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“Do you even hear yourself? That man was my father. That man was the reason that the few early years of my childhood were happy. His death ruined everything for me, and you sent me away from home, and now you are asking me to let the matter rest. Did he die because of you, Mother? I need to know!” Ronin shouted; knowing that he sounded frantic.
“He was not even yer real father!” his mother shouted back; finally standing up.
Ronin took a step back, staring at her forlorn face with a confused expression. He had no idea what she meant, what any of this meant at all.
“What do you mean?” he finally asked; getting a grip on his emotions.
“What dae ye think it means, Ronin? He was not yer father.” Mara had finally gained control of her tears and was staring at him with a listless expression.
“Then who is?” he finally asked; his mind still processing everything that had been revealed to him tonight. The burden seemed too much to shoulder.
“Duncan is your father. He was a castle guard, and I had an affair with him. I knew that ye were not my husband’s son. Ye were a bastard child but I could nae tell this tae anyone or else they would have killed ye,” she explained calmly. Ronin felt as if a large stone had been dropped on his chest. He could no longer breathe. He stumbled backwards and sat down on the bed; feeling as if his entire world had just toppled upside down.
Duncan… Duncan… Duncan, the name kept ringing through his head.Please don’t let what I am thinking be true,he thought to himself. He knew where he had heard that name; he knew whose name it was. Duncan was none one other than Freya’s husband and Edna’s father.
“So that means, Edna and I …” Ronin trailed off; not knowing how to say it out loud.
“Yes, Ronin. Ye have committed a great sin by marrying her because she should never be yer wife. Ye two share the same father. Ye share the same blood,” his mother said it out loud for him.
Ronin could not hear anything anymore. All he knew was his world had just ended in the matter of seconds. The secrets that had been hidden from him had singlehandedly destroyed his present and his future. He needed to be alone. He had never felt more broken. He turned around and walked out of his mother’s bedchamber. Nothing mattered any longer. His life was over.
Ronin walked towards his bedchamber, his eyes glued straight ahead. He could not believe that his life would ever come to a point where he would be forced to question anything and everything around him. The door to his bedchamber was slightly ajar, and he entered inside to find Lachlan pacing the floor.
“Ronin?” Lachlan called out as soon as he entered the bedchamber. Ronin quietly walked towards his bed and sat down, not knowing what else to do. He was devastated. He knew that he had truly fallen for Edna, and she had fallen for him too. This news would shatter her, and he did not wish to do that to her. He couldn’t understand how in the world he would tell her something this awful.
“Ronin, are ye alright?” Lachlan questioned again; worry whispering through his words. “What happened?”
“Everything is ruined, Lachlan,” Ronin finally replied; unable to find words to explain the situation.
“I heard shouting. That means ye found the man. Didn’t ye?” Lachlan asked once again.
“Yes, there was a man with her in her bedchamber,” Ronin replied mechanically.
“Where is he? What the hell happened there?” Lachlan was growing impatient. He was acting strangely but he no longer knew how to act normally. The secrets that had just unraveled in front of him had ruined everything he truly believed in. How was a man supposed to recover from the shock of finding out he had married his own sister?
CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT
Edna couldn't remember the last time she had awoken this happy. Last night had been nothing short of divine, and she was certain that today would be even better. He was about to formally introduce her as his wife and the clan's lady. This was something she could never have predicted for herself. Everything seemed to be a dream now.
After everyone in the clan found out, she knew her life would never be the same. The past would be brought up, and many people would have many questions. She knew she could handle it as long as Ronin was close.
“Edna?” her mother’s voice finally forced her to move out from under the covers and quickly get ready for the day. Ronin had asked her to go to the castle and she wanted to be there as soon as possible. There was something else she needed to do before she could leave though.
“I will need to tell mother about this myself before we announce it to everyone else,” Edna whispered to herself in the empty room.
She quickly put on a simple pastel green dress that complemented her skin tone. She needed to look like the laird's wife, but she had no idea how to go about it. All she knew was that Ronin would find her beautiful no matter what she looked like.
“Edna!” her mother called out again from downstairs.
“I will be right there, mama,” she shouted back as she quickly untangled her mass of thick hair and tied it all in a beautiful braid that went all the way down her back.
When she was finished, she looked in the mirror and noticed her cheeks were flushed. It was most likely because she couldn't get her mind off last night and everything that had happened between them.The mere thought of how close they had been made her cheeks flush even more, and she felt as if the entire world had been served to her on a silver platter. She skipped downstairs after she was satisfied with her appearance and noticed her mother sitting alone at the kitchen table, sipping tea from a mug.
“Good morning, mama,” Edna said with a smile and placed a soft kiss on her cheeks.
“Good morning, darling. What took ye so long?” her mother asked.
“I was just getting dressed,” Edna replied truthfully as she picked up the breakfast that was waiting for her and sat down across from her mother to eat.
