew she couldn't say it out loud because it'd sound callous and mean. She'd realized a long time ago that even if you were the party who was aggrieved, the way you react would determine whether or not anyone would listen to what you had to say.

Even though her mother didn't deserve any kindness from her at that point, she decided to just bid her time. Leila would have to tell it all sooner or later.

She couldn't escape it.

"We shall take a ten-minute break. During that time, you can ask Leila all the questions you have about her story thus far. It's a very interesting tale but I can assure you that the best is yet to come." Seeker laughed.

Beatrice had never seen her mother look so uncomfortable and scared before. Beatrice almost started pitying her until she remembered all that her mother had done to her in the past.

She stabbed back any pity.

"I can see where Beatrice gets some of her brains from. You just sat at the table and you were able to tell that Bella was having your husband's baby." Ethan said, eying Leila with what looked like respect. He had a lot of respect for the woman even though she was a despicable, backstabbing man-snatcher.

Leila licked her lips and gave him a weak smile which didn't reach her eyes.

Beatrice was stunned to see her mother smile like that. It was obvious that whatever was left of the story was terrible.

"How were you able to tell? Just by looking at them?" Ethan asked.

Leila cleared her throat.
"The signs were very subtle. I saw the way Hector's face sparkled when he heard she was pregnant. It was the same way it did when he heard I was pregnant. He was devastated when I had Beatrice. He had wanted a boy. When Beatrice grew up and suddenly took a path different from what we wanted, he probably thought Bella's baby would be a better heir." She said.