Chapter 212 The Sleepwalker

Charles knew that if he tried to hide his true feelings from Katherine he would only make things worse in the long run. By giving her the truth, he would force her to do something that would help improve her life. She would be freed from her illusions and she would be able to purchase real happiness somewhere else.

“At the beginning, I did not believe it myself. But now, I am certain that I’m in love with Bella.”

Katherine was trembling and her face was distorted by her hysterical reaction. Her pretty features had now transformed into a grotesque masque that reflected the ugliness of her inner world.

“You said that you will love me forever. How can you leave me at such a moment when I need you so much?”

“I’m sorry. You will have to adjust yourself to a new reality. It won’t be too hard once you get used to it.”

“You don’t understand! What Bella can offer you, so can I. You will never know the feeling of making love with me, not unless you try. If you wish, we can do it right now. You will find that I am much better than she is.”

“If I wanted to have sex with you I would have already done that. Can’t you see that you don’t turn me on the least bit? I think it’s about time you get real and see what you want to do with your life. There is no point in waiting for something that will never happen.”

“You need to understand one thing. I shall never let go of you.”

She grabbed his arm and dug her nails deep into the flesh. She tried to pull him closer to her but he grabbed her wrist and twisted it so she had to let go.

“Ouch! You’re hurting me,” she said and loosened her grip.

“I’m out of here,” he said.

She felt her entire being sucked into a black pit. What could she do now that she had lost everything? It would be foolish to try to win back his love. Even if she removed all of her clothes and threw herself at him, he wouldn’t even look at her. What she needed now was to gain some time. This way she would be able to reevaluate her strategies and goals and set up a new plan. The battle was lost but that didn’t mean the entire war was lost. There was still some hope for Katherine as long as she stopped behaving like a hysterical bitch and started using her brain.

“Wait a minute! I have a last request.”

“Go ahead,” he said.

“Don’t tell my father about this. I will tell him when the time is right.”

“That can be done.”

“One more thing. Please don’t send me away from the Mansion. Not for now at least. We need to think about my dad’s reaction. Let me leave after I have told him everything.”

“Nobody is kicking you out of here. You can stay as long as you like.”

“Thank you,” she said. “I appreciate you doing this for me.”

“Have you see Brandon?” he asked.

“Brandon? Do you mean that kid? Is he your son with Bella?”

Did Charles just drop a hint that he was treating her like shit because she had treated the boy in the same manner? Maybe this was the reason he was angry with her. In that case, all she needed to do was to treat the kid in a better manner and things would improve between the two of them.

“Why do you think so?”

“You’re telling me he is not your son?”

Without answering the question, Charles walked out of the room. Katherine was now alone in the study and she had all the time to ponder on her mistakes. What would happen if he ever discovered that he had given a promise of eternal love to someone who had lied to him? A lot of time had passed since the incident and it would be hard to research the facts but not impossible. If he started digging into the past, he would eventually find out that she wasn’t the person he was looking for. She was nothing but an imposter.

Charles was also beginning to have doubts about the events that occurred fifteen years ago. He called Ziv and asked him to look into this. He would have to find out the identities of everyone who was at the Polar region on the day the accident occurred. Ziv told him that this was equal to searching for a needle in a haystack. It would take years to come up with an accurate list.

“It doesn’t matter how long it takes. I just want the truth. Now get onto it.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

Bella went to bed very early that night. She had a dream where she was walking naked in the jungle. A boa constrictor reached out to her from a tree and wrapped itself around her. It squeezed her so hard she could not breathe. The pressure was unbearable and she could hear the sound of her bones being crushed.

Just a moment before drawing her last breath, she woke up covered in sweat. She gazed at the ceiling for a few moments before closing her eyes again. Her intention was to go back to sleep but found that something was bothering her. She opened her eyes again and turned her head to the left.

Charles was lying on the bed right next to her.

“What are you doing in my bed?” she shouted and jumped up ready to defend herself in case he wanted to rape her. She could see his dark desires reflecting in his eyes. It was a miracle he hadn’t done it to her while she was sleeping.

“What are you talking about?” he asked. “This is my room.”

“That’s impossible.”

But as she looked around, she realized he was telling the truth. She really was in his room.

This discovery brought her into a state of shock. How had she come to Charles’s room so late at night?

This reminded her of a story she had once heard at college. A senior had a crush on one of her classmates. She was so lovesick she began sleepwalking at night. She would go outside his dormitory and confess her love to him.

What was happening now was very clear? Bella was a sleepwalker. There could be no other explanation. For the sake of Charles, she had become a sleepwalker.

“Why don’t you go back to sleep?” said Charles. “It’s too early to get up.”

He reached out for her but she backed away. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

“Don’t touch me! I’m going back to my room.”

She opened the door to make sure there was no one outside and ran as fast as she could back to her room. She slammed the door and jumped on the bed. She crawled under the covers and pulled them over her head.

She was now safe.