Chapter 427: Imaginations.
Leilani.
I staggered.
Oh yeah, I staggered because what else would you have me do?
What exactly was I supposed to do after finding out this way that Jarek had left his company, the only thing which in his words ’made him feel whole’ to me shortly before his passing...
Or not.
I turned to look at the lawyer, the corners of my eyes burning with unshed tears as I seethed; "When did he do this?"
He frowned, cocked his eyebrows at me in confusion and lowered his head slowly as if the realization was slowly dawning on him— but that was not before I saw the guilt swirling across those white-washed blue eyes of his.
His voice was small, barely above a whisper as he muttered; "huh?"
I rolled my eyes in irritation. "When?"
"When what, madam?"
"When did he say that to you?" I hissed through gritted teeth. "When did he do that?"
"You mean when he asked me to leave the company to you... when he willed it to you, I mean?" He rushed out, stammering as he spoke while his face turned a deathly white.
At his words, I nodded, especially since I was suddenly unable to speak through the thick bile now rising in my throat.
He flinched like he’d been physically struck and his voice was hoarse as he drawled; "Today. A couple of minutes before he took his last breath."
Those words, so lightly said, made my heart stop beating in my chest. It made the already existing tightness in my lungs increase drastically. My hands shook with barely contained rage... but there was something else.
Guilt.
Betrayal.
Pain.
Betrayal because he had all of this planned from the get go but couldn’t bring himself to tell me about it, hence making me look like a fool— his fool. Betrayal because this was never how I envisioned our lives to end. Because I never, even in my wildest dreams, think that he would leave me like this... so heartlessly.
Then there was guilt. One that stemmed from me feeling like an impostor. From feeling like I do not and never deserved the kind of love that he showered me with.
He loved me more than mere words could describe. He was there for me when no one else was... and what did he get in return?
Silence.
I left him. It’s as simple as that; and I would forever live with that guilt.
I didn’t even know when my knees hit the floor until the pain I felt when they made contact with the extremely smooth floor shot me back to the present. A loud cry slipped out of my mouth and I threw my head back, clutching my chest as I wailed in both loss and physical discomfort.
"He... he planned this out."
"He didn’t." The lawyer responded softly. "He just... he had to take precautions after realizing how dire the situation was."
His words made me shake violently. I convulsed with feverish spasms and the tears wouldn’t stop pouring down the sides of my face.
I do not know for how long I sat there, crying to my heart’s content, but by the time I finally came to, I realized that I was pressed against Caelum’s chest...
Caelum again...
His big strong arms held onto me tightly and his fingers trailed slow soft circles into my scalp as he softly muttered under his breath; "There there... Breathe baby. Slowly."
For a fraction of a second, I was stunned, unsure of what he was talking about until I realized to my horror that my hands had long since gone pale, meaning that I had probably stopped breathing at some point but didn’t realize it.
However, before I could wrap my head around this fact, Caelum hoisted me into his arms, carried me in bridal style and began to walk out of the room just as one of the nurses began to say;
"Madam, sir... please it’ll be nice if you would step out for a minu—"
"We’re already going out." Zevran hissed at her, causing the girl to flinch in fright. "You don’t have to order us around or anything!"
"Oh oh, sorry sir. My apologies."
She bowed stiffly at him before scurrying away, and then she disappeared into a corner away from my peripheral vision.
I then vaguely heard the triplets talking amongst themselves as they strode out of the room with me still held carefully in Caelum’s arms. But as we went, their voices soon began to blur into the background like white noise and the rhythmic vibrations that came from Caelum’s chest as he spoke soon began to make me feel somewhat drowsy.
I closed my eyes, listening quietly to the sound of his steady heartbeat and not realizing when my eyes began to slowly drift close.
"Leila—" Kael began to say but stopped when Caelum growled deep in his chest.
"She’s falling asleep. Let her be!" He snapped,
At his words, the three brothers soon went quiet and then the entire atmosphere was plunged into a deep comfortable silence laced thick with mournful sadness.
And maybe it was due to the sudden peace, because I knew that I didn’t want to but also couldn’t stop myself from slowly drifting asleep, and when the world finally went quiet and I was plunged into the silence that my soul deeply craved, I saw him.
Jarek.
Smiling at me until the corners of his eyes crinkled with glee.
Waving at me so quickly, you would think his hand was a mini fan.
He leaned close, brushed his lips over the tip of my left ear, and called me "Sweetcakes."
And the nickname, goddess the nickname made my breath hitch in my chest. I sighed deeply, allowing my face to be warmed by his gentle breath and smiled;
"Jay..."
But I knew deep down that this wasn’t him. This cannot be him. My Jarek was gone and all I was left with was the fragments of my imaginations.
...imaginations that were deeply rooted and centered around him.
