Chapter 14: That's A Lie
I sat at attention, my body tense with anticipation as I waited for him to speak. There was something weird about my posture that while I didn't exactly care about, I didn't understand. Sure, I was hugely curious about what had happened, that would explain all the tenseness, but why was my pulse pounding in my ears? Why was my heart hardening itself? That second part baffled me.
The only thing I could think of was that it would have something to do with Daniel, but what could he have done? He was the perfect boyfriend; surely he had done nothing wrong? He'd even told me he loved me today, so I was just paranoid, right? Why then, was my heart pounding so hard in my chest? Why was I so worried? Why was I so scared?
Scratching my memory, I thought about what I had heard when I'd woken up. Arsenio had accused Daniel of something, right? Something about betraying me? Arsenio has told me that Daniel had promised Alana something while she'd possessed me? What had he promised her that had made him treat me the way he did, made Arsenio explode at him so violently? Ugh, all the questions were giving me a headache.
Arsenio was obviously waiting for my full attention to be on him before he started. I turned my eyes on him and gave him a nod, a silent prodding for him to begin his tale. "Then this is what happened," he said, "and I would truly appreciate it if you would let me explain before you said anything." When I gave him a nod, he let out a huge breath of air, and then started to speak.
"Alana came in and possessed you, as you know. The first time she possessed you, back when you first came over to my house, she took over you and blamed me for your death. She told me that she could only control you because you shared some special bond, as I told you earlier. That visit was rather short compared to the second one; somehow you managed to snatch your body back sooner that time, maybe because you weren't so emotionally conflicted.
"So, the second time… well, the second time, Alana kind of forced us apart with some of that magic of hers. She kept me from getting to both you and Davide, and just spoke with Davide. Davide… at first, Davide could not tell who she was, what was wrong with her, and Alana was showing a lot of your chest through that dress from what I could see, so that clearly added some extra distraction for him.
"Anyways, she talked to him, seduced him, you could say, and, well, when he finally understood what was going on, he told her he loved her, and that he still wanted to be with her. Alana explained to him that the two of them could never be in this world while you were alive, because she had no body to inhabit except for the brief times when she could take over your body. Davide begged, pleaded with her, said there was no way anything could keep a love as strong as theirs apart, said there had to be a way for them to be together. Alana then told him that if he wanted to be with her, either he could kill himself, and they could be together for eternity in hell, or wherever she had gone after death, or, he could kill you, and Alana would take over your body just as your spirit left your body."
He paused there, and that alone was enough to make me realize what he was about to say. I was about to speak – wait, no, speak isn't the right word. Explode is more like it. No matter what Arsenio said, I refused to believe that Daniel would ever even think about betraying me on such a level.
Clearly, Arsenio saw the intention in my eyes, because he spoke over me quickly, "No, Elena, please, let me finish; I need to get it all out now, or I never will." The agonizing expression on his face made me stop in my tracks. The pain in his eyes tore at my heart, and suddenly, I knew, with sudden clarity, that he just didn't want to hurt me; had never wanted to hurt me, but the next words he said would.
Closing my eyes, I braced myself and bid him to go on. "Davide… Davide promised Alana that he would kill you in order to get her back."
Perhaps I blacked out for a minute there; I didn't really know. All I felt inside myself was a huge hole where my heart once was. It was all just… nothing. Nothing at all. It was as if all that had once made me was gone gone gone. It was just horrible. I could have been dead, and I wouldn't have noticed the difference. Everything was just gone; my heart was gone, my soul was gone. Everything, completely everything, was gone into the dust.
After a while, I just came to a simple solution. In times like these, when you were just completely dying inside, just on the words of one single man, there was really only one thing to do, was there not? "That's a lie."
He left out a long breath, as if he'd been expecting to hear that. His words echoed that assumption, "I knew you'd say that," he said quietly, rubbing small circles in his temples.
"Of course I would say that!" I exclaimed, jumping to my feet. "You expect me to believe that my own boyfriend, who just gave me a necklace that had the words 'I love you' engraved on it, would try to kill me? Are you mad?"
He perked up at my mention of the necklace, and his gaze instantly fell to my neckline where the little gold necklace lay. "He gave you that?" he asked softly.
I nodded tersely, and he let out a long breath. "Forgive me for my next words, but a part of me believes that he gave you that necklace because he wants you to use you as a substitute for Alana." I opened my mouth to say something, to defend Daniel, but he cut across me once more. "No, listen to me, Elena. Your looks are undeniably similar to Alana's; some may even call you twins had you lived in the same era. Your personality can be like hers, but at the same time, not. She was a shy, timid creature that feared the world that she did not know. Once she knew it though, and she knew it was wonderful, she was always determined to take it for her own, but unlike you, she used underhand means to get what she wanted, such as blackmail, or threats. She never did the work on her own; she always had help, from either Davide or myself."
When I gave him a reproachful look, he held up his hands to defend himself. "Hey, my excuse is that I was in love with the girl." He scowled, "at least I admit it freely though; if asked, by any other than me or Alana, he will still say that he loves you more."
"Of course he loves me more! He's my boyfriend!" I spat.
Arsenio turned his glare on me, "Can you honestly say to my face, knowing everything that I've told you, that you don't suspect it might be true? Is your faith in your boyfriend that great? If so, you truly are naïve, Elena, far more than I thought you were. The moment I got to know you, I knew you were different from Alana. You had this fiery temper that drew everyone to you. You were honest when you wanted something, worked hard to get it by your own power so you felt you actually deserved it. Compared to her, you were, are, a tigress to her kitten. You are both mirror images of each other, but you are undoubtedly different."
When he finished his spew, I was stunned; I hadn't known he'd paid that much attention to me. All that time I'd been with him, he'd been studying me, looking for differences, similarities, and ultimately loving both of us. And how did I know he loved me? Well, I didn't, but the look in his eyes at that moment couldn't have been described as anything else. Perhaps it was just in the heat of the moment, but right then, I felt my heart begin to beat again, and not for Daniel.
Then, I understood. He had said that, all of that, to distract me from what he had been talking about before. True, it may have had good intentions, to spare me the pain of having to question my trust in Daniel, and he may have meant every word of it, but still, that didn't piss me off any less. "Stop getting off topic," I snapped.
"Do you have any proof that Daniel said that to Alana? For all I know, you could just be making it up to spite Daniel, because Alana blamed you for her death instead of you."
His eyes flashed with disbelief, and then darkened to a black in his fury. "You dare, you dare accuse me? And of such a heinous crime?" he asked. His voice clearly told me he was doing his best to hold back his anger, even though I could still hear it there in the background.
All I did was straighten my back and glare at him as a response.
He stood and towered over me, posing an intimidating structure. For a moment, I wavered under the anger in his eyes and face, but then I knew that if I didn't stand my ground then, no one would ever be able to respect me as a person. So, I just put on as defiant a face as could, ignoring the fear pounding through my veins.
"You overstep your bounds, my lady," he said softly. His voice was nothing more than a whisper, but it was the coldness, the raw fury behind it, that scared the crap out of me. "You dare accuse me of simply saying those things in order to spite a man that while I once had a grudge against, I have long forgiven? Do you truly believe I would say such horrid things merely for the sake of hurting him, even while I knew it would tear you apart as well? Do you truly think so lowly of me, Elena?"
He had a point, but my pride would not let me fall. "It's been centuries, yes, but how do I know you do not still hate Daniel for stealing your fiancé?" I asked evenly. "I have every right to think as I do; you cannot blame me for questioning your intentions when I know of your shared history."
That only seemed to anger him more. "You forget though, that I did not know of his presence here until this night. Had I wanted to hurt him, I would have seduced you from the start and made sure you fell in love with me so he could not have you."
"But you could have made that up on the spot just to hurt him, make me doubt him."
"Have I ever truly lied to you, Elena?" he asked, tilting his head. "True, at the beginning, I acted as someone I was not, but that was only to protect you. If I thought it best for you, I would have kept this secret as well, but doing so would only leave you open to him should he actually attempt to carry it out. Who do you trust more, Elena? I am the one that explained things to you, I am the one who has tried to protect you, and I certainly am not the one who promised to kill you."
Again, he had a point. Even so, my love for Daniel, combined with my firm belief that nothing so horrible could come out of such perfect a man, refused to believe any of what he said. I stood and walked backwards towards the door. "No matter what you say, Arsenio, Emil, whoever you are, I will not believe you. No matter what horrible things you say about him, no matter how many facts you throw in my face, I will not believe you. Not until I have solid proof. And until then, don't even bother coming to find me."
With those words, I turned and fled, leaving a small piece of my heart behind with Arsenio's anguished face.
Hey guys! Thanks for all your support; love the reviews you gave me.
Well then, Elena's heard what happened between the century old love triangle, and Arsenio's told her what Daniel promised, and yet, she just takes it all in denial! What will she do now? Will she believe Arsenio, even though she doesn't want to and start to slowly question Daniel? Or will she just completely block it all out of her mind and continue loving him, even with a risk to her own life? Stay tuned to find out!
Wow I sound like a dang commercial after school special, don't I? Anyway, one last thing. For my dedicated fans, who I will love forever, if you want to know what song I was thinking of when I wrote this, look up 'Without Words' by Park Shin Hye. It's kpop, so if you don't like Korean songs, don't listen to it. It's a pretty rockin' song, I love it, and if you decide to listen to it, I hope you will too.
Well, that's it from me today. See you all next time!
Hanieya Okudashu.
