Romeo
After my meeting with Venecia, I couldn't get my mind off the kiss—or what she told me about my father. The idea that he and Lord Eryndor were once best friends sounded absurd. Best friends. How could that even be possible when their families had been sworn enemies for generations?
Luckily, my dad was out of town, which meant I had the perfect opportunity to dig for answers. His study would be the first place to search, then the attic. If there was anything to be found, it had to be in one of those places.
That night, I waited impatiently for my mother and the staff to go to bed. The silence in the house stretched thick, amplifying the rapid beating of my heart. I wasn't just nervous—I was terrified. Terrified of what I might find. Terrified of the truth.
Slowly, I turned the knob to my father's study, the door creaking softly as I stepped inside. His scent—strong, distinct, and unmistakably his—filled the room, wrapping around me like an invisible force. Even when he wasn't here, his presence was. I moved quickly, scanning the room, opening drawers, flipping through old files, and searching every possible hiding place.
Nothing. Frustration clawed at me, and just as I was about to give up, something caught my eye. One of the bookshelves didn't look... right. The books were stacked too perfectly, almost as if they had never been touched. My fingers grazed the spines, and when I pushed against them, the entire shelf shifted with a quiet click. A hidden compartment.
My pulse spiked as I stepped closer, revealing an old safe tucked behind the shelf. It looked ancient, its metal edges rusted slightly with age. My excitement was quickly replaced with dread. The safe required a passcode. I stared at the keypad, my mind racing.
Think, Romeo, think. I tried every combination I could think of—birthdays, anniversaries, important dates—but none worked. A red light flashed, signaling that I had only one more attempt before the safe would lock permanently. My hands were shaking now.
Then, suddenly, a memory surfaced. I was around ten years old when I first noticed the numbers tattooed on my father's shoulder. I had asked him what they meant, but he had only chuckled and dismissed my curiosity, saying, "They're just numbers, son. Nothing important." But what if they were important? I quickly entered the numbers into the keypad. I held my breath.
Beep.
The lock released with a soft click.
For a moment, I stood frozen, afraid to open it. What if I wasn't ready for whatever lay inside?
But it was too late to turn back now.
Slowly, I lifted the lid—and my breath hitched. Inside, stacked neatly, were old letters, documents, and photographs. My father... standing side by side with Lord Eryndor. I snatched up one of the letters, my hands trembling as I unfolded it.
The ink was slightly faded, but the words were clear: "Ardan, you cant keep hiding from me", I swallowed hard.
My father and Lord Ardan were more than just best friends—they were partners. But in what? I dug through the rest of the contents, hoping to find something that would explain it all. More letters. More cryptic messages.
But nothing that answered the biggest question of all—why did their friendship end? A part of me wanted to close the safe and pretend I had never seen any of this. But another part—the one Venecia had ignited—refused to walk away. I reached for my phone and dialed her number. She picked up after the second ring.
"Romeo?" Her voice sounded cautious, as if she knew something had happened. I exhaled sharply. "You were right. About everything."
A pause. Then, "What did you find?"
I looked down at the letter in my hands, my father's familiar handwriting staring back at me.
"The truth," I whispered. "Or at least the beginning of it."
This wasn't just about us anymore. This was bigger. This was about our families, our past, and a history that had been buried for too long.
Venecia and I weren't just caught in the middle of an old feud.
We were meant to end it.
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Romeo has finally discovered a SECRETTT!!!! Don't forget to like and comment.