Hey everyone... I'm back with Chapter 89... Enjoy!
The past few months had completely turned John's life upside down. It all started with a simple desire that Lily had mentioned to him, about wanting to go to France and Paris. And despite her initial refusal, he had managed to convince her to let him accompany her. And thus began a global journey.
Their trip to France was a minor success in what they had set out to find out, but it had a bitter end. On their last evening in Paris, Lily had a heart-to-heart talk with John and ended whatever hopes he had of being with her right then and there.
After John and Lily returned home, John got busy with his project at the Ministry which took most of his time. But, after a few weeks, John and Lily set a voyage to Egypt. Their time in Egypt proved much less useful in comparison to their time in France. While the pyramid and the great sphinx were a great and magnificent sight, they couldn't find anything related to what they were looking for. All they could see were writings that made no sense, written in a language they couldn't recognise.
Once they returned back home, Lily spent the following few months finding a link between England, France and Egypt's magical cultures. But even she came up short.
And then something unexpected happened.
John received a call in the middle of the night, from a muggle friend of his. John left to meet with his friend immediately and when he returned, he woke up both Jane and Lily.
"John, why am I awake in the middle of the night?" asked Jane, annoyed.
"What happened, John?" asked Lily, puzzled.
John was visibly shaking and was pacing the room back and forth.
"John," called out Jane, concerned. "What happened?" she asked and was about to get up to walk toward him when he spoke up.
"I... uh... got a call from Oswald... I mean, Elvin... He's a friend," began John. "He's an astrophysicist," he added.
"In the middle of the night?" asked Jane, perplexed.
"He was researching about something a few years back and I was helping him with it, a wizard's point of view, if you will," continued John. "This was after you started living with us," he remarked glancing at Lily. "From the moment you came here, it has been bothering me that there has been no explanation as to why or how you are here," he continued. "So, I told Elvin to keep a look out... I didn't tell him anything about you. Just that, he needed to watch out for any kind of anomaly," explained John and gave a pause.
Lily and Jane glanced at each other, unsure of where John was going.
"Elvin called me to tell me that... he found something... I went to his home to speak with him," continued John. "He was checking some old data, and he found something strange that happened on the night of... on the night you arrived here," he remarked, shaking.
"What did he find?" asked Jane and Lily together.
"I didn't understand a word of what he said... But, he said that the gravitational anomaly was observed in 8 places on the planet... at the same time," replied John.
"What?" retorted Jane, confused.
"The places he listed were..." began John.
"Chateau de la Villette, Paris..." said John and continued, "The Great Sphinx of Giza, Al Giza Desert," he listed as Lily's eyes grew wide.
"Caverna da Pedra Pintada, Monte Alegre, Brazil," listed John. "Guangzhou, China," he continued.
"Angkor Wat, Cambodia," he added. "Bujang Valley, Malaysia," said John as Jane and Lily watched him, stunned. "Rameswaram, India," added John and gave a pause.
After a few seconds of silence, Jane spoke up. "John," she exclaimed. "You said there were 8 places where the anomaly was observed... You have just named 7... where was the 8th?" she asked.
"Elvin couldn't believe himself... He checked the data many times before calling me... The 8th place he saw the anomaly was in..." replied John as he gulped for air. "It was our home, Jane," he remarked and sat down, weakly.
"What?" gasped Jane, shocked. John nodded in response. Lily, however, did not seem as shocked as the twins.
"It all makes sense..." said Lily, slowly. "I somehow travelled to the future... to this place..." she began. "I told you both before... I have read about a powerful secret... a lost secret... hidden in pieces, around the world," she continued. "I am sure these 7 places that John just mentioned are where the secret is hidden... and the lost secret has got something to do with time travel," she remarked. "The night I arrived here... something happened in all 7 of these places... It fits," she finished.
The three of them spent the entire night discussing the whats and hows of what they had just found out. Lily was certain of what she believed, John and Jane found it difficult to digest, yet found nothing against Lily's claim.
It was early in the morning when they finally decided to call it a night and get some sleep.
But just before they ended their midnight discussion, John asked, "Are we going to tell anyone what we have just found out?"
"No, we should not," replied Lily, instantly.
"We should tell Aunt Hermione," suggested Jane.
"We should not tell anyone... This is a very sensitive thing, Jane... We cannot risk anyone interfering with us," she added. "I cannot risk anyone interfering with me," she remarked, strongly. John and Jane stared at each other, taken aback. "This should remain between the three of us. I don't trust anyone else... Please," pleaded Lily.
"Fine... we don't utter a word about this... to anyone," remarked Jane.
"Fine... Then I'll speak with Elvin to keep this to himself... He's a muggle, so we don't need to worry about much. He will want to explore this more and I'll encourage him. I'll also tell him to find out all other times something like this happened before," suggested John and the ladies nodded their heads in acknowledgement. And with that, the trio went back to sleep.
A couple of weeks went by. And the bombshell of news that they found out started marinating in their minds. A short while after that, Lily, John and Jane took a trip to Monte Alegre, Brazil. The "cave of the painted rock" or as the locals called it, "Caverna da Pedra Pintada" proved to be yet another disappointing trip. However, the only piece of good news was that they found scriptures and carvings that matched the ones Lily and John saw in the castle in Paris and writings that matched the ones they found in the Sphinx.
After spending a few days there, the trio returned back home. And life went on. While Jane got busy with work and Lily started spending more and more time either in the basement or outside to research about the new discovery, John started feeling a little discontented with life.
He was in a place in his life where there seemed to be many who valued him, yet he had no one to call his own. He was happy with his work at the Ministry, whatever little freelancing he did in the muggle world, but he wanted something different. He seemed to be helping a lot of people, yet he felt a lack of purpose in his life.
It was perhaps Lily's harsh rejection a few months back that was making him think this way, but he argued with himself that he would have felt these feelings even otherwise.
Perhaps there was another reason why he was feeling this way.
When he wondered about it, he realised that Edward was married and was now spending much less time with his friends, Rose was spending a lot more time playing chess tournaments, and when she was not, she was spending a majority of her time with Raphael. Jane, having risen amongst the ranks in the Ministry was loaded with work and assignments, something she seemed to enjoy. And Lily was now even more determined to find a way back home. Besides, John felt that his equation with Lily had changed ever since his rejection. He had now curbed his natural instinct to spend some time with her and instead forced himself to be away from her, as much as possible. He had started looking at the adults in his life as adults, rather than a friend and there suddenly seemed to be no one there.
However, despite John's feeling that everyone around him had a life of their own, which didn't involve him, there were still people who noticed the change in his behaviour. Over the following week, on three separate occasions, Edward, Rose and Jane, all approached John to question him about it.
"Hey, what are you doing?" asked Rose as John picked up her call.
"Hey," greeted back John. "I just left for home, Why, what happened?" he asked, cautiously.
"I just got invited to a party... It's more of a get-together between all the players, actually..." began Rose. "And we haven't met in ages, why don't you join me? We'll go together," she remarked.
"A party?" retorted John, curiously. "I don't think I'm up for it, Rose... Why don't we meet tomorrow, instead?" he replied.
"Are you busy doing something?" asked Rose.
"No," replied John, coyly.
"Do you have other plans?" she asked.'
"No, it's not that, Rose... I don't feel like being around umpteen strangers, getting sloshed," replied John, chuckling.
"Nobody's getting sloshed... That happened once," retorted Rose, red in her cheeks. "Come on now, you need to get out more, Weasley," she remarked, authoritatively.
"Rose... please..." began John in a pleading tone, but was cut short by Rose.
"Listen... how about this? We'll show up to the party and take a quick exit... and we'll go grab pizza and milkshake..." suggested Rose, convincingly. After a few seconds, she continued, "I know you want this evening with me... Come on, don't be a baby about it," she added.
John weighed in his options briefly before replying, "Fine... Let's get sloshed," he retorted, with a chuckle.
As decided, the pair met up at her house an hour later and left for the party. It was a nice, jovial evening where everybody seemed in a socialising mood. Rose and especially John were enjoying the evening. Like planned, both of them took an early exit, but, decided to head home and get a takeout instead.
They were in the middle of a random movie, whilst devouring the food, having finished half a bottle of wine in the process that Rose brought it up.
Rose was staring at him for a few seconds and John realised it.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, smirking, as he took a big bite of the pizza.
"Nothing..." remarked Rose as she looked away. However, she glanced back at him after a few seconds. "I didn't believe it at first... I shrugged off what Teddy told me," began Rose.
Immediately at the mention of Edward's name, John threw his hands in the air. "I don't believe it," remarked John as he did.
"Well, you can't fault him for telling me that you were feeling like shit," chuckled Rose. "Besides, now that we are here and I can see you... I can safely say Teddy was right in his assessment," she added.
"I don't look that terrible... You know how work has been recently," replied John brushing off the comment aside.
"You are enjoying the evening way too much..." chuckled Rose. "You don't look terrible at all... In fact, you are the most fully functioning, normal-looking being I know, who has all these sorrow and bitterness buried deep inside..." she remarked.
"Hold on," retorted John. "You called me... to spend the evening with you... You wanted me to enjoy this evening," chuckled John.
"I did... and I'm not complaining... You should break free from your invisible shackles," retorted Rose.
John chose not to respond to the latest jibe. Instead, he took a sip from his glass of wine.
"Okay... let me start then," remarked Rose and John glanced at her curiously. "I'm sorry we have drifted apart in the last couple of years," she said.
"That's not your fault," retorted John.
"I still feel like apologising... I should have been there with you a lot more than I have been recently," retorted Rose as she hugged him.
The pair remained embraced for a minute or so before John remarked, "Is this the wine talking?" he remarked, chuckling.
"Shh..." whispered Rose. After a few more seconds, she added, "Spill it, will you?" she whispered.
John adjusted his throat and after a while, he began, "I don't know what to say," he remarked as the pair pulled away from each other. "I was probably dumb enough through all of this," said John. "I knew that she didn't feel the same way about me. But, I didn't actually think that she'd come outright and reject me to my face. She wasn't rude about it, but she was... she was definitive," he remarked.
"You were not dumb, John..." assured Rose. "I will forever fail to understand the dynamic between the two of you... Like, I don't understand why she's still living with you. But, one thing I do know is that you loved her madly," she continued.
John decided to remain silent in response. He would only dig himself a grave if he said anything about Lily's reason for staying with him.
"For what it is worth, you are truly one of a kind, John Weasley," smiled Rose. After a moment, she continued. "You are special and you have countless qualities. I have harped about it many times before... But, you did something when you were in France that awestruck me," remarked Rose.
"What did I do?" asked John, curiously.
"Do you know that Raphael's sister and mother, both are part veela?" asked Rose.
"Yeah, it came up during the conversation that day, when we had dinner with them," replied John, coolly.
"You know, I have seen countless men and women trip, fall and make a joke out of themselves whenever they meet Nat or Mrs. Delacour for the first time..." sighed Rose, laughing. "You saw them for the first time and there I was fearing the worst," she continued, laughing.
"And, what did you think was going to happen?" smirked John, confidently.
"Don't get cocky, now... Just because you weren't tranced by a part-veela..." chuckled Rose.
"I can't lie..." began John. "They had an aura that I couldn't explain... It all made sense of course when I found out that they had veela blood in them," he remarked.
After a few moments, Rose continued. "My point is, you are special... but you need to move on. You have had your fun and as much as I wanted it to happen, and my followers wanted it to happen, you and Lily are not going to be a thing," she remarked. John nodded in response, but he didn't have anything to say in return.
A couple of months went by. Everything was well and truly back to normal, or at least a version of it. However, something was happening in John's periphery that was about to crescendo everything that had happened to him in the past few months. Recently, whenever John went to work at the Ministry, he got this strange sensation that somebody was calling him, talking to him. He didn't hear any strange voices, it was just this feeling, in the back of his head, that somebody was watching him, guiding him towards something. He ignored it initially, but as days went by, he found himself watching his back all the time. It was a spooky feeling, but one that didn't feel like anything John had ever experienced before.
One afternoon, John walked out of the meeting room at the Department of Mysteries, the room where everyone gathered to discuss the next course of action. It usually comprised of high-level Aurors, the unspeakables or the wizards and witches that directly worked with the restricted rooms of the department, a couple of other high-level officials and the consultant who pretty much worked at the ministry like he was an actual employee, John.
Just as John walked out, he felt it again. He felt his name being called. But this time the sensation was powerful, unlike ever before. John jerked away momentarily and came to a halt. He looked behind him instantly, but couldn't see anyone other than the ones who were at the meeting with him.
"Hey, you alright?" asked one of his colleagues.
"Yeah, I'm fine... I just tripped," chuckled John in response. And there came some laughter from behind him.
But, John stayed put. He had definitely not imagined this one. It was then that John felt it again. The sensation that someone was calling for him, but it wasn't just a sensation now. It almost felt like a powerful force was summoning him.
Almost instantly, John shut his mind off, fearing he was being a victim of legilimency. But, however hard he tried, the sensation overpowered him.
And that's the last thing he remembered.
…
John's eyes opened slowly as they felt unnaturally heavy. Blinking several times, he attempted to bring the surroundings into focus, but it was a struggle. As he slowly regained consciousness, he saw a blurry and hazy world.
"John... John..." exclaimed Daisy. "Baby... are you alright?" she remarked as she brushed his hair and kissed his forehead.
"Mom," whispered John with great effort, a tinge of confusion in his voice.
"I'm right here... I am right here..." whispered Daisy reassuringly as she held his hand.
"You look terrible," came a voice from behind Daisy and John recognized it as his sister's.
"Jane," exclaimed Daisy, a little angrily.
"Oh, cheer up... he's alive," chuckled Jane as she walked over to him. "Don't do this to me... ever again... please?" she remarked with a smile, as she sat down beside John on the bed he was lying on.
With great difficulty, John sat up on his bed and rubbed his forehead. As he looked around, he realised he was in some kind of a hospital.
"What happened? I don't remember... how... I got here," he asked as he looked around for some evidence.
"You were doing something sneaky, my dear brother... And we were going to ask you, why?" chuckled Jane in response. And just that moment, the door opened and in walked Hermione Granger.
"Aunt Hermione?" exclaimed John, his voice still low and croaky.
"How are you feeling?" asked Hermione as she walked over to him.
"Fine... I guess," replied John, confused. Just then, a couple of healers walked into the room.
John spent the next few minutes answering all kinds of questions that the healers had, about how he was feeling. Once they were done, Daisy, Jane and Hermione walked into the room once again.
"I don't understand what all the fuss is about... Why am I here?" asked John, a little frustrated.
"You have to stay overnight... everything about you is fine, they just want to monitor you for a night," replied Jane. "And I'll be staying with you, here," she added as she gave Daisy a cursory glance, to which Daisy nodded.
"Fine," replied John.
Jane moved a little away and Hermione took her spot instead. She sat down on the chair beside the bed and spoke up. "We found you, lying unconscious on the floor," remarked Hermione. After just a momentary pause, she continued, "... inside the restricted section of level 9," she added.
John's eyes grew wide in shock. "Inside the restricted section?" he asked, shocked. "I never went inside there... I know the rules and I'm not allowed inside... Why would I do that?" he added, stunned.
"It's alright... don't worry... nobody's going to be doing anything to you, just because you entered the restricted section," replied Hermione, calmly.
"No, Aunt Hermione... but I never went in," pleaded John and his eyes fell on Jane who was shaking her head. After a pause for a few seconds, he continued, "I don't remember going on..." he remarked.
"That's alright... what do you remember, John?" asked Hermione.
"The last thing I remember... the last thing..." began John and tried to remember. After a few seconds, he continued, "We were all at the meeting... you were there too," he began as he pointed at Hermione. "I walked out... and..." he added and paused. He remembered the sensation that he felt.
"And?" questioned Hermione.
John shook his head in disbelief. "I'm an idiot... I should have told you all about this sooner," he mumbled as Daisy, Jane and Hermione watched him intently. "I have been feeling this weird sensation... for the past couple of weeks or so," began John. "I can't really explain it... It feels like someone's calling for me... But I don't hear anybody's voice... It's just this feeling," he continued. Hermione and Jane glanced at each other curiously as John continued. "But, today, it was different... it felt more intense... I felt like I was being summoned strongly..." he added and watched the three of them stare at him. "That's the last thing I remember... I remember this feeling that I had... this sensation that someone was calling for me..." he finished.
"You don't remember walking into the restricted section?" asked Jane and John shook his head in response.
"So, you didn't open the locked room, the love room?" asked Jane.
"What? No, obviously not," replied John, flabbergasted. "It can't be opened, Jane... no one knows how to," he remarked, nonchalantly.
Jane stared at Hermione, confused. "We found you outside the love room, John," informed Hermione. As John stared at her, confused, she continued. "And it was open," she added.
"Is it really necessary to interrogate him right now?" chimed in Daisy looking at Hermione.
"We are not interrogating him... Why don't you stand there and let us do our thing," snapped back Jane.
"Jane," exclaimed John and Hermione, together.
"I am not interrogating him, Daisy. I'm not here as the Minister, you know that," replied Hermione as she held out her hand to hold Daisy's.
"I just want him to get better and on his feet before he gets back into all this... madness," sighed Daisy.
Hermione stared at her for a few seconds before replying, "As you say... I won't question him about it till he's back," she remarked with a smile. Daisy nodded her head in acknowledgement.
After spending some time with him, Daisy and Hermione left the hospital.
Once they were gone and Jane found herself alone in the room with John, she sat beside him once again. "You are going to be a legend tomorrow," she smirked.
"I don't think this news is going to get out that easily... they will call what happened to me a minor accident," replied John. Jane gave a feeble laughter in response. "What?" asked John, confused. Jane shook her head in response and John's mouth fell open. "How?" asked John, shocked.
"What happened today hasn't happened in like 2 centuries, John," remarked Jane. "You know it as well as I do... no one opens the love room, no one knows how to," she added. "And when something like this happens, it's difficult to keep things under wraps... Everybody is already talking about you," she finished.
"Oh my God," sighed John as he facepalmed.
"I have already been asked twice if I knew how you did it and if I can open it as well," chuckled Jane. After a moment, she continued, "Don't worry about it... we will handle it, we have handled worse," she remarked as she put an arm over his shoulder and lay her head on top of him.
After a few seconds pause, John spoke up, "I can't remember anything, Jane," she said, worried.
"It'll come to you... in time..." replied Jane, assuringly. "I'll tell you my version of the events if you want some peace of mind," she suggested and John nodded in response. "What I know is that you triggered the security alarms, when you walked into the restricted section," began Jane and when she saw John shaking his head in disbelief, she continued. "John... you walked in... whether it was voluntarily or not, is a different question. The ministry has video recording to prove it," he remarked.
"And I'm consciously walking in?" asked John.
"I haven't seen the footage... But, yes, you look like it," replied Jane. "But, there are no cameras inside the restricted section. So, none of us actually know what happened inside, how you opened the love room, how you fell unconscious... no idea," she added.
"That's all you know?" asked John, disappointed.
"So, the moment the alarms went off, a squad of Aurors immediately reached the restricted section. They found you unconscious and lying on the ground. The room was open and once they saw you, they immediately called Aunt Hermione," replied Jane. "It all happened within seconds," she added.
"How long was I out for?" asked John.
"A good 4 to 5 hours," replied Jane, sulking.
John clutched his head, in disbelief of what had happened. However hard he tried, he couldn't remember what had happened.
"You are alright, aren't you?" asked Jane after a few seconds.
"Yeah, of course I am," replied John.
"Don't laugh," began Jane. "You have no idea how I reacted the moment I found out..." she continued as she shuddered at the thought. "I was visibly shaking for at least an hour, till you were declared stable by the healers..." she added and John smirked in response. "I told you not to laugh," remarked Jane instantly as she punched his shoulder weakly. "You have no idea what kind of thoughts I had in mind... It's almost a career suicide if anyone does what you did today... You can't just walk into the restricted section," she continued. "And you haven't exactly been emotionally stable..." she added as she glanced at him.
"I haven't been unstable, Jane," exclaimed John, instantly. "It's just a phase and it will pass. And I wouldn't be this adventurous or careless even if I was," he added, chuckling.
"You scared me..." remarked Jane. "Don't ever do that," she added as she hugged him once again.
"I didn't mean to," sighed John. "Without wax," he added as she glanced at her sincerely.
"You are my only one... 21815," remarked Jane, softly.
"And you are my only one, 19919," remarked John, with a smile.
Jane got up and gave a huge sigh of relief. "I should inform everyone that you are up and well," she remarked and began calling everyone one by one.
Soon, it was almost late and slowly, both John and Jane dozed off. But, neither of them was actually asleep. Neither of them could get any sleep for something enormous had just happened that day.
It was around midnight when John whispered. "You up?" he asked.
"Hmm..." replied Jane.
"I couldn't get any sleep... this bed is really uncomfortable," sighed John.
"Yeah... that's not why you couldn't get any sleep," chuckled Jane. And John joined in on the chuckles.
After a couple of minutes, he spoke up. "Do you know the legend behind the love room?" he asked.
"I do," replied Jane.
"We all know it as the locked room," began John. "No one alive really knows what's inside it," he continued.
"Except you," chimed in Jane.
John ignored her and continued, "There are very few records of this room being opened... but the ones who had opened it, were never the same," he added.
"That's speculative at best," interrupted Jane.
"But, there's a story about the room," continued John.
"There was once a man... who witches and wizards believed to have gone mad..." continued Jane.
"And he told the world that the door opened for him," added John as he sat up.
"But, no one believed him," added Jane. "He told everyone what he saw inside... the most powerful feeling he ever felt," she continued.
"Stories were told of this man... how he loved someone more than anyone could ever love anyone," continued John as Jane shook her head.
"He, like the ones before him, was never the same..." continued Jane, as she got up and stared at John cautiously.
"And the room remained locked ever after," finished John as he stared at her.
"John," exclaimed Jane, looking worried. "That... is a story... You do realise it never actually happened," she remarked.
"It's not history... but it's not pure fiction either, Jane," remarked John.
"What it is... doesn't matter... You are not the man in the story," retorted Jane. "Besides, you very well know the kind of stories we cook up, at the ministry. All they wanted was to let the room remain locked. They put a powerful and unbreakable spell on it and spread fearful stories about it... That's that," she remarked, confidently.
"How do you explain what happened today then?" asked John.
"You will do the explaining... whenever you remember what actually happened," replied Jane.
"And what if I remember the door opening automatically? What about what I have been hearing, sensing, huh?" retorted John.
"You are suffering from confirmation bias, John... you have absolutely no evidence to support what you believe to be the case," retorted back, Jane.
"You do know how the story of the man went?" asked John and continued before waiting for a response. "He loved someone so much that he made it his purpose for the rest of his life," he remarked.
"This is madness," mumbled Jane.
"His love was so powerful that people realised the truth about the love room. It opened to anyone who possessed the most powerful form of love," added John.
"And what is the most powerful form of love, John?" asked Jane. John went silent in response, for he didn't know the answer to that question. "And are you living in this fantasy that what you have for Lily is comparable to the man in the story?" she asked and once again, John did not respond. "Tell me something," she began.
"What?" retorted John.
"Does this story talk about the person this man loved?" asked Jane. John shook his head in response. "Exactly my point... and what happens to the man in the story?" she asked, angrily.
"He was mad before the room opened, it just got worse after... He died a forgettable death," replied John.
"Maybe you should think about that before living in this fantasy," remarked Jane, angrily and lay back down.
That was the last they spoke to each other that night.
The following morning, the moment Jane woke up, she glanced towards John and found him wide awake.
"Hey," she remarked, awkwardly.
"Good morning," greeted John, smiling.
"Good morning... how are you feeling?" asked Jane as she walked over to him and sat beside him.
"I feel good... and well rested," replied John.
After a few moments, Jane apologised. "I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have snapped at you," she remarked.
"It's fine... you made your point," smiled John in response, much to the surprise of Jane.
"Phew!" sighed Jane, looking tense.
"Are you alright?" asked John after a moment. "You look terrible," he added.
"I didn't really get any sleep," replied Jane.
"Why? What kept you up?" asked John. "Besides you laying me out with your words," he chuckled. However, Jane didn't seem to have any levity in her expression.
After a good minute or two's silence, Jane spoke up. "I've been blaming myself for what happened yesterday," she remarked.
"You did say those things to me," chuckled John.
"No, not that," smiled Jane. "Whatever happened to you earlier," she said.
"That's literally the dumbest thing you have said. How could you possibly be responsible for what happened to me?" retorted John.
Jane stared at him for a few seconds. She was unsure how bad his reaction was going to be. "Don't hate me please," began Jane. "I didn't see any other way to get you away from her, to get you to move on," she remarked as John stared at her curiously. "Lily didn't reject you and quite literally break your heart the way she did on her own," she said and got up to move away from him.
"I don't get it," replied John as he saw her move a bit away from him. "What happened? Why are you reacting this way?" he asked.
"Before the two of you went to France, I threatened Lily to leave you... to reject you outright or to be with you... to make a decision," replied Jane. "I knew she was never going to be with you, so I told her to leave you... so that you could leave whatever hope you had behind and move on with your life," she added and watched him, fearfully, for the expression on his face to turn.
"What?" retorted John, shocked.
"John," began Jane, defensively. "You have to understand... I wanted the best for you. You were just digging yourself a hole from which you could never recover. And Lily with her damsel in distress act wasn't helping matters. I simply did what I thought was necessary to protect you..." she stuttered and blurted hastily.
"Wait... so, Lily didn't say all those things on her own?" asked John as he had a faint smile on his face.
Jane, unsure of whether it was a genuine smile or one that hid wrath behind it, replied cautiously. "She never had the same feelings for you. But, she would have never confessed it to you if not for my push," replied Jane.
John stared at his sister for a few seconds, while Jane stared back at him, afraid of the upcoming change in expression.
"Hey... don't look so frightened... I'm not mad," chuckled John.
"What?" exclaimed Jane, confused.
"Come here..." he remarked and held out his arms for a hug. Jane walked over to him, a little cautiously and found herself pulled into a loving embrace. "I can't be mad at you, for what you did... You wanted to rip the band-aid off," he remarked, calmly.
"I... uh... right... What?" she mumbled, confused.
"I'm genuinely not mad, Jane... I have reasons to be, yes... on a different day, I might have gotten mad. But, I know exactly why you did what you did, and I understand," said John with a bright smile on his face.
"Oh my God... It feels like a weight has been taken off my chest... I'm so sorry, John... I shouldn't have done that. I feel terrible about it... I don't know what came over me that day," whispered Jane as she hugged her brother back.
"I said, don't worry about it... Now stop feeling bad about what you did," whispered John. "Though, I suppose, you should apologize to Lily," he added, chuckling.
"Yeah, that's not going to happen anytime soon," retorted Jane, chuckling.
Hope you enjoyed this 3-parter... Let me know your thoughts...
PS - I'll be back with Chapter 90 in a few day's time...