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“My deepest condolences.”
“What? N-No. No.” I took a step back, not sure what was happening. I still couldn’t process what he was saying. My mom was dead? And before all this?
“Fay, I’m sorry.”
“It was a lie? That can’t be right. She’s. She’s not dead. He gave me a week. I said I was finished. I did what he asked. He gave me a week!”
Sobs tore from me as I barged forward, trying to get past the man who was twice my size. My fists swung as he got a hold of me, but I wouldn’t stop. I thrashed with everything I had, screaming at the top of my lungs. I knew my mother’s death wasn’t Master Carmelo’s doing, but that didn’t change the overwhelming rage from his lies. Why did I leave her? I almost hadn’t, yet I was so tired and worn out. All I had wanted was a shower and a quick nap in my own bed. So, I’d left. I’d said my goodbye’s and just left her. And she was dead. Gone from me forever, just like my father.
“Let me go! No. No!”
“I’m sorry, Fay. Please, stop. I’m sorry.”
“I hate you. I hate all of you!”
My body went limp as I fought through the sobs. Nothing made any sense. The room was spinning, and I couldn’t stop it.
“I know. Shhh. It’ll be okay. We’re all very sorry. I promise, we are.”
“Sorry about what exactly?” I jerked free of Thomas’s hold, glaring through the tears. “You’re sorry for lying? For locking me in here? Drugging me! Do you know what I did? Do you know what you’ve all made me do!”
“We had our orders. You don’t understand.”
I could barely get my mouth to work though the cries. “No, I don’t. I don’t understand how you can say my father was a good man. That he meant something to you, and then give his daughter an ultimatum she thinks she has no choice over. And drug her! Who does that? Who are you people? You’re evil. Disgusting.”
Thomas’s lips thinned as he stood like a statue. “Again, I apologize. Is there anything I can do for you?”
The question stopped my tears. It was alien and so far from believable that it had my mind pausing from grief. Do. Do? What could anyone do? The damage was done. Nothing could make the moment alright. He couldn’t bring my parents back or erase the last few hours. But…maybe…
“Can you take me to the hospital so I can say goodbye again? Can you take me to my mom? Please, I want my mom.”
“I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Can you take me home?”
“Fayette…I can’t. You have to stay here now.”
“Stay?” My voice cracked. I felt as though I’d been slapped in the face. “God damn that cake. You’re not making sense. What do you mean, stay? Like, here, in this house? For how long?”
“Until it’s done. Until we know. It’s safer for you that way.”
“Wait a minute,” Aimon exploded. “What about me? You don’t expect to leave me chained up like this the entire time, do you?”
Thomas stared between us.
“I’ll talk it over with Parker. As for now, everything remains the same. I just…” He stopped as he turned back to me with what looked like regret or remorse. “I thought you should know about your mom.”
His retreat had me rushing back towards him. “No. Wait!”
“What is it?”
I stopped not a foot away, turning back to glance at the man I wished to escape. I couldn’t face him after what I did. I couldn’t bear the judgment or glares. Worse, I couldn’t have him continue to call out to me. “I want out of this room. If I have to stay, I want my own space. I did what I was told. If I would have waited…” Deep breaths shook my body as flashes of my deed made me even more frantic. “If I would have known my mother was already dead, I would have rotted here. If you’re forcing me to stay, I want my own room. It’s not happening again; do you hear me? You tell Master Carmelo, when we discover this time didn’t take, there will not be another. If it didn’t work, there will be no heir. Not from me.
****
“Bed. Bathroom.” Thomas gestured towards a door. “Closet. It will be stocked soon with clothes that fit.” He walked deeper into the room, pointing towards a pair of French doors. Before he could say anything, the barrier opened, and two servant men began taking them apart. One door lifted from their hinges, then the next. “That would be Aimon’s new room.”
“No way. Absolutely not. I’d meant to get away from him.”
