Chapter 6: Was It Possible?
839 Words
-Selene-
“I think you’ll want to hear my story.”
I stared at Cecilia, uncertain of how to respond. Her words suggested that hearing her story was something I needed, rather than just something she wanted to share. I took a step back, shaking my head as I donned my usual mask—a smile that conveyed everything was just fine.
“No need to rush. You can share your story whenever you’re ready,” I said.
“I don’t need to tell it, but you need to hear it,” Cecilia insisted, her gaze lingering on my shoulder.
“I don’t think—”
“It hurts every time you see it, doesn’t it? Whenever you catch a glimpse in the mirror or from the corner of your eye. It’s even worse when others notice it. The pain of knowing he didn’t want you, that he chose someone else even though you were his first choice,” she explained.
Her words left me stunned, rendering me speechless. How could she articulate my feelings so precisely?
“H-How…?”
“Because I was thrown away too,” she admitted.
“You were?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Cecilia nodded, her eyes softening with a look that was not pity, but a deep understanding. “I was, and he was my real mate. I would have done anything for him. All he had to do was say the word.”
“What happened?”
I wasn’t sure why I felt compelled to know more. I should have left and let Isabella take over, but curiosity got the better of me.
“He found someone else. He wanted her more because she could offer him more. I came from a lower status, while she came from a higher one, one that matched his own. So, he discarded me, rejected me.”
The realization hit hard. Valerio hadn’t spoken those exact words, but his actions had communicated the same message. The way he chased after Octavia, constantly needing to be near her, abandoning me in the process—it was as if I didn’t matter.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “The king wasn’t my real mate, so I wouldn’t know how that feels.”
“But you do,” Cecilia empathized, taking a step closer. “You do know because the bond between mates, real or not, is always strong. You’re still connected. You still feel their pain. It broke you, didn’t it? Being rejected?”
“I rejected him,” I said, my voice firm.
“But only because you wanted to say the words before he did.”
“That’s… No!”
“Yes, you knew it was coming, so you left before he could throw you out.”
My heart felt like it was breaking into pieces, and I struggled to keep it together. But it was like trying to hold sand. My heart was slipping through my fingers no matter how hard I tried to hold on.
“I-I should go,” I said, turning away.
“There is a way out, you know. You don’t have to remain connected to him or continue to hurt from it.”
I paused in the doorway, her words compelling me to stop and listen. I turned back to face her. Her eyes were serious, her demeanor steady. What was she suggesting? The only way I could be free of Valerio’s mark was if someone else marked me, replacing his mark with theirs. But something told me she wasn’t referring to that.
“I’ll let you rest now,” I told her politely.
“Come find me before I leave,” she urged. “I know it’s hard to believe, but I promise you, you can be yourself again. You can be free, not because you give yourself to someone else, but because you reclaim your power. Trust me.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“But I do,” she insisted.
“No, you don’t. What you’re saying is impossible!”
“Why do you think I was alone in those woods?” she inquired.
I stared at her, puzzled, as she approached me. The grey t-shirt she wore shifted slightly, revealing a glimpse of her pale skin. My eyes widened in shock. What in the Goddess’s name? I thought. I looked back at Cecilia, who met my gaze calmly.
“I had a mate. Now I don’t, so why should I be forced to carry his mark?”
“I-It’s gone,” I said, looking back at her shoulder.
There was no mark, not even a hint of one. Was she trying to deceive me? But what if it were true? Could it really be possible to remove it?
“You can be free, Selene,” Cecilia whispered, letting her hand fall.
Her shoulder was covered again, but I kept staring at it, trying to understand.
“You just need to come find me when you’re ready.”
- Writer
