Forsaken betrayal

Episode 20

His eyes darted to hers and stayed fixed, for a moment his vision blurred and he shook it off. A wave of unfamiliarity passed through, confusing Lennox for a moment. He looked up at his wife's face and even though she still looked the same,

she felt different.

"Are you Amelia?"

Her blood ran cold.

"W-what do you mean?" She stuttered.

"You seem different from the Amelia I'm used to."

"Good or better?"

"Worse," He answered. "You're making me do what I never would have done."

With that he held her wrist, pulling her down to his chest. Gealic gasped before her eyes fluttered shut, her heart thumping in anticipation. She felt him drawing nearer to her and winced, unsure about why she was so eager for a kiss from someone who hated her. She had no interest in dark romance, but this was what she had turned too, a lustful woman. She wondered if she was any different from the Amelia he knew.

When a moment passed as she didn't feel his lips on hers, she opened her eyes to look at him. He only stared at her, his expression unreadable.

"You're Amelia, you're still that wanton woman." He pushed her away from him and got out of his chair. "Go to your grandfather's for three days, do your interviews and all. Be back at the end of the week." He commanded and headed for his

room.

Gealic stared at his retreating figure in a mix of shock and embarrassment. How did he think it was okay to do that to her?

She realized she was running at a risk of getting caught if she continued to behave the way she did, a contrast of Amelia. She had to find out what Amelia was like and she had to find it out fast.

"How do I do this without getting anyone suspicious?" She thought to herself.

~~~

After thinking for the perfect opportunity to get to understand Amelia, Gealic had concerted the plan to approach Amelia's parents. She knew there was a kind of discord between Amelia and her parents, she was going to use that to her advantage.

Gealic laughed at herself for thinking she had no interest in dark romance, because even she could not explain why she was standing in her father's house, looking at their bewildered face she entered the living room.

They both stood up and walked closer to her before stopping a distance away from her, like they were scared she'd contract them with a disease or something.

"I must be crazy to come here," she mused at her silly determination but she was grateful that Maggie was not home as that could have messed up her plans.

"Bold of you to think that you can come here anytime you want, Amelia." Lora, Amelia's mother spat.

"I am your family, am I not?" Grealic had to bring her A-game to this fiasco she was about to start. She thought the idea to go to Amelia's parent was crazy, seeing from what they had done to her the last time, it was like walking into a self- constructed snare.

But Gealic had determined that if she ever wanted to find out about Amelia, she had to go to Amelia's source, her family. It was a risky move, considering the fact that they knew her the most and any slip up would cause a devastating outcome. Gealic however was determined to make that risky move.

"Between them and Lennox, I fear Lennox the most. If they ever find out, it will be okay as long as I am still Amelia to Lennox." She thought.

"Are you sure still belong to this family? Because you seem to have forgotten that you left everything, everyone behind when you decided to marry Lennox against your sister's wish."

"It's always my sister this, my sister that. What did I ever do to you? Is it because I am grandfather's favourite? Dis that hurt you to the wildest point that you would hate your own daughter? Because she has what you cannot dream of?"

"Did you come here to insult us? Go back if that is what you want to do." Her father, Ryan asked, turning away.

"Wait!" She couldn't let them leave. "Why do you hate me, uhn dad? Why do you love Maggie than you love me? Aren't I your daughter also? Didn't you hold me as a child and think, 'I won't let any harm come to her'? Because all you are doing is hurting me. You are a constant, never-ending pain in my neck. Why are you like this to only me?" She asked, her emotions toppling over the edge.

"Because you deserve it!" Her father's words came with a kind of hatred that she had never felt before, even from Lennox. His' was far more vile, held together by something churned out of regret and contempt. "You deserve everything you get because you are a love-hungry monster!"

"And you didn't think that maybe, just maybe this was all your fault?" She didn't wait for him to breath, aware she was heading for shaky grounds. But she was sure her words were getting to them. "Did you or mother ever stop to think for once that maybe because you gave all your love to Maggie and left me scraps, maybe that is why I turned out like this?" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

They stared at her with their faces betraying their sadness. She could see it in her father's eyes that he used to love Amelia. Knowing she had struck a nerve, she continued.

"I am at my wit's end trying to figure out what I ever did to you to be treated this way," She dragged her words. "You do realize how ridiculous it is to hate one and love the other while claiming to be parents, you were never my parents!" "Amelia, if you do not stop this-" her father started.

"You'll disown me? It already looks like you've done that. You'll kill me? You've already done that. What more can you do?" She had no problem working up some tears, it was all she had been doing since she left Ethan, since she met Lennox. "You've always been a psychopath!" Lora yelled.

"I'm not facing you mother, I'm speaking with my father. If you will just-" "Do not disrespect my wife!"

"You disrespected me first! You gave all you love to her and Maggie and left me begging for what I had rights to."

"Don't you get it, we are like this to you because you are crazy." He sputtered in rage, "You are a crazy person. You would do anything to get what you want. You would stop at no cost to get what you want. You don't care if your hurting people or breaking people as long as your wish is fulfilled!"

"I wonder why I am like that," Her voice faltered, "Now I know that it's because you really didn't love me. You didn't love me like you would love your child. Am I really your daughter? Because I swear you could have just picked me from a ditch and shown me to grandfather. Was that it? Did you ever love me?"

His face fell, "I did."

"But now?" Gealic urged, her voice cracking with anger and pain.

She wondered if this was how Ethan felt, loving her at one point and losing it at another. Her tears cascaded down her face as she wondered why she had to be the one at the receiving end of hatred, both as Amelia and Gealic. Did someone ever genuinely love Amelia?

Gealic questioned if Ethan ever loved her, or if she was just a rebound.

"Amelia, I-" He started.

"But now?" She urged, eager to hear what she wanted and get it over with. Her own woes were starting to spill into her perfect acting and she could not imagine bursting like she did with Lennox. "No."

"Why?" Her voice fully converted the hurt she had felt by that answer. She was not Amelia and now she was sure Amelia was a crazy person, but her father's answer hit her in deep. "You killed a person!"