Chapter Thirty Six - Like Mother Like Daughter
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but that's the path, i believe in
and T know that, time will heal it
you didn't notice, you mean everything
quickly I'm learning, to love again
all i know is, imma be ok
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My eyes were matted shut from all the crying. It took a while to pry them open. I wiped the dried tears away and sluggishly dressed in the clothing that was laid out for me, not even bothering to see what my new maid had picked out. I glanced at my appearance and had to do a double take. To put it lightly, I looked like death. My eyes were blood shot and puffy, with bags underneath them. My hair was a tangled mess. I had a moping, somber expression plastered on my face and my posture was slouched. I sighed and I heard a knock on my door. I walked over to it and opened it. I looked up at my mother and smiled. I've always admired my mother. When I was little she was always more loving than the king. Even though we had grown apart recently I was hoping that we could bond again since I was no longer a clone of the king.
"Good morning, Mother." I bowed.
"Morning, Son." She curtsied. "May I come in?"
"Of course." I stepped aside and let her in my room. I shut the door behind her. I turned around to see her sitting on my bed. She patted the space beside her and I sat down.
"Would you like to tell me what's bothering you?" She asked. I was shocked by her question. I didn't know the last time we had a personal conversation. As much as I wanted to have a personal conversation with her I wasn't sure if I could tell her the truth.
"It's a really long story." I tried to dismiss it, hoping that she would let it go.
"Would it have anything to do with the new lady, Belinda?"
It had everything to do with her...
"Yes," I replied.
"You know that you can tell me anything." She placed a comforting hand on my thigh. Her eyes probed mine.
"I know," I finally agreed.
"You know Andrew, love is a wonderful thing. Don't let it slip away from you. Hold on to it with a tight grip. Never let it go." Mother seemed to slip off into her own memories.
"Where did that come from?" I asked. She continued to sit there with a longing look on her face. I'd know that look anywhere.
She sighed and said, "Andrew, I know that you've probably figured this out already, but I don't love your father and he doesn't love me." I nodded my head for her to continue. "Your father forced me to marry him. He told me that the only reason he wanted me to be his wife was because I was the most beautiful girl in the land. That was the only reason. He felt nothing for me." Tears welled up in her eyes and I grabbed her hand to comfort her. "I'm sorry. I haven't revisited these memories in years," She apologized.
"Take your time," I assured her. I wanted to hear what my mother had to say. More than likely it would help me.
"When we married he forced me to have a child. The night we married we made you. For those nine months that I was pregnant he treated me awfully. He would hit me and tell me that I was fat and ugly. My maid, Gina, was the only one I could talk to because James wouldn't allow me to see my old friends. Gina would always comfort me and cover up the bruises with make up so that the land would continue to think that James and I were in love. You were such a beautiful child when you were born. I instantly fell in love with you. I felt protective of you. I promised myself that I wouldn't let James corrupt you, but I did. I let him. I'm scared of him, Andrew. He threatened to kill Lucy if I didn't back off and let him teach you how to be a king. Even though the man I made all my children with is evil, I love all of them, including you."
"I love you too, Mother." I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close to me.
"Andrew, you're old enough to know that I still have feelings for the man that I courted before your father forced me to marry him."
"What's his name?" I asked.
"You wouldn't know him. James made him leave the land. James forced me to tell him that I never loved him and never would. It was awful, Andrew. To see the one you love break into, to see their heart breaking, breaks you forever. Don't let her go, Andrew. Don't let her go the way that I let my love go."
"How do you know that I'm in love with someone?" I asked surprised.
She smiled at me. "I know more than you think for, Dear. Your father may be too blinded to figure things out, but I've put two and two together. I know you love her and I'm so happy that you've found that with her. I'm so happy that you've found it with anyone. I need to thank her for changing you. For doing the job that I was supposed to do. She's a good girl. A very gorgeous girl, too."
"Thank you for telling me this."
"You're welcome. If you need to talk about her right now I'm all ears."
"You've already helped. I know exactly what I need to do."
"Good. That's what I intended." She smiled at me.
"I love you, Mom." I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her close.
"I love you too, Son." She hugged me back tightly. I didn't realize until now how much I had missed these moments shared with my mother. We pulled apart and she smiled at me. "Always remember two things. I will always love you and never, ever, let Miss Melrose go." I blinked a few times, making sure that I had heard her right. "You can't fool me, Son. I knew who she was the minute she walked into the castle with her blonde hair." She got off the bed and walked to the door. She winked at me before she shut the door behind her.
I smiled. Of course, I should have known that my mother knew. She always figured out things that some people would deem impossible to figure out. I shakily got up from the bed and blew out a deep breath. It was time to go see how things went with Belinda and Beatrice last night. I pushed through my door and took a few steps to my sister's room. I knocked on the door, frightened of what I might hear.
"Who's there?" I heard Beatrice call from the other side of the door.
"It's Andrew," I answered.
"You may come in." I opened the door and walked in her room to see her looking at her reflection in the mirror. Her head turned and she smiled at me. I hesitantly smiled back. Her head turned back to the mirror and she smoothed down her dress before turning towards me. "Do you need something?"
"I just came to see how everything went with you and Belinda last night."
"Oh, it was great!" She cooed. "At first she seem very guarded but after I told her about my past and everything that has happened to me. I told her why I was there and she slowly began to unravel. She told me a lot actually and in the end we agreed on being friends! Isn't that great?"
"Wonderful, really. What all did she say?"
"Oh I can't tell you that," She said matter-of-factly.
My eyebrows furrowed. "Why not?" I demanded.
"I promised her that I'd keep it a secret and I refuse to break the promise. I finally have a friend and vise versa."
"So how is this supposed to help me? How do I know what I need to do?"
"Just go with your gut instinct, and don't give her a reason to yell at you."
"I've given her a reason before?" I asked confused. Sure, we were both mad at each other. I was frustrated at her for not telling me anything. I don't know why she was frustrated.
"I'm not really sure, but don't be the one to yell at her first. If she yells at you, remain calm, I know you and your temper too well. It will be hard for you to do, but look how much you've already done that people would deem impossible. Keeping your voice down is nothing compared to what you've already done." She walked over to me and placed her hands on my shoulders. She stood a good five inches shorter than me, even in her heels. She looked me right in the eye and said, "Don't give up on her. Whatever you do, don't do that. Can you promise me that?"
I swallowed a huge lump in my throat. It was obvious that what she said had to do with whatever her and Belinda talked about last night. Her eyes were stern and commanding, a look I had never seen from Beatrice. I nodded my head and said, "I promise."
"Good." She took her hands off of my shoulders and walked back to the mirror. She stopped halfway there and turned back around. "Oh, I almost forgot something. Don't go and see her tonight. She needs some more time. I know you've given her a lot, but she needs more. Understand?"
I nodded my head. She smiled at me and walked towards me again. She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me close. I hugged her back and whispered, "Thank you."
"It's the least I can do. I can't stand to see my big brother hurt."
"Just like I can't stand to see my little sister hurt."
~A/N~ :0 did you expect his mother to know? So Sorry this took forever to upload, just got the chapter back from my editor today!!! I know it's short, but the next chapter will be long, full of detail and very eventful! Can you believe that I'm not even halfway done with the book?? I'm gonna have to get my butt in gear so I can get this done and start writting my other ideas!! Tell me what you think!!! Comment, Vote, & Fan :D