10. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Morning comes far too soon. Nico never came, and now I don’t want him to. If breaking my heart is what he wanted, then he’s won.
Marco warned me about him, and yet Nico made me think he’s the bad guy here. How could I have had it all so wrong?
I get in the shower, turning the water on so hot it scalds my skin.
How do I face him after this? How will I ever look him in the eye knowing I gave all of myself to a man who doesn’t want me?
I scrub and scrub at my skin, trying to wash away all traces of him, and yet the more I scrub, the more I feel him. The more I crave him.
I hate myself for loving him.
I hate him for making me fall so fast.
My father really sold me to a monster. Just not the kind I believed him to be.
I stay under the spray of water until it turns cold.
Only when my teeth chatter and lips turn purple, do I shut it off and wrap a towel around my body.
I go through the motions getting ready to face the day.
What I really want is to hide away in this room and never leave.
I can’t do that, though. Tonight is the Halloween party, Nico’s annual masquerade ball.
I still have a duty as his wife. A promise to be fulfilled to my family.
A deal is a deal, and if I’m lucky, I’m already pregnant since he came inside me multiple times without protection, and I’ll never have to lie with him again.
I was so stupid. I fell all too easily for his games and lies. His manipulation. Maybe the whispers, the ghosts were trying to warn me. To save me from sharing in Catherine’s fate.
Now I know.
To protect my heart. Nico may use my body, but he’ll never have my love nor my warmth.
I’m dead to him.
He may as well murder me too.
It’d have to be better than feeling this way.
I avoid going down for breakfast, and if my husband notices my absence, he doesn’t seem to care.
I don’t see him around when I go down for lunch in the kitchen.
The house is a flurry of activity. Caterers, servers, maids I’ve never met before all hustle and bustle to prepare for the big night.
Even Ms. Bentley is moving faster than usual.
She barely glances at me when she says, “Your costume has been taken up to your room.”
I don’t even know what I’m wearing. But that doesn’t matter because I’m soon called to the front entrance for a surprise. My sister and Frankie are here.
Has it really been less than two weeks since I last saw her, and yet her stomach is so round?
I want to hug her, but I’m still pissed at her.
She reads the discomfort on my face easily enough. “Sister, I’ve missed you. Aren’t you going to greet me properly?”
“Of course.” I pull her in for a hug, careful not to press on her protruding belly. “There’s so much to catch up on.” I greet Frankie and pull Lynette away to the library to talk. He goes to find my husband, I am sure.
“So tell me everything,” I demand as we settle in on the sofa.
“I wanted to tell you, Odd One. I truly did, but you have to know that I couldn’t risk Father finding out and making me abort the baby and killing Frankie. I love him.”
I want to understand. To forgive. To be happy for her. I do. I want her to have all she’s dreamed of and more. She’s my sister, and I love her greatly, but I can’t forget what she’s done to me so easily.
“Tell me you forgive me and that you’ll get pregnant soon enough and we can raise our babies together. Nico has offered Frankie a place in his organization. He said we could live here with you as long as you’ll have us. Isn’t that fantastic?” She squeezes my hands as I try to process this news.
My thoughts drift to the photos of Marco and Frankie meeting, and an additional worry niggles at the back of my mind.
“ My brother has his own agenda ,” Nico’s words play in my thoughts.
“How long have you and Frankie been a thing?”
“I don’t know. It just sort of happened. One day he was following me around like a lost puppy. You know he was always lurking.”
“Because that was his job,” I remind her as my stomach sinks with unwelcome thoughts.
“Yeah, well, whatever. That’s not important. I was walking, and I tripped. Only Frankie caught me in his strong arms, and he was staring at my lips like he wanted to kiss me, and I just planted one on him. He kissed me back, and well, here we are.”
“And here we are,” I repeat. "You could have told me or at least warned me.”
“Nico treats you well, doesn’t he? Don’t be cross with me, little sister. I’m so happy and in love. I do wish you could have married for love like I have, but look at this house. You should thank me.” She squeals.
My sister would be horrified to know exactly how Nico treats me.
Hot and cold. A plaything for when he is bored.
A stand-in for the woman he really loves but can’t have because he probably killed her in the middle of one of his games.
Maybe it was a tragic accident, but my reality remains.
I’m married to a man who doesn’t love me.
A man who will never love me. This house is evil and cold. Haunted.
I decide to focus on other things. Happier things. “Do you know what you’re having?”
“They say a girl, but I think the doctor is wrong. I’m going to break Mother’s curse. I’m going to have a son. You’ll see.”
I smile at my sister and try to be happy that she’s here. That I won’t be alone after all.
The day passes by in a blur. My sister and Frankie get settled into their room down the hall from Nico and me. Except unlike us, they will actually sleep in the same bed.
I haven’t told Lynette any of my troubles, and I don’t plan to. Making her feel guilty wouldn’t be good for the baby. And it isn’t like making her feel bad will change anything. This is my lot in life. One of us should be happy.
Maybe Frankie truly loves her, and the photos of him with Marco are about business.
I don’t have time to dwell on it. I have to get ready for the party tonight.
Back in my room, I find my costume like Ms. Bentley promised.
Persephone. The Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Underworld. How fitting, since I’m married to the devil.
But my costume isn’t all that is waiting for me. There’s a leather-bound journal with scorch marks. Who left his here and why?
I pick up the book, smelling the burned pages. I can’t resist flipping it open. There’s her name. This book belongs to: Catherine.
Many pages are blank or missing, but toward the back there’s one entry that captures my attention.
He hates me. He doesn’t love me. He doesn’t want me. He never did. I saw him with her. His other woman. He’s going to leave me because I lost the only thing he ever wanted from me.
What does she mean? A baby? Was she pregnant and lost Nico’s child? Did he cheat on her? I flip through the pages, but there are no more words. Only a picture with the man’s face cut out. He’s standing next to Catherine, and she’s wearing the dress lying on my bed.
I run to the bathroom, barely able to hold back my vomit before I make it to the toilet.
Nico said he bought me a costume.
Is he trying to turn me into Catherine?
“You look pale,” Lynette says as we walk down to the party together. Nico never came to be my escort, and when my sister came for me, I knew he wasn’t planning to.
“Don’t you look ravishing,” Marco tells me as we hit the bottom of the stairs. He hands me a golden mask, and Lynette is given a black one.
“Shall we?” she tugs on my arm, leading me toward the sitting rooms that have been transformed into foggy dance floors. Like this place needs any help to be spooky.
I steer my sister to a nearby chair. “I’ll go find us some drinks.” I move off before she can respond. Is Nico even here for his own party?
Everyone is wearing his or her costume and masks. I have no idea what Nico is dressing up as. Not that he needs a mask to be a monster. He wears that face already.
I go off in search of him, not knowing where to look, but I find myself going down the darkened hall of his office where no one should be tonight of all nights.
The door to my husband’s office stands wide open.
I see him although he’s too absorbed to notice me.
He’s there, his expression like a bad storm, with Marco and Frankie.
Their backs are to me, but I recognize them easily enough.
I lean against the wall, holding perfectly still, just outside of the doorway.
“You’ve been making too many mistakes,” Marco says. “Things aren’t going like you promised.” He throws his hands up and paces the length of the room.
Nico stares him down, his brown eyes so intense they are nearly black.
“Business is down, but it’s fine,” he says, clipped.
The charming mask is gone, replaced with a dangerous edge I recognize all too well.
I remember that darkness coming off him in waves last night.
My husband can be a brutal force when warranted.
And even when it isn’t. He knows how to be cold as ice.
Nico holds his ground, but Marco seems to back down. My eyes dart between the two of them, and I can’t pull myself away. Frankie stays silent, observing them like I am.
“Your head’s not in the game,” Marco’s voice drips with malice, “since––” He pauses mid-sentence and looks straight at me. Not at me. Through me. For a split second, I panic. Does he know I’m listening to them? My spine goes rigid and ramrod straight, but he’s already back to arguing with Nico.
“After Catherine.”
“Don’t go there, little brother.”
A strange feeling comes over me as I continue to eavesdrop on a conversation none of them would want me to hear. I’m not scared, but I’m also not even close to being relieved that they are talking about Catherine. I thought he was going to say my name. That I’m a distraction.
“After she was gone, you were back to yourself. Things were falling into place. Frankie got Lynette out of the picture, and you just had to go and marry fucking Odette. No one’s scared of you anymore.
What are you gonna do when they come for you?
Ask her for help?” The way he says it leaves no doubt.
He means me. My pulse races. Each word tangles with the next.
He’s questioning Nico’s power, his hold.
Saying he’s soft now. Because of me. Is Marco planning something?
Is he going to act against Nico? I’m wrapped in a dizzy haze of dread and fascination.
I need to go. I need to stay.
Every piece of me is humming with electricity.
“All you care about is fucking that slut.”
I gasp so loud I’m scared they’ve heard me, but Nico waves a hand across his desk, sending the contents crashing to the floor.
“Get the fuck out of my face.” He lunges at Marco, and Frankie gets between them. I run down the hall, not sure where I’m running to.
Frankie seduced my sister to stop her from marrying Nico. Guess my stepping into her shoes wasn’t in their plans.
I run toward the garden, finding myself at Catherine’s grave. I take off my mask and try to catch my breath. I can never tell Lynette. I can’t break her heart. She’s having his child. How could he do that? Why would he do that?
Did Marco kill Catherine because she was too much of a distraction?
“What happened to you?” I ask her grave, but she doesn’t answer.
I’m not sure how long I sit on the bench in the cold, but eventually I make my way to the party. Nico hasn’t come looking for me once. He’s not distracted by me. Nothing makes sense.
The party is alive and well when I re-enter the manor. Everyone is dancing and laughing. Having the time of their life.
I need answers, but the only man who can give them to me isn’t talking.
I wander around the halls looking for my husband and not finding him.
I somehow end up back at the east tower.
That’s when I see her roaming the hall. Catherine’s ghost wearing her white dress that is twin to mine. She’s humming and whispering a nursery rhyme. Is she singing to her unborn child? Is that why she’s still here? Why she haunts this house?
“Catherine?” I call out her name like a fool. She looks right at me but keeps walking and humming.
I chase after her as she disappears into one of the rooms.
The door closes abruptly behind me, slamming shut. I nearly jump out of my bones, but I keep searching for her.
I spin around the room. There’s nowhere she could have gone except out the window.
“Catherine? I call out her name once more. Laughter sounds from outside the window.
I push it open and stick my head out.
“What are you doing?” My breath catches in my throat as she dances along the ledge. She’s going to fall, but she’s already dead. Is this how she died? Did Catherine leap to her death?
“Hush little…” her voice dies being carried off by the wind. She glances back at me, wearing a grim expression, and then she jumps.