Raphael caught up in the warm moment asked, “So, what’s with the town’s reaction to you? Their gaze were as if they were seeing a ghost.”
The atmosphere suddenly shifted as Raphael innocent question brought up an uncomfortable topic. He immediately sensed the shift and his face softened with regret. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”
Rose despite the discomfort, smiled gently. “It’s okay. It’s nothing,” she said “They’re all like that… The town, I mean. They just… they don’t understand.”
Before anyone could respond, her younger brother suddenly burst out in frustration.
“Till when will you hide the truth, sister? Why won’t you tell them?” His voice was sharp, filled with anger and confusion, and it increased the tension between them.
Rose’s face faltered and a mixture of surprise and sadness crossed her features as she turned to face him. “You don’t understand,” she said softly.
“Rose, tell me.” Julian said. His words were short but commanding.
Rose hesitated for a moment as her gaze flickered to Julian. His tone was no longer light or teasing, but serious. It was the kind of tone she hadn’t heard from him before.
Her heart skipped a beat. She had already buried this part of her past so deep while trying to move forward, but the look in Julian’s eyes told her that he wasn’t going to let it go.
He wanted to know. And perhaps, for the first time, she felt like someone aside from her family was genuinely asking her to speak the truth, not just out of curiosity, but because they genuinely cared.
She looked at her brother whose face was frowned in anger and defiance. Her gaze then shifted back to Julian.
“It’s… it’s not something I talk about,” she began with a shaky voice. “But…” She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. “It’s not just the town that looks at me like that. It’s because of what happened here. My father… we lost everything. My family… the name… all of it was taken from us.”
Her eyes dropped to the table as the weight of the past crashed down on her.
“People here, they pity me. They think I’m someone who failed, someone who couldn’t protect what mattered. But… it’s more than that.” She glanced up at Julian, her gaze softening. “I couldn’t protect anyone. I couldn’t even protect myself.”
Her brother’s face further twisted with anger and concern. “You are still hiding the past sister while you continue to blame yourself for something you could do nothing to avoid.”
Rose took another breath, “Because the truth isn’t something people are ready to hear,” she whispered. “And it isn’t something I am ready to say.”
“Then, I will say it myself.” Her brother shouted in annoyance and anger.
“My grandfather was the previous count of this city,” he continued. “And our father was next in line. We were supposed to inherit everything—this estate, the land, the title. But…” His voice faltered for a moment, and he swallowed hard. “But everything changed when my father was betrayed.”
Rose’s gaze dropped as her heart ached at the memory. Julian could see the pain etched on her face. Her brother, unable to hold back any longer, continued his story.
“There was a coup,” he said as he clenched his fist. “Our own people, the ones we trusted, they turned on us and left us with nothing. Since then, the people here… they have looked at us with pity. We used to be important, but now we’re just… nobody.”
Raphael’s face darkened as he listened, his voice calm yet heavy with concern. “And do you know who betrayed you? Who was behind all of this?”
The boy’s eyes flared with a mix of rage and pain. He gritted his teeth. “No one other than our own blood,” he spat, his voice cracking with fury.
“Our uncle! That ugly filth, who always had his eyes on our mother and grandfather’s title. When she rejected him, when she chose us and our father, his rage knew no bounds. He couldn’t stand it. And so… he did everything. He had her killed.”
Julian’s expression hardened, his hand unconsciously tightening around his cup. ”
That piece of trash killed our mother… and then assassinated our grandfather to take the title. He forced our father into submission, took everything from us, and left us to rot, all to torment us. All because he couldn’t accept being rejected. He stole our family’s legacy and turned us into nothing.”
The silence in the room was deafening. The revelation hit Julian and Raphael like a hammer.
They could feel the anger in the boy’s confession, but what stood out most was the silent pain Rose was trying so hard to suppress. Her past, her family’s destruction… everything was crashing down around her.
Julian’s voice broke the silence. “And what happened to him? Did he face any consequences for his actions?” he said.
The boy’s eyes burned with hatred. “No. He is still out there, still living, still ruling, and still tormenting us. He hides behind his title, but one day, I swear, we’ll make him pay.”
Rose finally shattered, her eyes tearing up as the weight of the memories and the pain her family had endured seemed to overwhelm her all at once. The tears slid down her cheeks and despite her best efforts to remain composed.
She looked at her brother “I’m sorry,” she said. “I never wanted you to carry this burden.”
Her brother’s anger faltered, his face softening at the sight of her tears. He walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and offered a silent comfort. “It’s not your fault, sister. You did what you could.”
Her father embraced both of them. His arms wrapped around Rose and her brother tightly, the silent gesture speaking volumes of his love and the years of suffering they had all endured.
His eyes, however, remained dry as no tears came, not because he felt nothing, but because the years of grief had drained them all.
