The Beast And His Belle

Chapter 10

The next few weeks had gone by with Jackson rarely being home. He traveled for multiple business meetings and often had his dinners out with clients. Belle was lonely but didn't mind it too much as it didn't give either of them any opportunities to fight. She had been speaking with her father, periodically checking in on him by calling their neighbor Mrs. Cullen. Jackson had said he'd allow her to visit but nothing more came of the conversation since he'd been gone so frequently. Belle finally didn't want to wait anymore to see her father and just hoped it would be alright with Jackson.

She stepped out of her quarters having called a cab to pick her up and was surprised to already find Flora at the house having come with a new stock of groceries.
"Hello, Mrs. Mason," she politely greeted Belle with a smile. Belle noticed Flora had grown a little more open with her and comfortable speaking to her on a daily basis.
"Good morning Flora. Remember, you can call me Belle," she replied sweetly.
"Mr. Mason is expected to be home for dinner tonight," Flora said.
"Ok, I'm just stepping out for the afternoon. I'll be home before he arrives."
Belle had noticed the mysterious smiles coming from Flora over the past few weeks as well as some workers coming and going from the house. Their painting buckets and power tools broke the familiar silence throughout the house and Belle was most curious what was going on but since the work was taking place in Jackson's west wing, she figured she wouldn't find out.

Stepping out of the house, she shivered at the brisk cold weather hitting her face. She'd admired the spectacle of leaves changing their color to the beautiful array of orange and red hues that came with the fall season. And as the weeks continued, they soon fell to the ground that was now lined with a fresh coating of snow. It was piercingly cold not having felt the change in weather but it was also refreshing as it woke every nerve in her body that she worried had lost all feeling being kept inside a house that didn't feel like hers for months on end.
"Daddy!" Belle exclaimed her excitement at first glance of her father, Julien after going months without seeing him.
"Oh, my beautiful Rose! I've missed you!" he whimpered out in sadness.
"I've missed you too! How are you doing? Are you taking your meds? Is Mrs. Cullen feeding you alright? How is your-"
"Belle, I'm fine. It's me who has worried about you!"
"I'm ok, I promise."
"I told you, Belle, I-I don't trust them! I don't trust the Masons!" he stuttered in his usual panic-stricken state.

Belle hadn't stopped thinking about Jackson in the time he had been gone and since their last conversation in her room. She always prided herself on being kind and finding the kindness and good in others. But she realized she hadn't done that with Jackson. Her judgment had been jaded from the start and she only looked at his flaws and his meanness. But he opened up to her during that dinner. And she saw a glimpse of why he was so angry and sad. His past he had always kept hidden in his house and behind his tough exterior was beginning to make sense to her. The loves in his life had been stripped away, ripped from his heart by losing his parents and the woman from his past. Perhaps, she thought, his beastly image and personality were only masking what laid underneath. He was human after all, and every human bleeds the same and has a beating heart somewhere hidden inside.
"I-I don't think all the Masons are bad, Daddy. I mean, Jackson allowed me to come see you today. That has to count for something, doesn't it?"

Julien released a heavy sigh as he looked into her eyes. What did he see that maybe Belle hadn't realized yet, worried him. He stood from his chair and walked over to the old worn dresser.
"I just want you to be careful, my beautiful rose flower." He pulled something from the dresser and walked back over to her.
"This used to be your mother's," opening his wrinkled palm, he revealed a shiny gold rose brooch.
"It's beautiful, Daddy," Belle exclaimed.
"I bought this many years ago for her, trying to win her affection," he smiled. "I guess it worked. I bought it because it reminded me of her, her name, Rose, her beauty...she was so beautiful." His voice cracked as the emotions flooded his mind just thinking of his late wife.
"But, after we married, she said it should resemble us. Our name; Le Fleur means flower, and our love. She always said our love will protect us. And that nothing can break the bond of true love," he said as he pinned the brooch on his daughter's blouse and stroked her hair. "It is yours now, Belle. You're my only flower I have left and I want you to always be protected."
"Thank you, Daddy," she said looking down admiring the beauty and power it holds.