Chapter 22
1144 Words
Colette
My son‘s wife stood frozen in front of me, and in the arms of my son‘s closest friend. They both stared at me with wide eyes and mouths open and shock.
My son and husband had not noticed when Cecilia had left but I definitely did. Both of them were so focused on making connections and bragging to a family friend about their success and future plans whereas I grew accustomed to sitting quietly and just observing.
And I saw how Leon treated Cecilia, how terrified and angry she was around him and I although I should be furious at her for being unfaithful, I couldn’t. I understood her.
“Lady Allard, please, let me explain!” Gabriel stammered as he stepped away from Cecilia. He fixed his jacket and brushed his hair back.
He had the presence and influence of a Duke, but in my eyes he would always be the boy I saw grow up.
“Please, this is not Cecilia’s fault. I beg of you to let me explain!” He pleaded, his voice shaking a bit. “Don’t tell Leon, I am pleading you!”
I knew Gabriel was well aware of Leon’s aggressiveness. Everyone was m aware of it. And I noticed how Gabriel moved in front of Cecilia when he said Leon’s name. I also saw the horror in Cecilia’s eyes- I hated seeing it there because I knew that fear far too well.
I had felt her fear the day of my wedding, the night I spent with my husband after, at every meal, every event and every time I was near him.
Cecilia and I were the same in that way, fearing and hating the man we were trapped in a marriage with. But unlike me, Cecilia didn’t stay quiet. She fought back, she still had a fire in her that had died too quickly in me. Even if she wasn’t saying anything her eyes and presence screamed and fought against my son.
And I knew he felt it too.
So I looked at Gabriel and spoke in a soft but firm tone. “I believe you should head back to your box, your Grace.”
Gabriel looked between me and Cecilia. He didn’t want to leave her, I knew he feared that Leon would walk through the curtains at any given moment and I’d let him hurt Cecilia. But he couldn’t be more wrong.
“She won’t need protection Your Grace. I need a moment to speak with my daughter in law.” I said a bit softer.
Cecilia was still trembling with fear but she nodded at Gabriel. “Go Gabriel.”
He stood frozen for a couple more seconds, the fear never leaving his face. But he nodded and walked out the box.
When he did I walked to Cecilia, looking at her directly in her bright green eyes and realized she was crying. I lifted my hand to wipe her tears away but she flinched.
“Why do you fear me Cecilia?” I whispered.
Her face paled and lips quivered. “Because I know Leon, and I know he’ll kill me when he finds out.”
“You’re right, he would.”
She paled and trembled even harder.
“But I won’t tell him.”
For a moment all I could hear was the music from outside the box and Cecilia’s heavy breathing. I wiped more tears from her eyes and tried to give her a kind smile.
I hadn’t smiled in so long.
“Why are you being kind to me?” She asked.
I sighed and stepped away from her.
“First off , call me by my name, Colette. And I’m being kind because I was you Cecilia. And I had no one..I know what it is like to marry a monster.”
Her eyes widened with shock. “You do?”
I nodded. “Leon’s father is just as cruel- they are one in the same. The screaming, the intense anger, cold demeanor and controlling personality. I know what it’s like to live in fear.”
Cecilia fixed her skirts and stepped away from the wall where she was as she listened to me.
“I was young, innocent and hopeful. I thought that I was marrying a man who loved me. But I was very wrong, just like you.” I felt my eyes fill with tears as I talked. “There wasn’t a night where I didn’t feel unsafe, or a day where I wasn’t yelled at. And so I decided to give in- to do what I was told and accept my reality.”
I turned to Cecilia who was watching and listening to me so carefully that it warmed my heart. No one had listened to me in years.
“But you don’t Cecilia. You fight back and never give in. I wish I could have done that, I wish I could have fought for my happiness like you do.”
Her eyes narrowed in confusion. “I don’t understand. You just found me in a compromising position with a man who is not your son, a man I am not married to. Are you saying you accept that?”
I shrugged. “No, but I understand why you are doing it. There’s no happiness with my son, I know that. And you deserve to be happy, you are young and full of life.”
Cecilia’s face softened and she walked towards me. “I don’t know what to do, Colette. I don’t know if I can continue living with Leon like this. I know I’m committing a great sin but I’ve never felt the way I do with Gabriel.”
I smiled and patted her cheek. “I can see that. You two love each other very much.”
At my words she shook her head. “It’s not love. Never that. It is simply passion, I don’t have it with Leon but I do with Gabriel. That’s all it is.”
I thought back to the way Gabriel looked at Cecilia. Not just when I caught them minutes ago, but at every dinner party, ball and event. He looked at her with a devotion that any woman would kill for.
I knew he loved her, but Cecilia didn’t know that. And she was convinced she didn’t love him either. And maybe she didn’t, maybe she didn’t realize that what her and Gabriel had was love.
She grabbed my hands and looked at me with pleading eyes. “Promise me you won’t tell Leon, please promise me.”
I thought about the happiness and love she had, a love I had hoped to have had but never did. I hoped that she’d realize and accept that love soon.
So I nodded and smiled.
“I promise.”
- Writer
