Chapter 211 A Declaration to Katherine

Bella gazed down upon the man who had just told her an hour ago how much he loved her. The way he held Katherine in his arms made her sick. She felt a knot in her stomach that made her want to throw up.

Charles stood there with his tight lips and a straight face. When she saw this unusual expression, Katherine raised her head and saw Bella. It suddenly occurred to her that this was the perfect opportunity to take revenge. She made a hostile frown and pointed her finger to where Bella was standing.

“Honey, she slapped me earlier!”

Bella went down the stairs and headed to the kitchen. She was trying her best to ignore the presence of Katherine. When she was out of her way, she began to cry. She felt so stupid for falling for Charles’s lies. She should have known that a wolf couldn’t turn into a sheep. She knew that he would never stop lying but that didn’t stop her for falling for his lies.

The spectacle she had just witnessed made her feel like an idiot. How could Charles ever stop loving Katherine? Why was she unable to see the truth?

She slammed the kitchen door behind her and grabbed a tissue to wipe the tears flowing down her cheek. What made her situation so pathetic was that, even after witnessing the two of them, she still loved Charles. It was a humiliating and worthless type of love, but she still clung to it as if her life depended on it. She sat on the chair and stretched her hands out in front of her. Her flawless, snowy white fingers were clutching an invisible enemy and her arms were trembling. The tears running down her face mixed with the trail of saliva hanging like a thin thread from her mouth. What a miserable and pathetic being she had become. No wonder Charles was treating her like a piece of shit. Why did she fall for him every time he said those fake words of love? Why was she unable to wake up from her eternal dream?

A major distraction from her inner thoughts came in the form of a sound that reached her ears. Someone was knocking on the door and calling her name.

“Who is this?”

“It’s me, Roy!”

She opened the door to let him in and shut it again. She didn’t want anyone else here. Roy was an exception because she believed he could do something to help her improve her mood.

“My Lady, would you like to drink something? Tea for example.”

That didn’t sound like a bad idea. Something sweet would make her feel better.

“Tea with some sugar and cream, please,” she said.

“Right away!”

He seemed to be in a hurry to please her and this didn’t make her feel comfortable. Roy was the main housekeeper and it was not required he take care of her personal needs.

“You don’t need to be like this with me,” she said. “I don’t like bothering others for my needs.”

“It is my pleasure to make tea for our Lady,” said Roy and put a cup of warm tea in front of her.

She took a sip and gave him a smile.

“How is it, my Lady?”

“It’s perfect, thank you.”

The hot tea and the smooth cream had a soothing effect on her mood. It made her body relax and her mind become clear. She gazed at Roy with gratitude. Not because he had come to make tea for her but because he had not left her alone on such a difficult moment.

“Tell me about her,” said Bella.

“Let me tell you a story that happened a long time ago,” said Roy. “A pretty little girl once helped a neglected boy in an orphanage. Years later when the scared boy had become a wealthy and powerful man, he found the girl-now a grown woman-and asked her what he could do to pay her back for her kindness. She took an instant liking in him and asked for his eternal and unconditional love. Something to which he agreed.”

The hand that was holding the cup trembled slightly upon hearing those last words. She put it down and gazed at him with hazy eyes that seemed lost.

“You must understand that the time he made this promise out of kindness, not out of love. He would have never said those words if he knew that one day he was going to meet you.”

“Do you think he loves me?”

“I do. More than anything else in the world.”

“He certainly has a way of showing it.”

Bella wiped off her tears and gulped up the tea. Why did it now taste so bitter?

How come it didn’t matter to Charles that Bella had saved his life so many times? He had proven so many times how ungrateful he could be yet he could not forget what a little girl had once done for him. Only a sociopath of the worst order could display such traits.

Roy clutched his head as he watched Bella walk out of the kitchen. He wanted to tell the Lady that the Lord still loved her but he only managed to mess up things. He now felt bad for the way he had spoken to her. He should have tried to give her some hope instead of making her lose faith in Charles. Katherine was very pleased to see Bella run back to her room like a scared little girl thought it would be better if she left the mansion once and for all.

Elsa showed up to check on her legs. She massaged them with her fingers for about ten minutes then applied a cream that made them feel warm.

“It’s no big deal,” said the old woman. “You sat for too long in an uncomfortable position and the blood could not run smoothly.”

“What about my face? Look what she did to me!”

“We shall apply some ice and then you shall return to your room and get some rest. This will do the trick.”

After the old woman did her job, she returned to her room leaving the two of them alone. Katherine was lying on the sofa with her bare feet stretched out. Her head was resting on a pillow and her right arm was elaborately positioned over her forehead. She asked Charles to massage her feet, something that he did reluctantly. Katherine gazed at his Adam’s apple, which bobbed up and down. He was thinking about Bella and she had to do something about it.

“We need to talk,” she said.

“You can talk about anything you want,” he said.

“Bella slapped me on the beach but I didn’t see you punishing her. Do you still love her?”

Charles didn’t attempt to avoid her question. It was better to give a straight reply. “Yes, I am in love with her.”

“How can you love her? You promised to love me forever. How can you fall in love with the surrogate?”

“Bell is not a surrogate. From the very beginning, I have forced her to marry me, sleep with me, kiss me, and obey me. I did all this because I believed it was a man’s instinct.”

“You stupid man! You could have done those things with me. I would have welcomed them. Anything would turn me on as long as it was from you.”

“Katherine, I never had any lustful thoughts for you, and that is because I don’t love you. What I have towards you is a sense of responsibility. Nothing else.”

Katherine felt those words like a hammer to her face. As it turned out, Bella’s slap wasn’t the worst thing that had happened to her this day.