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“You are a fraud,” Aaron said while watching Addison’s eyes widen.
“You watch what you say to me.”
He remembered Matilda and how she had made him feel more than valuable like his life had a purpose and meaning. When he was with her, he actually felt wanted, desired, important. Looking at Addison was like looking at a poison.
“Everything that you portray to the world,” He continued. “is nothing but a carefully designed charade, engendered to make you look flawless. And for most, it works. But I have known you far too long to be beguiled by your show.”
Those wide eyes of Addison narrowed in defence. She was not used to hearing Aaron speak the way he did. Could she have known that she was losing control, or did she still think that she could intimidate? That didn’t matter to Aaron any longer.
“The truth of the matter is, Addison, I have never cared for you. And When I did, it was a lie to myself. There was nothing special about you, about us.”
As Aaron spoke, it was as though he could intake more air. A weightlessness washed over him. That freedom that he had been longing for, even though he was away from Addison for some time, he had finally felt the freedom he had longed for. She would no longer control him. He would no longer be subservient to her.
“I have felt trapped.” He went on. “You froze me in a life that you persuaded me into believing that I truly wanted. But, I was fooled.”
“You do not mean what you are saying. You say these things because of where we stand. But back home, your family—”
“Is free from your tyranny as well. They do not need your wealth or anything of the sorts. My family and I…we are free from you. And I wish to never see you again. I would wish you a good life moving forward, but then I would be lying to you.”
It was satisfying, seeing her face melt into a mix of shock and disbelief. Aaron was not one to revel in vengeance. Still, for all the trauma and manipulation that she had put him through over the years, there was a time to break in tradition. And that was it.
Aaron also shared in her shock because he could not believe what he had done. Never did he think he would grow the courage to break from her grips, to walk his own path free of her control. But the day has come, and he couldn’t have been more proud.
It was then that he heard footsteps off in the distance. He was sure that she had heard them too because her eyes darted in their direction.
After a few seconds of listening and waiting, around the bend of the Hardon house came a familiar face, but one to which Aaron could not place a name right away. The man was angry, confrontational almost. And then it clicked inside Aaron’s memory. It was the house’s Steward. He and Aaron had only crossed paths a few times. They mostly consisted of the Steward making sure that Aaron was doing his job.
“Aaron Masters, you are no longer employed here. Please get your things and leave.”
Was it the yelling between them both, or was it something else that caused his firing? There didn’t seem to be enough time to figure that part out. But for some reason, Aaron wasn’t entirely surprised by the news.
“What is this about?” He asked. “Because of what is happening here. I must say, this situation has nothing to do with my work ethic, and the firing is of unjust means.”
The steward did not reply to Aaron’s words, but he was okay with that. There was a hint of cowardice on the man’s face, so Aaron hadn’t expected much from him.
“Very well,” Aaron added. “I will collect my belongings and be on my way. I will see Matilda first, though.”
Addison laughed a hearty one. And Aaron was sure that it came from a place of strong malice. It was almost as though she had expected him to say what he said, which put some fear into him. She had always been one step ahead, and it seemed that that time was no different.
“I missed the joke. What is so funny?” Aaron grunted out. The steward looked towards the ground, and that only made Aaron’s heart sink further.
Addison looked at Aaron, and her eyes were no longer filled red. Instead, she almost looked at peace. That was a worrying thing for Aaron. Why was she suddenly so calm?
“You really thought that you had the upper hand here, didn’t you?” She laughed again, and Aaron could not help but feel foolish. She had been pretending the entire time. The look of shock, the anger, it was all a ruse to trick him into thinking that he had won. She never really cared about him. He was just a moveable piece in her game.
“What have you done?” He asked.
Yet again, she let out a laugh. This time it was like she was having fun. “Me? Aaron, I find that really strange. You blame me for all this?” She pointed to herself. “Yet, I was settled. Nothing had changed for me. You were the one that needed to travel, to get away when you were living a comfortable life. No, you, Aaron, are the one that did this. This is all your fault. If you had just stayed away from her…”
The amount of fear he held was the most he had ever known.
“Your little friend Matilda was taken away at dawn under my recommendation.” Addison finally revealed.
Aaron felt so scared that for a second, he lost the ability to form words. He envisioned Matilda being taken away against her will. She must have been so afraid, so sad, so hopeless. That angered Aaron so much that he clenched his fist. Addison must have realized that because she had taken two steps back. So did the steward.
“Where is she! Tell me this instant!”
“In all my years knowing you…I have never seen…you really do love her, don’t you?” Addison looked disgusted. “What is it? Because she reads those stupid books? Because she dresses like a commoner like you?”
Aaron took two steps forward but restrained himself. “I’m not going to ask you again.”
“I will get the guards, Addison.” The steward said, almost in a whisper.
Addison raised a hand to silence the steward. She then said, “If all went well, your dear Matilda should be engaged and married off before the scandal of her loving a commoner comes to light. I find it rather funny that you would really think that I would just let things unravel the way you wished them to be. You are no one. You will never be anyone. You are as important as the breeze. I am a tree. Unmovable.”
“You are nothing more than someone who doesn’t know what it means to have a heart. So perhaps yes, that respect you are a tree.” Aaron said while mounting his horse. “And I will be the one to chop you down.”
It was then that Aaron rode off as fast as he could. His heart raced with each gallop. The brown horse kept in its stride, almost as if he too knew that they were on a journey to save the woman that he cared most about. Matilda needed a hero, one the resembled those in her books. Maybe she didn’t actually need one being as strong-minded as she was, but she deserved one. And Aaron would be that for her. As he rode, he vowed to prove her right in her belief that hope is everything.
