Poisoned Crimson

Chapter 34. Selene's Story

Chapter 34

''Licking my lips with conviction,

although my body was somehow distant,

Unable to be thawed, there is nothing that can ever melt my heart.

Whether an ugly sin or a beautiful love,

it's difficult to measure in this blood-red spiral.''

Why was it so hard to figure out? I frowned, pressing the back of my pencil against my lips in thought. It was frustratingly annoying, and my patience was slowly running out.

It has been almost 20 minutes since I stopped paying attention to the teacher, by now I couldn't even hear her voice. I stared down at my notepad like it was a jigsaw puzzle. I had the names of everyone I knew scattered around the page – Benjamin, Dominic, Edward, Beatrice, Edgar, Elizabeth and even my dad. Eve's name was in the middle of the page with a circle around it.

I had drawn lines between the brothers, Beatrice and Edgar to tie them together as a family.

I had a few important points, but I still felt like I missed the red thread. I frowned staring at my notes before drawing a line between Edgar and Beatrice. Cheated on each other I wrote above the line, and then drew a line from Dominic to Beatrice and Edgar. Original son. Another line from Benjamin to Edgar. Mutual hate. Obsession for approval. I wrote adopted above the line I drew next between Edward and Beatrice.

I drew a line between Beatrice and Elizabeth. Forced to kill Mary. I then violently underlined Edgar's name, giving him the blame for everything.

I released a sigh and drew a straight line from Beatrice to Eve. Obsessed with marrying her to D. And that's where I froze. That was the missing part, I realized. I had no clue why Beatrice wanted Eve to marry Dominic so badly. I thought back to the memory when Eve was eavesdropping on Beatrice and Dominic when she was urging him to hurry up. That Dominic couldn't be a successor without a bride. What did that mean, though? How can you become a successor?

All of a sudden, the classroom was ripped out of my sight. I dropped my pencil, but couldn't hear it drop onto my table. Everything was being sucked away, replaced by the mansion's living room within a gasp.

I pressed my hand against my forehead as the sudden memory took over. Eve and Dominic were talking in the living room, sitting on the sofa.

''Your mother said that you cannot be the family's successor without a bride,'' Eve said fiddling with her hands on her lap.

Dominic raised his eyebrows slightly, and she smiled sheepishly.

''I might have overheard something. I am sorry.''

He chuckled a little and shook his head. ''It's alright,'' he said before sighing. He closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

''How does that work? I noticed she was urging you into proposing. Is there something special about me?'' she asked curiously.

''I suppose it won't harm anyone if I would tell you,'' he finally said, and Eve sat up a little more, her interest perked.

''My mother is so persistent with you...'' Dominic started, exhaling slowly. ''Because you come from a special bloodline. Beatrice figured that out when she met your mother. As you know, families want to marry families from their league, so they can create an even stronger one.''