Ensnaring his Dark Moon-Chapter 146: Give and take

*Flashback continued*

Esme pushed herself to her feet, "Although I am no one to hold grudges over the matters of the past 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...?" Marlene interrupted her.

"Let’s not stay in touch after you leave. No matter what you talk about, it will always remind me of everything you told me today."

Marlene’s eyes teared up, "Esme, don’t do this. You know that my love for you has always been genuine even if it started only as a responsibility. I beg you. Nothing much, just let me know if you are doing well or if something is bothering you. Don’t cut off ties with us..." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"If something is bothering me and I write a letter to you for help, I will start thinking how lonely my mother must have been back in those years with nobody to lean on. When women were admiring flowers and moon, what exactly did she go through to steel her heart, to erase her fears, and to have that confidence to conquer unify the kingdoms. Did it hurt her? Did she cry?" Esme blinked, "But in the end, no one was there for her. She was left to survive all by herself. I am the daughter of that woman and since she survived it, I will also survive my battles."

Tears streamed down her cheeks and Marlene lowered her head, "Aren’t you being too harsh on me?"

Esme’s fingers curled into a fist. I’m sorry, Aunt. Although I mean everything I said, I don’t have anything against you. But I want to protect you like you have been protecting me all these years. It is not safe here and I don’t want you to be dragged into this mess because of me.

Esme doubted that Marlene had an inkling of the existence of creatures like witches and merfolk. All these years, she had already sacrificed enough for her. Now that it is time for her to be happy with Elias, she did not want any deterrence to occur in their relationship.

But if she said her thoughts aloud then there was no way her Aunt would idly sit by and enjoy her life knowing about everything going on in her life.

So in the end, Esme chose the other way.

"I am not being harsh, Aunt. It’s the easy way out of it. I don’t want to hurt myself thinking about it again and again and it’s also good for you to move on with your life. I don’t want to hurt you by my words or actions whenever I remember my mother was wronged by our entire family."

"But..."

Esme stepped forward and knelt in front of the woman before holding her hands, "Let me have my way this time. You can rest assured that I will be fine with Aleister around. I trust him so can you. And maybe one day in the future, I will come to look for you," But for now, it would be better to stay away from each other lest our family is implicated by me.

Marlene inhaled a deep breath and wiped her tears, "I know. It must be tough on you."

Esme smiled, "I am fine. But Aunt, I’ll need your help with something."

"Huh? What’s that?" Marlene blinked, confused by her words.

"Pretend that I’m leaving with you," Noticing her questioning gaze, Esme explained everything briefly. She did not go into details and told her Aunt that it might help them catch the murderer.

Although Marlene was hesitating initially, but she agreed to it after Esme told her that she will be safe.

"I’ll leave now. See you later," Esme turned around to walk towards the door but she paused.

Thinking about something, she walked back to where her Aunt was sitting.

She glanced at the jar of wine in contemplation. And after giving it a thought, she picked it up and gulped all the wine down without any hesitation.

There were a few drops of wine left in the jar and she quickly sprinkled it on herself.

Esme sniffed herself before smiling at Marlene, "I’ll leave now," she waved and ran out of the room.

Marlene: "_"

After looking at the door strangely for some time, Marlene slumped in her chair, "What about the quiet, calm, and emotionless girl that I’ve been seeing for years? When did she change so much? Or has my niece always been like this?"

No matter what the truth was, Marlene was relieved that Esme chose Aleister. Initially, she held prejudices against him but not anymore.

He brought out the best and worst in her. Esme was not like an emotionless doll anymore and there was nothing more Marlene could hope for.

"I just hope you can forgive us soon, Esme," Marlene closed her eyes.

Unaware to her, Esme was never angry with her, to begin with. She only wanted to protect her.

Although she felt indignant for what happened with her mother but she understood how the world worked. In the current times, their kingdom had built shelters for orphans but back in those days, there was nothing.

If the King did not adopt her mother, then she might have died out there in the wilderness or she might have been sold because of her beauty. She grew up in luxury and got everything she pointed her fingers at.

So, eventually, this day had to come when she would be asked to pay back.

According to Esme, there is no free food in the world. It is always ’give and take’ or else the balance goes off.

It could be said that the former King did not treat his adopted daughter well in the end. Esme’s heart ached whenever she thought about what her mother went through. But this is just the reality of this world.

Selfish and ruthless.