27. Truth

Mr. Black drove us to his house. It felt strange having to be at Candice's house without her but yet it felt at home. I was comfortable. Mr. Black took off to find a bottle of red wine, an expensive bottle of wine no doubt. My most valuable bottle cost about $250 and I was quite fine with it. I didn’t have money to waste with my rent and other expenses on my shoulder. The house was quiet. I walked towards the reading room, it was a small room with a couch that overlooked the garden, the tennis field and most of the back yard, including the pool area.3

I took my heals off and made myself comfortable. I considered myself a critic. I knew there had to be God because who created us? I knew there had to be evil because how would my family make a living? My life was messed up. I believed in God but I question him a lot because if he was all that powerful…why not stop evil? Why not stop the pain and suffering? Why death? Then we had the devil…the fallen angel.

Was that the future writing its self? We were all born innocent and somehow we fell? We were welcomed to evil and that’s when we chose our path. We get so confused and lost that we often do what others do just to avoid being alone. We all have our moments and we all have destruction.

“Princess.” Mr. Black broke my thoughts. I gave him a tight smile. “You seem deep in thought.” he made himself comfortable.

“Life, I guess.” he took a seat and poured for us. “I have so many questions that will never get answers.” I took the glass he offered. “Thank you.”

He came to sit next to me. “Well, Princess. It’s just us. Ask me anything and I’ll answer honestly.”

“You always do,” I said with a smile and stared out the window. I had nothing to ask him. I know it is wrong to question God and I hate myself for doing it but I can’t help it. I question everything, including myself. It was in my blood, it is who I am.

“Princess, Do you know how royalty works?” He asked after a moment of silence. I nodded. My favorite royal family was the Britain family. The fact that the Queen could rule even in her old day amazed me. I loved them, I loved what they doing to the country and I loved the place. “You will remain a princess until you marry a King.”

“I won’t marry you,” I said before he could even get the idea. “And where is all of this coming from?”

“Princess, you fighting something that doesn’t need fighting. You want to give in and the factors you think of are irrelevant.” He answered. “I want you as my queen and you fighting it, is prolonging the inevitable.”

“Irrelevant? How can I be in a relationship with you if I don’t even know who you are?” God knew that it was a lie. I didn’t care about this man’s past or present. I cared about the future and I wanted myself in it. I wanted to be the one he came home too. I wanted to be his princess but fear is a factor in my life. I feared that when I give in, the chase would be over and he would tire of me. I feared that the secrets he hides could destroy our relationship. I feared the fear might keep me away from him. But what I feared the most is life without him.3

Mr. Black had taken over my thoughts, my life, my home. He has always been there. Maybe not physically but emotionally. He was always there. Before I sleep I think of him, when I drink coffee, I think of him. But I won’t give in, I couldn’t. we weren’t destined to be together. It was written in the stars, he says but they can lie. This could all be a dream and I am afraid to wake up.

“Are you ready for the unknown, princess?”

“Yes.” a lie. The silence between us was deafening. I was scared. I feared the words that are about to come out of his mouth.

“I have a lot of enemies but I know all of them and I know their weakness.” He said and moved closer towards me. “A stubborn tiger will challenge a lion but Lion will protect his throne, protect his pride and in the end, the Lion will remain the King of Jungle.”

“I don’t understand, Mr. Black.”

“I will protect anyone in my circle. I am a King, princess and you know exactly what my kingdom consists of.”

“I grew up in violence. I watched how my brothers were beaten up, I watched them recover and I watched them grew stronger. I am no stranger to the world of the illegal but I need a normal life.” I wanted normalcy. I wanted a husband coming home from work tired but always had energy for me. I wanted him to tell me about business and not about drug deals or cargo going missing. I wanted to hold his hand in public and get looks of admiration and not hatred and judgemental looks. All of that is impossible with Mr. Black.

“It doesn’t matter where you go, it doesn’t matter how fast you run. I will find you, princess. You are mine and will always be mine.” He said, a few centimeters away from my mouth. I was so ready for that kiss but he pulled away. “I’m not a fan of kissing females,” he said and I gave him a weird look.

I didn’t trust my voice, my throat dried up as soon as he was near enough to kiss me. I took a sip of my drink. “It's delicious.” I said, changing the subject to the wine.

“Don’t underestimate my tongue skills.” I didn’t. My eyes immediately went to his mouth and caught the smirk on his lips. “Every female I slept with, I never kissed. She had to be special to receive that, meaning she had to be with me for at least a week or Candice had us set up.”

“What does that say about me? That Candice was my lucky ticket.” Crack! I could hear the crack sound of my heartbreaking. Was he trying to make me jealous? Well done. Did he hurt me? Yes, he did. Was I crazy to feel this way? Yes, I was.

“Princess…”

“Why do you call me ‘princess’?” I asked him and took a sip from my drink.

“Rosella, you have a beautiful name, my sweetness,but I call you 'princess' because you are my princess. You are mine.” he took a sip from his drink. He had whiskey, something I didn’t notice until I followed it going down his throat, watching his Adam apple raise and fall. I licked my lips. “You're more than special to me. You are the women I see myself raising children with, the women who will care for Candice and the rest of family. You are the one I want memories with, key chains with, a room full of photos with. Princess, I want you and only you and I swear to god, if I can’t have you, no one will.”

Because I was his. He didn’t need to finish, I knew what he wanted to say. I was crying. This cold-hearten man saw a future with me in it and what got me crying was that he saw a mundane future, a future I wanted, a future he was willing to give me. “I need to know the truth. The full truth.”

“You sure, my love?” Love…my heart was in overdrive. I nodded and so an innocent rose was tainted.