Red Princess

52. You Failed

Ariel

"Ariel..."

He mumbled my name like it was the most precious treasure in this world.

I was ready to lie down on the bed and sleep, checking my phone for any messages, when he sneaked up on me from behind. He tightly wrapped his arms around my waist and lazily rested his cheek on my right shoulder. I breathed in, and he reeked of alcohol—a lot of it.

Drunk Seydon is my most favourite person because he gets clingy, never wants to let you go and treats you like you are the most beautiful person in this world. It feels unusually satisfying to be wanted by someone.

"My Ariel..." He slurred again as he fastened his grip, and I chuckled.

We had a lot to talk about. We had fought earlier over Alice, and I wasn't done yet. But when he acted like the adorable child he was, my heart didn't feel like reprimanding him.

"Sey, where have you been?" I asked as I curled my fingers around his arms. I attempted to turn around and face him, but he held me tightly in my place.

"Ariel..." His voice was laced with grief as if he was crying a while back, and my heart broke for him.

Did my words hurt him that bad back then?

"I can't-I can't look at you..." he mumbled.

"Why would you say that, Sey?" I turned around against his wishes and cupped his cheeks in my hands. He was reluctant to meet his eyes with mine.

"Because... I am a horrible person..."

Seydon didn't have a clean slate, and no matter how hard he would try to absolve himself of the crimes he had done, of the souls he had tortured, no amount of redemption could cleanse his conscience. Yet, over the last five years, he never once questioned my principles, my desire to never kill anyone. He respected it and went to unimaginable lengths to make sure I never had to compromise.

I don't care what people might say about you. You are hurt, and I am here to defend you. Just the way you cast yourself before the people you love even at the expense of their hatred to protect them. You are the candle that burns itself to light up their lives.

I gently caressed his cheek and pulled up my best smile. "No, you are not."

"But... everyone hates me..." His eyes glistened like the stars on a clear night sky. My face reflected in the esoteric mirror his gaze was. I had never witnessed Seydon doubt himself. He was the most confident person I had ever met. He cared not what others thought about him. Perhaps it was a mask he pulled up to cloak his loneliness.

"Not everyone does, Sey. I don't hate you."

His lips quivered, and his eyes had a hopeful tint in them. "Then... do you love me, Ariel?"

Hmm?

Love?

Is that really the opposite of hatred?

Haven't you ever felt this intense hatred towards your family, your siblings for something they did that you dislike? Yet, at the end of the day, you still love them. Then aren't love and hatred feathers of the same bird? You hate someone when you have expectations which aren't met.