Her eyes widened upon hearing that voice. It can’t be… It can’t be! There’s no way this is happening! This is not happening!
“What are you doing here? How did you know that I am here?” she asked while stepping back.
Her knees are shaking and all the nerves in her body are trembling while looking at Joffrey who emerged from the dark and is now stalking her.
“Of course, I am here to get you, Devon. I am here to get you, my wife.” He smiled creepily. “You don’t know how much I went through just to find you, the money I spent, the men I killed, and the resources I wasted just to find you so come with me now while I am still being nice.”
“No!” She jerked when a pair of strong hands from her back put a cuff on her hands. “You can’t do this. You can’t take me away from here, Joffrey! I can’t marry you! I am already somebody’s wife! I am Daemon’s wife!”
“Starting from today, you are no longer his wife, Devon.” Joffrey gripped her face and licked her cheeks. “You are mine from the very start and I can’t wait to really make you mine tonight, sweetie. I’ll make sure you forget the nights you’ve shared in bed with him. Get her in the car.”
“No! Daemon! Help me! Help me!”
“Shut up! Shut up! I said get her in the car!”
The men dragged her into a car and tied her into the seat. She just kept on shouting hoping that someone will be able to hear her. She hoped that Daemon or Henry had already noticed her absence but all of that hope evaporated when they started leaving the parking lot. Her voice is already hoarse from crying and shouting but nothing really came up her way. No one heard her pleas.
When the car stopped in front of their mansion and she saw her whole family waiting outside the giant gate, that’s when she really realized that she had come back full circle to the lion’s den far from her husband’s reach. She knows that this time, she will not have any slightest chance of being able to run away judging from the way her father’s eyes look sharply at her.
“You are a disgrace to the family!” he said after slapping her hard that sent her to the ground. “You married that man from that despicable family and made a fool out of your own family and name! Be thankful that Joffrey would still want you as his wife. If he didn’t, I will disown you and throw you to the servant’s quarters! Melena, make sure she is lock in her room tonight. No visitors! No guests, no food and water! Let’s see if she still has the energy to escape tomorrow.”
Her father went back inside while her mother ordered the maids to escort her to her room. Her brothers on the side were all just silent as if they had not seen their one and only sister. When she’s alone with her mother in her room that felt like a prison ever since, she looked at her emptily.
She should have felt that it’s just a trap but her feelings got in the way. She missed her mother so much so she has no time to entertain the warning bells in her head and were lured into it instantly.
She sat on her pink bed and smiled sadly. “You betrayed me again, mom.”
“I’m sorry, sweetie. I’m really sorry.” She tried to reach for her hands but Devon shove them away.
“I should have known that you didn’t really miss me. That you just wanted me back so that father could finally pursue with that fucking deal he had with Joffrey.” She scoffed when she saw her mother’s shocked face. “Why? You think I would never know? I may be a girl but I am still a Farrows. I may not know everything about the deal but I know about it. Now I know how far would dad go for his dreams. He can sacrifice his own child just for his dreams.”
“That’s not true. My dear Devon, I love you. We love you. I care for you. I am your mother.”
“Then prove it! Prove to me that I am really your daughter, that you are really my mother and not just a stranger who gave birth to me.” Melena was tongue tied. “You can’t. I know that you can’t because you can’t say no to him. Ever since, it’s just about what father wants, what he needs, what the family wants. It has never been what I wanted, what I feel.”
“Devon…”
“I just wanna die!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, her tears streaming down her face. “I wanna die than be married to him. And I think I really wanna kill myself tonight and I just want you to know that you did this to me. All of you. You did this all to me.”
She began pounding her chest.
“Devon! Don’t! My daughter, what are you doing to yourself? Devon!” Melena tried to restrain her but Devon’s cold eyes stopped her from touching her.
“Don’t touch me. Did you know what I felt when I heard your voice in the line? I felt so happy at that moment. I missed you so much but you betrayed me again. Not once. Not twice. Many times from the start when you keep on insisting to me to marry that old disgusting man.”
Devon wanted to add more but seeing her mother crying stopped her. That is all she can say because no matter how she wanted to hate her, she just can’t. She is still her mother after all even though Devon cannot understand how a mother can do this to her own child.
Melena left the room and sneaked some food for her but she didn’t eat it. She would rather starve herself tonight.
Looking at the stars that night, she thought of her husband who must have been scouring the area to look for her. With that thought, she got up to eat all the food. She needed all the energy she could get because she is still not hopeless after all. There is still Daemon. She still has her husband.
“Daemon, please. Come for me. Help me again,” she whispered and prayed hard.