BETRAYALS IN MASKS
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The chandeliers burned brighter,spreading its lights over the silk gowns and jeweled masks. Mothers,ever the cunning strategists, never failed with their scheming,whispering words of mysteries into their daughter's eager ears.
And the main theme that evening?
Seal a perfect match!
Each woman was determined to hunt down the most desired and wanted man of great status - one who could drape them in gold and buy them respect.
And greed it seemed,was the only lady that evening,hosting its reign in their eyes.
But darkness had its own designs that night,choosing its unsuspecting victim whose heart would bleed thorns.
For she mistook desire for love,thinking by binding him with tongue,body and her essence meant he was hers. Yet she forgot that desire was one fleeting adrenaline, that disappeared faster - and once his eyes were opened,that dream shattered.
Music echoed through the ballroom,violins announcing the blissful evening as the debutantes glanced over the sea of men.
Some were halted by their mothers to choose wisely.
Others made it a mission to flatter men.
Few of them were really engaged in activities.
And for the rookie who had been hiding in every season,she had finally found the audacity to make an appearance.
"She's lovely! Look at that dress,"whispered one lady over her fan to another who nodded in affirmation.
Amber descended the grand staircase with grand poise,her every step recounted the days she had taken to rejecting invitations. Heads turned to her direction,making her blush inwardly. This was the first time she appeared before lots in a ball,dressing to impress.
"It seems my daughter finally got wise," Lady Evona remarked,sipping from her glass.
"Is she trying to seduce my suitors?," replied Selene with a frown. She,although a choleric young lady,was calmer than the night this evening,doing her best to attract more unfortunate souls."She could've stayed home. I think her books favor her company more"
Lady Evona turned to her,pulling her cheeks. "I'm in a good mood this evening! Dare not incur my wrath for uttering stupidity"
"But she--"
"She's your eldest sister and deserves respect too,"
Evona's eyes lingered on her daughter's figure,analyzing her composure. She had not been aware Amber would make it this season and the lady had not mention it. She remembered how her daughter sounded unimpressed earlier when she had mentioned the ball.
"Will you come this time?"
Amber had looked up,darted her eyes outside for a longer period before turning back to Evona. "We'll see"
Now here she was!
At a social event!
Below,the young lady smiled faintly to all who approached her. Her eyes scanned their faces with default reactions,offering her hand here - when it deserved a kiss- or there,when they aided her for a dance.
However, her heart was wandering for someone else entirely.
-----------
Across the ballroom,someone was busily finding her pair. She had one goal in mind,clutching her gown as she walked steadily in the crowd. But her heart was racing,fearing a possible heartbreak.
"Milady," a man tapped her shoulder,pulling her to a halt.
"Ah,Lord Ambrose!" She forced a smile. She recognized him as one of the men she had seen earlier on her business trips with her father.
"Where are you heading? The ball's down here," he said,handing her a glass from the tray to which Reya gulped quicker. Her chest was beating with fear,making her swallow hard.
"I've got something pressing to attend to. I'll attend to you later,Lord Ambrose,"
Reya slipped quietly behind a curtain,racing upstairs to a room Alaric had visited earlier. Meeting new women at the entrance,she only nodded having walked into couples making out earlier.
"Who are you looking for?" inquired a lady who was entering.
"Lord Ravyn,"
"And who's he to you?" said the lady,raising her brow.
"Just open the door," Reya's fingers trembled,her heart beating faster against its cages. She feared she'd walk in on something that would suffocate her. A betrayal that might sting her chest.
She hurriedly pushed the door open,pulling the lady aside and entering the room.
"Oh my God! Which insolent brat is that?" One girl screamed, covering her body with her hands.
"A-apologies!"
Reya heaved a sigh of relief,hoping that Alaric really was loyal. He had to be.
But music was a mirror for emotions.
The new song playing led her feet to the railings,watching the crowd from above. The melody swelled higher than it should,ladies pulling away from the center as if preparing it for someone special.
"The opening waltz shall be led by Lord Ravyns and his woman Lady Margaret,"the herald announced.
Reya's heart dropped,swallowing hard - and when her eyes found him - tears pricked at the edges.
There he was,hand resting peacefully on the lady's waist. The same woman Reya had seen him with in the carriage. The same one who wore a necklace like she did.
And the same one who now wore the Ravenswood invitation ring meant for his wife alone. Her chest ached as the music continued,her heart bleeding softly under its safety but she refused to shed a tear. Not in public.
For she still convinced herself he would never do that to her.
Meanwhile up on her own dias,Evona watched Reya with a smile. Plan 1 was already fulfilled,now all Vire would know who controlled darkness.
------
Later,Reya found herself among the esteemed wallflower ladies. Women who preferred to observe than involve themselves. They had accepted her calmly, unaware of her identity behind the mask.
She smiled when it was needed. Laughed louder than she should have. And talked more than she would.
Her heart was sinking; breath failing her and life itself had become meaningless to her. Had she fled to be cheated on? He could not have done that to her when he promised she was his one in a trillion.
"Milady,that is far too much" Heart had tried to stop her,pulling the glass from Reya's hand. "That is your sixth--"
"Give it to me!" She gulped down another glass of wine. No one dared stop her this time. "My tongue wants to burned. My heart is burning"she whispered
"But Milady the--"
"Leave me! J-just..leave me alone,"Reya wiped a tear from her face,storming outside with a glass. But in the corner of her eye,she noticed Amber slip out from the ballroom; steps too urgent and hurried.
------
The deceiver wore love like a mask ,aiming to steal hearts - and once he accomplished this - he fled faster than the winds. His mission had been successful.
She,the poor girl hiding behind a veil of ice, mistaken to be cold for no reason; had bared her heart open. Sneakily,he made an entrance, so grand she fell for him.
But tonight,those walls she had built would rise again.
Outside,the cold breeze enveloped them with Philip Porter standing beside the fountain,hands behind his back and his eyes fixed on the moon's silver grace. He was a tall man and one ladies would chase for nature had favored him with elegance.
"Philip," Amber's voice broke the stillness,her hands enveloping him from behind. "Why're you out here alone?"
He turned,his face shadowed by the silver light of the moon. He pulled her hands from him as if pleading distance. "I needed air"
Amber smiled,subtle hints of red tinting her cheek. " I could be your air-"
"Amber don't!"
"Don't what?" She giggled awkwardly. Something felt different this evening- and no it was not her or the wind....could it be him?
He didn't smile,looking away from her. "I came for air. Not you"
Her lips parted in silence,his words hitting her chest. She wished to say something but she couldn't. Tightening her fists beside her,she added." I-I dressed for you "
His reply was faster than she anticipated.
" I saw it,but I don't need you!"
Laughter died inside her throat at his words. She felt the wind was mocking her,life itself was mocking her too. Her fingers trembled, eyes immediately watering with tears."You can't mean that Philip I---"
"I am marrying the marquis' daughter ," he announced,so casually she had to read his mouth to know what he said. "Georgiana Lawrence ....and you're invited"
Amber felt like she walked on air. Her heart hit softly by his words; too soft she was blind to notice. Before she could grasp reality, a strangled laugh tore from her throat.,"Tell me this is a joke! It is not nice Philip. It's a horrible jok--"
He sighed,his expression unchanging."Believe what you shall! It isn't a joke."
Her heart clawed for air,but deep down,it was only despair that washed her. "But you and I.. we..we..you said you loved me. You worshipped me that night. You said..I was your soulmate Philip. You..said.."
"It was temporary..and bound to happen,"he corrected her.
His cruel words cut her sharper than blade. How could he do this to her? When he had used her vulnerability against her? Did he see her as a harlot he could just do that to? Breath escaped her,one tear slipping down her face. The world seemed to have stopped and she wished this was a dream.
"If this is about the baby" she pleaded,this time begging with her own hands for love. "I..ended its life as you said..Philip. I did it ..with my own hands! I..aborted it..no..no one would know"
He turned to her fully,keeping his distance. "That is the more reason we can't do this! You are stained! I need an untouched woman," he said,looking at her as if she were disgusting."I do regret doing that with you"
"You stained me yourself Philip. You took..my..purity yourself." this time she didn't stop the tears from falling. Her heart was sinking."D-don't say that Philip I--".
"I am marrying Georgiana Lawrence and you are welcome at the ball. Goodbye, Lady Ravyns!" Saying that,with a bow,he strode off,leaving her in the iciness of her pain.
The last strength of hers left her body,her knees sinking to the ground as she sobbed quietly hopping no one would see her.
But this?
Her heart bled too much she knew she would die. Her eyes would fall out of her eyes because it hurt so much. She grasped her chest,exhaling for breath. How could she be a fool to have fallen? How could she?
She looked at her palm,smiling to herself as tears fell. "You said..you loved me,"
She could do nothing to stop the pain. She couldnt hide it under her stoicism this time. And she has started to believe what he said. Guilt washed her from the peak of her sanity to her soul.The humiliation was too much to bear. For the first time in her life,she believed someone cherished her beyond the airs.
Fate had a way of making her enjoy her rendez-vous and then laughing at her face. It was all a game to him. A dream.
But she could not erase the fact she had done something unspeakable.
She had slain her unborn child.
She had done that for love.
She had bore pain for him.
But..
He never loved her.
"You..said you ..loved me" she whispered again,this time bursting into torrents of tears. She didn't care this time who was going to see or hear.
For her heart bled.
She knew she would die.
And most importantly, no one even knew her pain. She had kept her lover a major secret that none knew she had done the unspeakable.
But that didn't bother her now.
Who was going to comfort her bleeding heart this time?