Stand By Me Darling
Chapter 73: Decision

Chapter 73: Decision

My mother was killed by Fred’s uncle?

Talia couldn’t believe what she was hearing for sometime and she could feel her automatically getting away from Fred.

She loved her mother, so much. She still remembered her smell and her smile. She had the prettiest smile and there was none prettier than her mother.

Her mother would make her dinner every night and would read her stories to bed every night. Her mother would take her out, dressed her prettily and would also make her the best chocolate cake.

Talia still remembered how excited she was to have a little brother and that day they kept her away from her mother because her mother was having the baby and she was not supposed to disturb her. She cried and threw a tantrum and so she was allowed in for a minute and she still remembered the smile her mother put on for her amidst her pain. Her face was covered with perspiration and although they tried to cover everything, she could see a lot of blood through the gap. She remembered getting scared.

"Be a good girl, Talia" her mother said smiling, "You can meet your little brother soon... Mummy loves you!"

She left the room obediently as Cyrus carried her. Standing outside the room, she could hear her mother’s cry and not able to bear it she walked out in the garden while Cyrus stayed outside the room.

She wanted her mother to be okay and to see her little brother.

That’s when someone told her about the Church on the other side of the creek. She was told that if you light a candle in that Church for her mother, she’d be fine. And so she went there.

But her mother wasn’t okay and she didn’t even see her brother. She heard he looked a lot like her grandmother.

Talia then remembered the words her grandfather said during the wake of her mother. She didn’t like to sit there in that long table with others. She wanted her mother and they all said her mother went to heaven. But she wanted her mother and cried. She always gets what she wanted if she cried.

"You purple-eyed monster who killed my daughter !"

She remembered seeing the rage in her grandfather’s eyes when he said that. Till then she was never once even scolded by her grandpa. Even when her mother scolds her, her grandpa would stop her from punishing her and would bring her out and buy her candies.

She didn’t know why her grandpa was unhappy with her and called her a monster but she knew her grandpa liked her smile and so she tried to smile. But it seemed like even her smile made her grandpa more unhappy and she didn’t know what to do.

Thank goodness Cyrus took her away. But her grandpa’s words got engraved deeply in her heart.

’Purple-eyed monster’

She later learnt about the lore in her country about the ugly monster with the purple eyes living in the forest that would bring bad luck to anyone who lays eyes on it.

She actually believed she was a monster but Cyrus assured her she was not. As she grew up, she could understand lores aren’t real and there aren’t monsters but still she couldn’t shake off the belief rooted deep in her heart.

’I thought it was my bad luck that my mother and brother died. So it was Fred’s uncle?’

’Ambushed on the way to hospital... My mother should have had bodyguards. How could she be... Ah, right! They should have been searching for me... The stupid me who believed some stupid superstition and ran off... Ugh! I can see now why my grandpa was angry at me... It was in a way my act that ended up getting my mother killed...’

’ But it’s not my fault... Who ambushes a woman on the way to hospital to deliver a child? That heartless demon! It was that Sinclair who killed my mother! Those darned red-haired monsters! They took my mother away from me!’

Talia felt her blood boiling in rage.

Realising Talia retracting slowly from his embrace, Arthur felt his heart fall to his stomach.

"Iris," he tried to hold her cheek but she slapped his hand off and sat up.

Arthur felt his blood flowing backwards seeing the burning hate in her eyes. Her lips were trembling maybe because she was searching for words to say. And he knew they won’t be pleasant to hear.

He sat up blaming his luck for not even able to hold on to his happiness just for an hour.

"Iris... You..." he gulped as he felt his throat getting dry. He was so happy some moments ago but there is already this big rift had formed between them.

She was right when she said there are a lot of landmines that would blow up anytime if they share a life together, wasn’t she?

"You didn’t know?"

He always admired her willingness to even look at him knowing the fact that his uncle killed her mother. But it seems like she didn’t know. He could understand the rage in her heart. Who in this God’s green earth would be able to love a person after knowing his family killed their mother? Even saints can’t do that. And she is one of the most vengeful person he knows.

Talia looked at the man looking pale as a sheet even under those warm lights. The duvet had fallen from his shoulders revealing his broad chest and there it was... That bright, purple iris right at the centre, the size of her palm. She retracted her gaze away from him and took a deep breath closing her eyes..

She knew of the family he belonged to, right? She always knew he was one of those red-haired monsters she was warned of even when she was a child...

But she always found him different from what she was told to expect him to be.

So... She now learnt that his uncle is responsible for the death of his mother and brother. And this led to her father succumbing to alcohol and his early demise.

Is it devastating?

Yes!

These truths hurt her so much.

And... Has anything changed now regarding her feelings towards Fred?

No!

He is not involved in her mother’s death, is he? In fact, he protected her that day and so did his brother Roderick.

If so, how can she blame anything on Fred?

There still was a slight reluctance in her heart and feared that she might not accept him wholeheartedly like before.

But she reminisced all the good times she had with him and all her doubts flew away.

He is still the man who makes her laugh.

The same man who killed his own brother to protect her...

The same man who waited a decade for her...

The same man who stayed with her even when she hurled insults at him...

Her Freddy bear... The man she loves with all her heart.

And she realised even her grandfather cozied up with Fred knowing all the facts. So he must be someone good, right?

Talia took a deep breath and her eyes that were stinging a lot already with her crying previously, watered once more.

She didn’t realise that she’s been sitting with her eyes closed for half an hour already and the man had already left her side and walked out.

Arthur standing by the counter, poured some water for him in a glass and took a sip. He squinted his eyes in deep thoughts as he remembered the red marks on her shoulders. He wanted to smash the glass in his hands out of anger.

I hurt her.

As she was sitting on the bed with her eyes closed like she was meditating, the duvet slipped from her shoulders revealing her fair shoulders.

And that’s when he saw the finger marks making red patches on her shoulders. He was the one who previously held her hard on her shoulders and she even flinched in pain.

I promised myself not to hurt her and now I’ve hurt her myself!

He blamed himself.

Talia opened her eyes and she could hear the slight movements in the kitchen and she walked there as she had reached a decision.

The moment she laid her eyes on him, he turned and showed his back to her. She didn’t think much of it and it brought a slight smile to her lips.

Is he feeling bad for what his family did and trying to mope around? Isn’t he cute?

She walked up to him and with no second thoughts hugged his wide back. She could feel his body was cold. So cold that she never had felt him this cold before.

Pressing her naked upper body firmly on his cold back, she felt a slight shiver. But she pushed through and her long slender fingers trailed from his neck and slowly reached around his abdomen and she held him closer.

She stood close to him, hugging him for sometime and she could feel him warming up.

And now he was blazing hot!

She smiled, ’This is easy!’

Arthur on the other hand couldn’t understand her actions. He thought she was mad at him for what his family did and also because he had physically harmed her. He thought she’d definitely throw him away.

But why is she hugging me?

Even though he was stressed, his body had reacted on his own as he could feel her soft body pressing on his back and he could feel his abdomen getting tight. He could not help his reactions and blamed himself more.

Talia could sense he was tense and decided to play with him a while.

" I feel dirty! I’ll go take a shower," she said and walked to the bathroom.

Arthur saw her walking past him, with part of her hair covering her breasts and a little bunch of her hair was on her back and her plump tush was entirely exposed as she walked to the bathroom. He wanted to give a slap to that mushy thing.

Damn! What is she doing to me? Feeling dirty? Why? Because of me? She hates me that much?

Arthur looked down at his erect manhood and sighed as he rubbed his face with both of his palm.

Why is she walking around naked in front of the man she hates? What is she trying to achieve? She is trying to kill me, I know!

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