Mallory's Melody

Chapter 7

MALLORY DIDN'T LET THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION SINK INTO HER SOUL. She should have taken to the hints of the past, for they only foreboded this unbelievable predicament. It all made sense to her now. His growing attachment to Susan, the reluctance to wipe her from the equation of his life, the youthful spark in his greying eyes that arose whenever he talked about Susan. They were all nothing but omens to this disaster. Cole was going to marry Susan, to marry the demon she'd known all her life. It was a certain nightmare come true.

Mallory resisted the myriad of emotions that pressed her down, but regardless of her resistance, she knew she had lost the war against them. "Tell me all this is a lie," she yelled at Cole, trembling with an infuriation she'd never felt before, or rather, one she'd never unleashed until now.

Cole's gaiety dropped heavily at Mallory's reaction. What was he expecting her to feel when he disclosed his marriage to Susan? Happiness? Exhilaration? All she felt was disgust, hostility, disbelief.

"I didn't think you would take it this way."

Mallory set her eyes on Susan, as quiet as a mouse. She pondered what black magic she'd used on Cole to make him marry her. What did Cole see in her, anyway? All Mallory saw was a demon, a flamboyant woman who put her interest first before anyone else's, a wicked mistress who would stop at nothing to make the world bow at her own ruthless feet, and she was about to be her—her mother?

"I can't be her sister!" Samantha argued petulantly, giving Mallory a critical look of animosity. Mallory felt likewise. The thought of Samantha being her sister again was unnerving and irritatingly daunting, but she couldn't help feeling cavalier about such now. Her concern was Cole, about the poison Susan would inflict on his pure soul. Marrying him would sully him irrevocably. She'd lose him far more than he already had, and she couldn't withstand any more distance from Cole. It would eat her soul up, and soon the loneliness would be far too unbearable for her.

Cole cleared his throat, shattering the tension that dominated the surrounding. "You wanted to tell me something Mal," he reminded Mallory, unable to attain eye contact with her. Mallory's mouth twitched in disgust. She was certain that he couldn't even stand looking at her because he was guilty. He'd known from the start that she would never approve of such matrimony, and she didn't. She never would.

Mallory breathed out, letting some of her anger dissipate, not into oblivion but into temporal inexistence. Somehow she knew that anger towards Cole would return, and become more ferocious in its second coming. "I got an offer from the Starlight Academy a week ago. They wanted me to audition for a spot."

Cole gasped and grimaced. Grimaced? Wasn't this what he wanted for her all along? He'd always wanted her to be a star and here he was, looking at her with disapproval.

"I suppose you declined it," Cole said, certainty ringing in the absurd cruelty of his voice. His tone was stale and devoid of any emotion. Mallory's anger returned at what he said. She never envisioned Cole being so inconsiderate. It had always been her dream to be a part of the Starlight academy and now here he was, encouraging her to decline something she'd wanted all her life? Though she'd mindfully declined the offer, Cole's quick rebuff to the offer only made her aware of how much she wanted a spot in Starlight Academy.

Cole's face grew livid, only triggering her own fury. "What do you mean? "

"Since I'm getting married to Susan, we're all moving to New York, and the Starlight Academy is based here in Los-Angeles. I don't think you can juggle the distances, except you're a magician."

An angry muscle jerked in Mallory's cheek as she pushed a lump down her throat. All this time, she believed Cole cared about her, that he loved her, but his actions now proved otherwise. He only cared about fulfilling his own wretched longings. Mallory beat her seven-year-old self for believing that Cole had her interest at heart. He didn't. He never did.