Chapter 38

Mag looked at her reflection in the mirror while brushing her wet hair. She had done that for much longer than would have been necessary. Leaving the dressing room was simply too much for her right now. First she had spent more than 20 minutes choosing what to wear. That was a long time, considering she didn't have very much clothes in her suitcase.

Finally she had chosen a pair of black jeans and a forest green print t-shirt. What should she do with her hair? A simple ponytail sounded like a good option. Or maybe… No, she needed to stop lingering and face Kol. He wasn't going anywhere, she was sure of it. She couldn't keep him waiting forever. Yet it took her few more minutes before she managed to stand up and walk out of the dressing room. Kol was waiting for her on the couch; he got up as she entered the living room.

"There you are, darling," he hummed smiling. "For a moment I thought you have climbed out of the window."

She was aware that he was joking, but the thought had in fact crossed her mind. Thankfully she wasn't that pathetic yet.

"Your tea arrived," he continued, glancing at the tray on the coffee table. "I hope it's not cold already."

"I apologize for keeping you waiting," she stated, managing to sound perfectly calm.

"That's alright," he assured smirking. "You're worth the wait."

She didn't know how to reply to that, the whole situation felt unreal to her. Facing him after all these years was different than facing the rest of the Mikaelsons. She had a very good reason to be angry at Elijah as well as Niklaus, but Kol… Maybe he had left her behind, but at least he had genuinely cared about her. She had been ready to spend the rest of her life with him. Without Elijah's compulsion, she would have probably married him. Whether or not it would have lasted, they would never know. She took a seat and poured herself a cup of tea.

"No, thank you," he replied when she asked did he want a cup as well.

"So, how are you?" she continued after he took a seat opposite her.

"I'm fine, thank you," he replied, clearly amused. "Small-talk? Really?" his eyes were saying.

"And you, darling?"

"Fine. I'm fine."

"That's good to hear."

"Yeah… And how is your family?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"I assume you met them already?"

"Yes, I met Rebekah, Niklaus and Elijah. How is Finn?"

"Married," Kol replied immediately.

"Oh… That's nice to hear."

"Yes, he was reunited with his old flame a while ago and now they're married."

"I'm happy for him."

Mag truly meant that. Finn had been a good friend, he deserved to be happy.

"How long have you been in New Orleans?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"I just arrived," he replied.

"Oh. You came to help your family?"

He shook his head.

"No. I came to see you."

"Why?" she asked quietly.

His eyebrows furrowed.

"Why? Are you honestly asking me that?"

"Yes."

He stared at her for a long while before finally replying.

"I thought that you were dead," he stated tensely. "You let me believe that."

"You left me," she snapped before she managed to control herself. "After claiming that you loved me and wanted to spend your life with me, you just left me."

"You knew that we were leaving," he muttered tensely. "You didn't come."

Her eyes narrowed.

"It never occurred to you that something might have happened to me?" she hissed. "That the choice wasn't mine?"

He bowed his head.

"It did," he murmured. "Believe me, it did. I… I looked for you. I hated myself for leaving you."

She could hear the pain in his voice.

"I'm so sorry," he said quietly. "I know that I have no right to ask for your forgiveness, but I truly am sorry."

"Me too," she replied after a brief moment of silence.

Slowly he raised his head and looked at her.

"Mag… What happened to you?"

She wasn't sure how to reply. As much as she wanted to tell everyone what Elijah had done, she knew that she wouldn't hurt only him. She would ruin Kol's relationship with his brother for good. Did she really want to do that to him?

"I didn't reject you," she finally said. "I was going to choose you."

His face was blank as he leaned towards her.

"What happened?"

"I can't tell you the details," she murmured tensely. "What I can say is that I didn't choose to disappear."

"Tell me," he demanded. "I want to know."

She shook her head.

"I can't…"

No more than a second later he was next to her, cupping her face with his hands.

"Tell me!"

His dilated pupils forced her to obey. He was using compulsion on her. The words came out against her will. She told him about Elijah's compulsion and being kidnapped by Lucien, Tristan and Aurora. He forced her to tell him every humiliating detail. When he finally released her, the feeling of being completely violated brought tears to her eyes. How dared he?

"Mag…"

"Get out!" she shouted and zoomed away from him. "Get out!"

He tried to approach her, but she didn't allow that.

"Mag, please…"

"How dare you?!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "You had no right!"

"I'm sorry…"

"No, you're not! You think I'm still that weak pathetic woman who allows men to treat her however they like? Unfortunately for you, that woman is dead. I'm done being mistreated."

"Mag, please, I didn't mean…"

He didn't finish his sentence when the door opened and Lucien entered the suite.

"You," Kol growled and tried to attack Lucien.

Fortunately Mag was faster, she zoomed between them.

"Enough!" she snapped. "You won't touch him."

"He took you," Kol snarled. "He raped you!"

"No, he didn't!" Mag shouted. "He thought that I was his wife and ironically he was a much better husband than Niklaus ever was."

Kol stared at her disbelievingly.

"Are you actually defending him?"

"Yes, I am," Mag replied firmly. "What happened wasn't his fault; his whole life was taken from him." She paused and took Lucien's hand. "I'm with him now. I choose him."

She wasn't sure did she only want to punish Kol for violating her mind or did a part of her actually mean it. She did care about Lucien a lot and he had always been there for her. Kol didn't say anything; he simply stared at her with a blank expression. Mag straightened her back and forced herself to calm down.

"I did care about you," she stated. "I still do. But I won't accept what you just did to me, so if you ever cared about me, I ask you to leave now."

She didn't really expect him to obey, but he did. Her hands were shaking violently as she closed the door behind him.

"Mag?" Lucien said gently and touched her shoulder.

She burst into tears, she couldn't help it. Thankfully Lucien didn't ask any questions, he simply wrapped his arms around her. All she wanted was to leave New Orleans and never look back. She didn't want to see any of the Mikaelsons again.