Chapter 57 - The Best
Adeline always hated nightmares. They reminded her of the monsters underneath her bed, grabbing at her ankles. She opened her eyes and instantly knew this was not reality.
Adeline felt the plush carpets underneath her feet, like the fur of a well-raised animal. Her eyes shakily landed upon the bright red carpets, her knees wobbling with the truth. Bright roses bloomed upon the edges of the rug with prickly thorn stems connecting the beautiful flowers.
This was the Kastrem Estate. It was a large and expansive mansion with six floors. It might as well have been classified as a castle, with how grand it was.
"This can't be." Adeline's entire shoulders began to tremble.
Not with fear or anger, but of sadness. It had been a while since she had set foot in this estate. The last time she had ever seen this rug was the day she fled from her home. It happened the day after her parent's funeral.
"You can't keep doing this!" A voice demanded. Instantly, a haunting crash echoed in the dark corridors. She recognized it as her Father, Crown Prince Kaline of Kastrem.
Adeline jumped at the noise, her eyes going wide. She had dreamt of Kastrem before, many times in the past. But they were all happy memories of her childhood.
Sometimes, she dreamt of the morning sun on her head as she watched Asher train. Other times, it was sipping tea with Lydia as they pretended to be prim and proper a.d.u.l.ts.
"You are being selfish, Kaline!" A feminine voice shouted back, followed by the sound of vases crashing.
Adeline let out a shaky breath. What was going on?
"I am thinking of the best for our daughter, our flesh and blood!" The same voice demanded. "This is the best for Adeline! I would know, Kaline, I gave birth to our beloved child!"
"The best for Adeline? THE BEST?!" Kaline roared, like that of a ferocious beast. "Did you honestly think sending our daughter to the Mardens will do her any good? Addison, how dare you put that on your will, when I have explicitly stated Adeline will be raised in this place and this place alone!"
Adeline placed a hand over her mouth to hold back a gasp. She recognized those voices. She knew those names by heart. It was her parents. And they were arguing about her. For some reason, she felt like this has happened before.
Her parents were always viewed as the exemplar family. They were prim and proper. There was not a day Addison wasn't praised for her great fashion, and Kaline praised for his wisdom. They were a happy family with kind servants and unlimited wealth.
"Kaline, my husband, that will only hurt Adeline even more! If she's raised here, there will be people targeting her life! Adeline needs to be kept away from this place until she comes of age, and then she can claim her throne."
Adeline's head suddenly began to ache. She had snippets of her childhood, but only the good pieces. Her knees gave out from underneath her, as a sudden burst of pain erupted in her forehead. She clutched her head in agony, sweat breaking out on the forehead.
Adeline felt like she had heard this argument before. But when? And why? Her parents argued as if they knew their death was vastly approaching. Adeline's mind was beginning to go blank, as she tried to desperately remembered the past.
There must've been a reason that she forgot it. There must be.
"Keeping her in our home is a lot safer than keeping her with the Mardens," Kaline spat out. "I've seen how greedy your brother-in-law is. Viscount Marden took advantage of your kindness, lives under a house with my name on it, and he dared to raise a hand to you!"
He was met with silence.
"And you still want to keep our precious baby girl with that bastard?!" Kaline demanded.
Adeline jumped when a bang rang down the hallways. Her father must've slammed his fist upon something. But it would never be upon his wife. He loved her simply too much to lay a hand on her.
"You know how vicious people from your side of the family is!" Addison screamed back. She was never one to back down from a fight, especially not with her husband.
"Do you truly think they wouldn't do everything in their power to hurt Adeline, who would be all alone in this estate?!" Addison bit out. "Eleanor will keep my daughter safe and far from the clutches of your horrid relatives. You've seen how they treated Adeline!"
"ENOUGH!" Kaline yelled.
"I refuse!" Addison shrieked. "Your mother and father tried to lay a hand on Adeline multiple times because she was holding her teacup incorrectly!"
"Addison—"
"Yes, Viscount Marden dared to lay a hand to me, but I had provoked him far too much. But the Mardens have always accepted and loved Adeline, even if she doesn't bear their family name!"
Another haunting silence ensued.
What followed suit was their loud breathing. They were attempting to calm down from the explosive argument, but it was quite difficult with the smashed furniture and ruined decorations.
"Listen to me, Kaline," Addison softly pleaded. "The Mardens will never lay a hand on Adeline, but the Roses will. Eleanor is hardheaded, but she is not hard-hearted. She loves Adeline as one would towards their own child. Eleanor is the best option for her."
Adeline nearly scoffed. It seemed her mother did not know the Marden's true colors. Just because Viscount Marden had never laid a hand on Adeline, it didn't mean he didn't think about it before.
"Adeline?"
Adeline jumped at the sound of her name. She lifted her head, only to realize her parents weren't actually talking to her. Standing by the slightly creaked doors was a child version of her.
"Mommy... Daddy?"
Adeline's breath hitched. She wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to see her parents' faces, wasn't ready to hear their voices, wasn't ready to see their gentle expressions. Especially when the last memory of them was a haunting one.
"Oh Pumpkin, did we wake you up?" Kaline gently asked as he opened the doors a bit wider.
Adeline's eyes went wide. She nearly vomited. Instead of her father's kind expression, it was the same face from that night he was poisoned. His features were distorted, his skin purple and blue, as life fleeted from him.
Adeline blinked once, suddenly, she could not breathe. Her Father was directly in her face now, with lifeless eyes and a snarl on his dark lips.
"You!" he roared, clutching at her throat as he slammed her upon the ground.
Adeline wheezed in pain, as she tried to scream for help but couldn't. She clawed at his hands that tightly squeezed her throat. She struggled against him, kicking and fighting him off.
"You should've never been born! You should've died that day! If you were going to live, you should've been the Golden Rose!"
Adeline's heart shattered into a thousand pieces. She looked into the eyes of her father, and instantly, the memories came back to her. Like a picture playing out before her eyes, she began to remember almost everything.
"Why, why why?!" Kaline demanded in a crazed and untamed voice. "Why did you have to be born a minute after Halloween? Why couldn't you have come out quicker? Why were you born a girl?!"
His spit flew all over her, but Adeline watched with wide eyes. His face was scrunched up with sheer fury.
It was then Adeline remembered exactly what happened the night before her parent's death. She remembered it, detail by detail.
The Crown Prince of Kastrem, her father, tried to strangle her to death. The night before her parent's poisoning, Kaline had tried to murder his own daughter with his hands. Fueled with remorse and regret, he decided to kill himself. Shortly after discovering his body, Crown Princess Addison also took her life.
Adeline was the cause of her parents' death.
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