The Dragon Prince's Bride
Chapter 197. The truth.

Chapter 197: 197. The truth.

There was no arguing the fact that Raknar was right. There was no easy way to explain how she had fled the crime scene and then ended up at whatever port she was found. Only a criminal would run after something like that happened. The more she thought about it the more clear it became to her why Lyle had done that.

He had moved her around in an unconscious state for days so as to really put it all on her. To make it seem as though she had plotted to kill her husband and after doing so, she had fled. While she had woken up once she heard him talk about how this family would hate her once they found out what she had done.

So this was his plan to make them hate her. He wanted her to see the hatred of these people because in a normal circumstance, judging by her previous lies, no one would believe a word she said, especially when she had fled the place like a criminal would.

To be honest it was a brilliant plan. Just to make her see the so-called other side of her husband’s family, he had gone through all that trouble. Little did Neriah know that the man’s devious plans were bigger and beyond her. She was just the expendable part of his plans. Just a person he wished to torment. She still believed he was obsessed with her and loved her in his own twisted way, because he made her believe that. She had no idea that from the very beginning, he had just been using her.

With no other way to explain the truth to them, Neriah told them everything. From the very beginning. From the time she had first met Barak, to why she met him and the things that followed and made up the Chapters of their life together. She told everything without leaving a single detail.

At some point, she could see tears fill up Rakavi’s eyes, when Neriah had explained how the entire incident of Barak’s supposed death had taken place, she had seen Rakavi fight everything to stop herself from letting those tears fall.

The woman was strong, she did not let them fall. She held them for as long as she could until she could no longer hold them and hid her face in the arm of her husband.

However, it was hard to tell... Did they believe her? Or were her words the mere ranting of a cornered mouse who was already a good liar?

"All you have told us is the truth?" Rakavi asked and Neriah nodded. "You do know we have a royal detector who could check for lies, so I ask again, is every word you have said true?"

"Moth—" Neriah paused as she was about to call her mother but was suddenly overwhelmed with guilt. She felt as though she had no right to call the woman mother, she did not deserve it. Not after the problems she had caused.

"If you do not believe me, I can do nothing. However, I—" she paused. She really didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want them to think she was trying to use her tears to convince them. "The one thing I regret the most is hesitating again and again like a fool. Many times I had thought about telling Barak the truth, and all those times I had hesitated. And when I finally gathered courage to tell him, thinking it was the perfect time, things ended up this way."

"What you are saying is?"

"There is no such thing as perfect timing. Only now have I realized that. There is no perfect time. As long as you get the chance, do it and that is why I am telling you the whole truth now. I do not wish to wait for a perfect time, because the only thing that happens when one waits for perfect timing is unending distrust. The disbelief and malice will continue to grow while I wait for a perfect time and I will end up regretting it like I do right now."

The room went silent and eyes shifted from one person to another until Neriah spoke again, "I am not lying... I know these words mean nothing coming from a person like me but I am not lying." She said again.

...

After a few more questions, they had left Neriah and each and everyone of them had a lot to think about. Her words seemed believable, but were they really true? It was hard to believe a person who was known to be a liar, especially when the situation involved the life of a person. Not just any person, but the crown prince.

It was really hard to pick whether to believe or not. Even though they wanted to trust, her secret affair that had come to light were part of the things that made it hard for anyone to believe her.

"Do you think brother is alive?" Rakima asked Raknar as they both sat together after returning from Neriah’s room.

"Do you think he is dead?" Raknar asked in turn.

"He is Barak, he could not have been killed so easily. I mean by arrows? I know she said it seemed he had been stabbed in the chest but who would believe anything she said? She is a liar and—"

"Well to be honest, I think she is telling the truth."

"What!?" Rakima yelled.

"You cannot be serious can you? Raknar, brother is lost right now because of her. We have no idea what or why he is and if he—" she paused as she was choked by sobs that suddenly overwhelmed her. "—we do not know if he is alive or dead and you believe that that lying, cheating, devious woman could be telling the truth?" Rakima could not believe the words her brother was saying. To think her brother was actually busy ng into the whole drama the woman had played out in front of them was much more funny than any joke she had ever hear.

"You said it yourself. You searched for her for days! Do you probably believe that nonsense about her not knowing how she got there? That does not make sense!"

"To be honest it does. Considering the condition I met her in." Raknar said and Rakima scoffed and laughed like she had heard the funniest joke of the century and yet stopped halfway into the laugh because it was not actually funny anymore!

"Brother are you joking!"

"I am not. Rakima think about it, I am not justifying her adultery, nor am I e excluding her of all sins but I am saying, I feel like she is telling the truth." Raknar explained and Rakima angrily stood from the chair in front of him and walked toward the window as though she was trying to feel the breeze hoping it would help her calm her anger.

"Rakima, when I found she was completely unconscious like I already told you all. I do not think someone who was in such a state was fleeing, rather I believe she had ingested something to keep her that way for a long period and after her explanation, I think she might really be telling the truth."

"Brother, what if that too was an act?"

"Rakima," Raknar called with questionable and eyes.

"Do not look at me like that. She has acted out more perfect scenes than this one, who is to say what you saw was not part of her act."

"She was drugged Rakima. I think I can tell a woman faking unconsciousness from a woman who is actually unconscious."

"What if she had planned it all? What if she drugged herself or had someone drug her so she could tell us this stupid story and we could doubt her hand in any of this."

"Rakima, now you are being unreasonable."

"No!!" She snapped. "No I am not! The only one being unreasonable is you, mother and father! You should have that woman thrown in the torturing chamber yet you all have her pampered in brother’s room! We need to torture the truth out of her! Can you all not see that?!"

"Why are you suddenly like this, I thought you were both of good terms now."

"That was before she murdered my brother!" Rakima screamed. "I warned her! I warned her that if anything were to happen to brother, if any harm was to come to him because of her I would not let her be! I will not forgive her!!"

"Rakima, you need to calm down and think of this from every angle."

"I have and every angle says this woman is a wicked being who has done something to brother! And until I find my brother alive I will not believe otherwise!"

"Rakima calm down." Raknar said.

"I will not! And she better hopes brother turns up in a harbor somewhere alive and well or I swear it she will suffer."