Ensnaring his Dark Moon-Chapter 145: Not leaving him behind

*Flashback continues*

Esme emptied the glass of wine, the sweet taste soothing her throat but at the same time choking her up, "...And a child of unknown origins."

She could remember her Aunt’s words from that day.

’I had to do it. Esme is my responsibility. We owe her mother and I could not have left her there to die... She should never know about it. We can never tell her that her mother was never a real daughter of the Reis Family.’

"So my mother is not your biological sister?" She asked.

Marlene wanted to say something but when she saw the solemn look on Esme’s face, she knew she could not use any excuse at this point, "Yes, we were not blood-related. Your mother was an orphan. When she was young, she once saved my father. And my father, who was childless at that time, adopted her. She was talented, it further impressed him and he decided to train her as his successor. But later, our mother was pregnant. My father considered my elder sister as his lucky charm. He believed that she made their lives beautiful. His eldest child was Adrian’s father and he was a child prodigy. Eventually, everyone in our family started noticing elder brother, even our father and their attention shifted from your mother. Then, our mother gave birth to that man..." Marlene felt uncomfortable mentioning the name of that person even though he was dead already, "...And me."

"So, my mother was left in shadows?" Esme asked as she poured herself another glass of wine.

Marlene shifted in her chair. She did not know what to say, "She was..."

"And eldest uncle became the heir apparent?"

"Yes..."

"But how is it possible when my mother is older than him?" In their Kingdom, it did not matter whether the eldest child is a girl or boy. As long as they are not disabled and are eligible, the eldest child has the direct right on the throne.

"Mother sent an elder brother to her maternal family a few months after he was born and they brought him back when he was in his teenage. They lied to everyone about his age and the subjects were informed that he was one year older than your mother. They said that they kept their eldest child hidden to keep him safe."

"Mother was not the candidate for the throne anymore?" Esme crossed one leg above the other, swirling the wine in the glass.

She took a sip when her Aunt made another affirmative sound.

"Back then, Nevesray was just a small kingdom and it was going to be taken over by the East Kingdoms. There were wars everywhere. After my mother passed away, Father used to be lonely but this was a blow to him. He was bedridden for days...."

"And appointed my mother as the Queen of Nevesray on his deathbed because he wanted to protect his eldest son?" Esme interrupted her with her question.

Marlene paused briefly before nodding. For the first time, she was feeling uncomfortable while facing Esme, "Saving a kingdom which is on verge of destruction asks for blood and sacrifices. My eldest brother had a family and...."

"Whatever it was, my mother was used as a shield," Esme concluded, "But why was the eldest uncle known as the King then?"

"Your mother worked behind the scenes in every aspect. And elder brother...."

"Took the credits," Esme completed her words, taking another sip of wine, "But after my mother unified the Kingdoms and earned fame and glory for Nevesray, there was no way to hide it anymore. It was a timely coincidence that Uncle passed away at that time and hence, mother ascended the throne rightfully."

Her mother did not take over the throne after her Eldest Uncle’s death. All along, she was the Queen even though no one was aware of it.

"This is what happened...." Marlene sighed, "Esme... I..."

"Aunt, you don’t need to say anything," Esme placed the wine glass on the table, "I won’t lie... I was disturbed by the fact that I am not related to you by blood. I was angry and disappointed that I knew nothing about this. That’s why I didn’t talk to you about this. But now I feel relieved."

"Relieved?" Marlene was stunned.

"Yes. I am relieved that I know the truth before I could make any impulsive decisions. I don’t want to go back with you to Nevesray...."

"Esme, no matter what, your identity is not a lie. You are the Princess of Nevesray and my eldest sister will always be the Queen. Whenever she comes back, she will take over the throne."

"I don’t know what kind of person she is because I have never met her. As for me, I know that I will always be the Princess but I didn’t make this decision because of the truth I discovered. I never wanted to go back. I want to stay here and explore things that I want to know about myself, my origin, and everything else..." Esme stroked Marlene’s hand before letting go of it.

"Esme..."

Esme picked up the glass of wine before gulping it down, "And there is this man I don’t want to leave behind. Initially, I wanted to and I tried to do that but now I know, I will regret it. Aunt... I... I think I have gotten too used to him. Maybe this was his scheme all along. He made me get used to him so much so that I won’t know what I will do without him."

"You have grown up," Marlene cupped Esme’s cheeks, "I was doubtful about you both because your relationship seemed to be irritated by him when we first met but now I can see that things have changed."

"Nothing has changed. I am still irritated by him. I just dislike him a little less," Esme quickly waved her hand.

Marlene chuckled.

Esme pushed herself to her feet, "Although I am no one to hold grudges over the matters of the past but I won’t say I don’t feel upset over it. Aunt, you have done so much for me and I will always love you the most but now that things have come to this, everything is bittersweet. I have sweet memories in the Reis Family along with some scary ones but this left a bitter taste in my mouth. It’s like a scar which will never fade..."

"Stop going around in circles. What you are trying to say is...?"