The Dragon Prince's Bride
Chapter 233. He hates me.

Chapter 233: 233. He hates me.

"What happened Neriah, how could you run away like that? You have no idea how worried we’ve been about you." Rakavi says as they sit Neriah down on a rickety wooden chair just beside where Barak was laid.

"How could you do that to us, my child?" says Bashan who had been stricken with worry after the news of her disappearance reached his ears. "After all we talked about. After all I told you. Does that mean my words meant nothing to you?"

Neriah instantly shook her head vehemently, tears welling up in her eyes all over again. "Please do not say that. Please, I beg you. You must believe me when I tell you that I have come to love and respect you both as much as I respect the ones or birthed me. The goddess bears me witness when I say I take you both as my own parents." She confessed the truth that came from the depth of her heart.

"Then why my child? Why would you flee? Why put not just yourself, but the life of your unborn child in danger? How could you cause us all to worry so much?" Bashan held onto her hand and the tears in her eyes fell.

"Forgive me. Forgive me mother, forgive me father." She cries. "I really did not mean to make you worry, I just could not hold back my hate and anger for myself and for the man who did this to our family." She confesses.

"I missed Barak so much it had driven me to madness. All I wanted was vengeance." She had held on to the hope that her husband was alive somewhere. Even though he wasn’t totally well, she had hope that he was alive, but when Raknar and Regina had returned with news of his death confirmed, and their wedding rings as proof, she had lost all common sense.

The feeling of burying her husband without a body was painful, the fact that she would no longer see him drove her mad at that moment she had lost all reason. All that was left echoing in her head as vengeance.

"I wanted to avenge the death of my husband who had died so painfully and pitifully. I know I have no right to do that because it’s all my fault in the first place but—" She sniffles and wipes her tears with the back of her palm.

"I knew I was the only one who could draw Lyle out from his hiding place and I wanted to be the one who would kill him with my own hands."

At this point, Barak could hear everything she was saying. He kept his eyes closed, pretending to still be unconscious and quietly, he listened. He could hear the sob in every words she spoke. And damn everything that had happened, he really wanted to believe her.

In fact, the truth was that at this point, he really didn’t want to bother believing her anymore. He didn’t want to even care if she was lying or telling the truth all he wanted was to hold her and wipe those tears.

He’d always been a fool for her.

And even after all that had happened, it was clear that he still was.

"I wanted to stab him with the same knife he had stabbed Barak with and I was close. So very close, I had him in my grip. I had that bastard right in the palm of my hands. I had him pinned underneath me. All I needed to do was take out my dagger and stab him straight in the heart!!" She burned with anger afresh as she remembered the night before.

"But then someone burst into the room and a fight broke out."

Was that what was happening? Barak wondered.

When he had seen her in that position last night, when he had heard the things she said, his entire body had burned with anger and jealousy. He had been certain that she was about to give herself to the man.

But then if that was not the case, if what she was saying now was true and she was in that position, and was saying all those things just to get a chance to avenge his death then that changed almost everything.

Again he wondered, could she be telling the truth?

"I was kidnapped by a familiar stranger. I tried to escape and that was when he revealed himself to me as Barak." She looked down at the man who was laid on the ground next to her feet. "And I understand why he hates me," The tears had quickly returned again. "I understand, I really do. I understand why he won’t believe me, but it hurts mother." She turns to Rakavi with the tears trailing down her red cheeks, her voice trembling and her body shivering.

"It hurts so much when he looks at me with so much disgust in his eyes." Her words when she was in pain had always been like daggers to his heart and today was no different. Where he laid, pretending to still be unconscious, the ache in his heart seems to double as she speaks.

"It hurt twice as much when he finally saw I was with child and he hated me and the child because he believes it must be the child of Lyle." She cries even more and Barak is conflicted once again. She sounds so sincere. Dear gods, how could her words be lies?

She was a good liar but she couldn’t possibly be lying about all this? What more could she wish to gain to keep up such lies?

"I understand why he hates me, but he won’t even look at his child. I’m the sinner, this child in me did no wrong, so how do I make Barak understand that? I don’t want him to hate me, I don’t know what else to do. I’ve begged but he won’t listen. He only sneers at my cries. What more am I supposed to do?"