Switched Luna

Chapter 4: Suffering

|Carmella|

My mind was racing, the questions I had for Janina swirling like a storm.

Camilla’s bruises.

The mere thought of it gnawed my insides, a silent alarm that something unspeakable had happened to her—something she had concealed even from her closest confidante. But why? What could have driven her to such secrecy? And how had everything spiraled into this nightmare?

I could feel Hans' presence looming nearby, a silent confirmation that he had already arrived at the hospital. In a heartbeat, I found myself standing at the foot of the bed, tense and alert. Hans entered the room, with Noel following closely behind, both of them flanking me as they took their positions. The warriors standing guard brought Janina forward, her movements sluggish, weighed down by the burden of her impending fate.

Her eyes were immediately drawn to my sister, and I caught the flicker of worry in her gaze. It wasn't until she was forced to kneel before me, shoved roughly to the floor by my warriors, that her attention shifted to me. I heard her stifled cry of pain, a sound that should have stirred some sympathy within me. But all I could see were Camilla’s bruises, their vivid imprint driving out any remnants of mercy I might have had.

“Janina,” I began, my voice steady despite the turmoil within me. “I won’t be beating around the bush. Can you tell me where…Camilla's bruises came from?”

Her head snapped up at the mention of my sister’s name, her eyes widening in horror. “My lady,” she began, her voice trembling, “I—I don’t know anything about Lady Camilla’s bruises!”

My brows knitted together as I narrowed my eyes at her. “Really?” I asked, my voice edged with suspicion as I clenched my teeth, scrutinizing her every reaction. “I found them—bruises—on her arms and shoulders. I’m willing to overlook the fresh ones, assuming they’re from the sudden ambush. But the older bruises? Those, I cannot ignore.”

Her eyes welled up, and tears began to trickle down her cheeks. Her whole body trembled as she shook her head, desperation clinging to her every word. “I swear on my life, my lady, I don’t know anything about her bruises. If Lady Camilla had such injuries, she never revealed them to me!”

I held her gaze for a long moment, silently assessing the sincerity of her words. There was a certain truthfulness in her eyes, something that made me believe she wasn’t lying. I released a slow, measured breath and nodded, signaling my reluctant acceptance of her explanation. But I couldn’t let it go entirely—I needed to know more.

“Are you absolutely sure? Think carefully—there must be something, anything, that could explain those marks.”

Janina’s fear was palpable now, so intense I could almost smell it. She shook her head again, her voice trembling as she spoke. “I would have noticed, my lady. If she was hurt, I would have seen it. But… no, she never spoke of it. Never showed any signs.”

I studied her face intently, searching for any flicker of deceit, but all I found was genuine fear and deep concern for my twin sister. If Janina truly had no knowledge of the bruises, then who did? The older bruises were nearly healed, and I could tell that some had been so severe it took weeks for them to fade. But the real question gnawed at me—why would Camilla hide something like this? Frustration welled up inside, but I tamped it down, determined to uncover the truth.

“Janina,” I began, slowly crouching so that our eyes met on the same level, “you said you’ve always been close to Camilla. You were with her through everything, weren’t you?”

Janina quickly nodded, her eyes wide and earnest.

“Then tell me,” I pressed gently, “what did she go through after she married her husband?”

At the mere mention of Theodore’s name, Janina’s teary eyes darkened with a mixture of fear and hesitation. My stomach tightened as I clenched my fists, the growing certainty that something was terribly wrong between Camilla and her husband gnawing at me.

“Tell me, Janina.” My voice was low, edged with an unmistakable warning. Janina bit her lower lip, her gaze darting nervously around the room as if she feared someone might overhear. It was clear she was reluctant to speak in front of others about Camilla’s…secret. I took a slow, steadying breath, and without looking up, I issued a quiet but firm command.

"Noel, Elara, and the two of you," I glanced at the pair of warriors standing near the door, "would you mind giving us a moment alone?"

Without hesitation, the four of them nodded in unison, replying, "Of course, Alpha Carmela."

I watched as they quietly exited the room, the door clicking softly shut behind them. The silence that followed was heavy, charged with unspoken words. My gaze shifted back to Janina, who hadn’t taken her eyes off Hans. Her wariness was palpable.

"Janina, you have nothing to fear. Hans is my beta," I assured her, my tone gentle yet firm, as if that alone could ease her doubts. Slowly, she turned her attention back to me, though uncertainty still lingered in her eyes. But after a brief pause, she brushed away her tears, summoning the courage to speak.

"It's not an easy story to share, my lady," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper as her eyes fell to her hands. "But Lady Camilla... she endured so much in her marriage."

Her words struck me like a blow. My heart clenched with guilt, a cold realization settling in that my sister had suffered, and I had been unaware. I remained silent, unwilling to interrupt her as she struggled to continue.

"When Lady Camilla married Alpha Theodore, she was full of hope," Janina’s voice wavered with emotion. "She believed that, in time, they would love each other, that she could make him happy as she fulfilled her duties. But it didn’t take long for her to see the truth… to realize that he wasn’t the man she had hoped he would be.

She paused, gathering herself, and when she finally met my gaze, I saw the depth of her pain—the years of helplessly witnessing my twin sister’s anguish etched in her expression.

“Alpha Theodore was distant from the very beginning,” Janina's voice was laced with sorrow as she recounted the tale. “But Lady Camilla, she tried—oh, how she tried. She devoted herself entirely to him, striving to be the perfect wife, bending to his every whim. Yet, no matter how hard she worked to gain his affection, he remained an unyielding figure, cold and indifferent, as if her efforts meant nothing.”

Each word cut deeper than the last, my heart tightening in anguish.

“But that wasn't the worst of it,” Janina’s voice faltered, a tremor betraying the depth of her emotion. “Things took a darker turn. Alpha Theodore began to stray—blatantly. He would parade his mistresses through the estate, brazenly flaunting them in front of Lady Camilla as if she were invisible. He didn’t care about the humiliation he inflicted on her. He didn’t care about the pain etched into every line of her face.”

A wave of fury surged within me, burning hot and fierce. How could he? How could that vile bastard treat my sister with such utter contempt? Memories of our mother flashed in my mind—she had always said she knew best for us, for Camilla? But what now? I clenched my fists, forcing myself to steady my breath. Now wasn’t the time to let my emotions spiral out of control. I needed to hear every word Janina was saying.

“Lady Camilla was devastated,” Janina went on, her voice softening to a whisper. “Night after night, she would come to me, her heart shattered, her tears endless. She fell in love with him, you see. Despite everything, she still loved him. But that love, that undying, unreciprocated love—it was what ultimately destroyed her.”

A lump rose in my throat, a raw pain spreading through my chest. Camilla had always been the one who loved the deepest, who sought to bring happiness to everyone around her, no matter the cost to herself. To hear how that love had been trampled, how it had been used to break her, was almost too much to bear.

“Did she ever confront him?” I asked, my voice trembling, barely more than a whisper.

Janina’s eyes darkened with the weight of memory as she nodded slowly. “Yes, in the beginning, she did. She would plead with him, her voice raw with desperation. She begged him to stop, to understand how deeply he was hurting her. But he would only laugh, a cold, cruel sound, or worse, he would dismiss her entirely, as if she were nothing more than a shadow. It was as though she didn’t exist, as if her suffering meant less than nothing to him.”

A searing fury flared inside me, growing more intense with every word. But beneath the rage was a profound sorrow, a gnawing grief that I had not been there for her, that I had been oblivious to the depths of her torment.

“And then?” I pressed, my heart clenching as I braced for what was to come, even as I feared hearing it.

Janina hesitated, her brow furrowing slightly as she delved deeper into the past. “And then, something shifted,” she said, her voice quieter now, almost reflective. “At first, it was just small things, barely noticeable. Lady Camilla stopped crying as often. She seemed… different. Calmer, perhaps. There was a quietness about her, a kind of stillness that hadn’t been there before. I thought—hoped, even—that maybe she had made peace with her situation. I dared to believe that she and Alpha Theodore had found some way to reconcile, that they had managed to bridge the chasm between them.”

I listened closely, trying to picture the scene she was describing. My sister, who had been so shattered, finding peace? It seemed almost inconceivable, yet there was a glimmer of hope in Janina’s voice, a hope that must have once filled her heart.

“What made you think that?” I asked, my curiosity piqued by this unexpected turn. “What did Camilla do that led you to believe things were getting better?”

Janina sighed, her eyes softening with the memory. “She smiled more,” she said quietly. “There was a light in her eyes that I hadn’t seen in so long. She took an interest in things again—reading, painting, even attending social events. It was as if she was reclaiming parts of herself that had been lost. And I thought… I thought it was because she had finally found happiness, that perhaps Alpha Theodore had begun to treat her with the kindness she deserved.”

The idea of Camilla regaining some sense of joy, however brief, tugged at my heart. It was almost too much to bear, knowing that she had been close to something resembling happiness, only for it to slip away again.

“But it didn’t last, did it?” I asked, my voice quiet, knowing the answer before she even spoke.

Janina shook her head, “No, my lady. It didn’t. At first, I didn’t notice. I was so relieved to see her happy again that I didn’t pay attention to the little things. But then I realized… Alpha Theodore hadn’t changed at all. He was still indifferent, still distant, and still…keeping his mistresses. If anything, he became even more withdrawn. He hardly spoke to her, and when he did, it was with that same coldness that had always been there.”

A sense of dread settled in my stomach as I listened to her words. Theodore’s continued indifference was a piece of the puzzle that didn’t fit, that made no sense if Camilla had truly found a way to be happy. Something was wrong—something I couldn’t quite grasp.

“Did Camilla ever say anything about it?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. “Did she ever tell you why she seemed happier, even though nothing had changed between her and Theodore?”

Janina hesitated, as if weighing her words carefully. “No, she didn’t say anything directly,” she admitted. “But there was a shift in her demeanor, a sort of acceptance that I hadn’t seen before. It was as if she had finally come to terms with the fact that Alpha Theodore would never love her the way she wanted him to. And somehow, she seemed… at peace with it. Almost as if she had found something else to live for.”

Her words hung in the air, heavy with implication. What had Camilla found that gave her peace? And why had it not lasted?

“And then,” Janina continued, her voice trembling slightly, “one day, that peace seemed to vanish. She started withdrawing again, becoming quieter, more distant. It happened gradually, but I noticed. She stopped smiling, stopped taking an interest in the things that had once brought her joy. And there was something in her eyes… something I couldn’t quite place. It was like all the hope had drained out of her. And she would again cry, but not as often. And when she did, it was a silent, hopeless sort of weeping.”

I could barely breathe as I listened, the weight of Janina’s words pressing down on me like a heavy stone. My mind raced, trying to make sense of it all, trying to understand how my sister could have gone from contentment to despair in such a short time.

“Did she ever talk to you about it?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “Did she tell you what caused her to lose hope?”

Janina shook her head again, her expression pained. “No, my lady. She didn’t say anything. But I could see it. The light in her eyes was gone, replaced by something darker. It was as if she had given up, as if she had accepted that there was no escape from the life she was trapped in.”

A cold fear settled in my chest, the realization that whatever had caused Camilla to lose hope had driven her to the brink of despair. I struggled to keep my emotions in check, to maintain the calm exterior that was expected of me. But inside, I was screaming, desperate for answers, for something that would explain what had happened to my sister.

“Janina,” I said, my voice trembling slightly despite my efforts to stay composed, “do you think… do you think Camilla might have done something to herself? Something to cause this?”

Janina’s eyes widened in shock, and she shook her head vehemently. “No, my lady. I don’t believe she would ever do such a thing. Even at her lowest, she never spoke of harming herself. She loved life too much, even if it was a life filled with pain.”

I nodded, though the fear still gnawed at me, the uncertainty of it all threatening to overwhelm me.

What could have caused those bruises on her body? Could they be tied to the reason she was so desperate to meet with me? And... what about her husband? Could he somehow be involved in all of this?