by Emily Sharp
Adara shook her head, not imagining the pain Sofia had lived through. She was her friend, and she would not see her hurt another moment. “I will get you out of here one way or another.”
“No. You must not, for I fear for my mother.”
Adara bit down on her lip. The horrible things Sofia had gone through, the lies that Sofia had to tell her, it was all unreal. But she had seen the meanness gone from Louise.
“Sofia, maybe she has really changed. There is now light in her eyes. She has become a different woman, far different than the one I first met when I arrived here.” Adara said.
“You did not arrive here,” Sofia's whispered.
“What do you mean?” Adara said, a cold chill rushing through her, fear moving with it.
“You can access the video and go to the date you came here with your ring correct?” Sofia said.
Adara nodded, dread filling her as she looked at her own hand.
“Go to that morning when you found the rose. Then you will know everything.”
Without another word, Adara hurried out of the room and down the hallway, knowing in her heart, the last secret of the castle was about to be revealed.
***
Adara stood in front of the purple curtains as they parted, revealing the numerous screens. Grabbing the phone that Louise had given her, she punched in the date she had first arrived. Then skipping to around the time she guessed they had walked by, she saw an image of her and her father on the tenth screen. Crying, she wiped at her eyes, watching her father step through the fence, extend his hand to help her over. Then moments later, him taking his knife and cutting the rose off for her.
It seemed like yesterday, not over nine months ago, that it all had happened. Then in the lower corner, she saw Louise and Sofia. Typing in the number assigned to them, the other image disappeared. Turning the volume up, she swallowed hard.
“You see, Sofia, what I want I get. My security is bringing them to the gate this very moment. The beautiful woman will be mine forever.”
Adara watched the screen as Sofia, her head down, dared not look up.
“Just like the bank I had refuse his loan, the rose I planted, all thing work to my benefit,” Louise said, a mad laugh following. Adara shook her head, then began typing in random dates. Her eyes searched the screen, her heart horrified at what she saw.
There were videos of Adara's sisters on the front porch of the cabin, gossiping and speaking horrible things about her father. Another video showed Adara comforting her dad on one of their walks, his words about missing her mother personal, yet Louise had heard every word.
The realization that she had been spied on for so long sent chills through Adara, her heart racing, her mouth going dry.
From the day she moved into the cabin, and many dates after, there were images of her and her father on their walks. And all of their conversations had been recorded.
Adara had been duped from the moment she arrived. No, before that, like Sofia had told her. And now, not only was she heartbroken, she was angry. Angry for what Louise had done to her, her father and Sofia.
“Adara?”
She turned around, putting the phone in her pocket, her jaw clenched. Louise came walking in, her footsteps hurried, her green dress flowing around her feet.
“What is wrong?” she asked, her voice kind, but Adara now knew it was just an act.
“Do not touch me ever again!”
Louise's hand reared back. “I don't understand.”
“You don't, do you?” Adara said, her voice rising. “Do you understand what it means to spy on someone? Or to plant a rose to bring them to your home? Then…then…use them, manipulate them, and crush them!” She burst into sobs, her hands moving to cover her face. How dare this woman treat her so!
“I can explain, I did not mean…” Louise said, before Adara cut her off.
“And Sofia, you keep her prisoner here! Are you that sick, that twisted? You threaten her mother so she can stay. Was my father next?”
Louise shook her head, her arms crossing over her stomach, the tears falling that Adara knew were not real. Nothing about this woman in front of her was real.
“I was going to let her go. I swear…”
“Do not swear, your word means nothing to me. You are sick, Louise. A very sick woman. You disgust me, and I see why you hate yourself!” Adara said, her fist clenching. The thought of attacking her came to her mind, but she did know how to fight.
“I did all those things. But I can explain. I have changed!” Louise said, her voice pleading.
“I don't want to hear it. I will finish this stupid contract, and you will let Sofia go tonight,” Adara said, walking past her and then turning around, her hand going to her hip. “And I swear, if anything happens to my father, I will destroy the rest of your face!”
A look of utter terror crossed Louise’s face, and she took a step back, then wiped at her eyes. “Very well then, I will not do anything, I promise,”
“I do not believe you,” Adara said. “There is some trick to this all.” She watched as Louise grabbed her device and brought it to her mouth.
“Sofia, please come to the library quickly.”
Sofia's voice came back, and Louise walked over to a drawer. Pulling out a piece of paper, she signed it and then brought it over to Adara, handing it to her.
“What is this?” Adara asked, snatching the paper from her.
“A document releasing you from your contract. The debt is paid. I had it made earlier,” Louise said.
Adara scanned it, the wording simple, releasing her and her father from any money owed. Quickly folding it, she put it in her pocket. Turning, she saw Sofia walk in as Louise pulled her hair in front of her face to hide it. Stopping next to her, Adara reached out and took Sofia's hand in her own.
“Give me one moment, please,” Louise said, going to the dresser again, this time coming back with a passport and another document. Handing them to Sofia, Adara glanced over at it.
“You told Adara the truth tonight, didn't you?”
Sofia nodded. “I did.”
“Then you are a far better friend than I could ever be. Your passport, a bank book inside it. More than enough money to take care of you and your family for two generations.”
“My mother?”
“Will be as safe as always.”
Adara glanced over. Sofia stood quiet, more than likely thinking that this was all part of a game Louise was doing.
Turning back to Louise, she still felt disgusted.
“To both of you, I am sorrier than you will ever know. I know you don't believe that, and I won’t waste your time anymore trying to convince you.” Adara watched as she raised the device. “I will need a truck brought to the front door to take Miss Monroe back to her cabin,” Louise said, her voice choked. “And the limo ready in a hour, to take Sofia to the airport.”
Without a word, Louise turned around and headed over to the window. Feeling hurt and confused, Adara pulled Sofia along with her. But when they got to the door, she took one last look back, and seeing Louise, a tear fell down Adara's face. Once again, Louise had turned so many beautiful things into something very ugly.
***
Adara packed only the things she had come with, leaving the rest of the clothes and memories where they belonged inside these walls, the walls that held in secrets of pain and hurt. Hurrying with her suitcase in hand, she stopped at the top of the stairs. Sofia was at the bottom waiting for her.
Moving quickly down the steps, she greeted Sofia with a hug. “I can wait until you leave, just in case,” Adara said, worried for her friend.
“No, I will be going soon. But you must go, and one day soon we will see each other again.”
Adara wiped at her eye, then hugged her friend. She was going to miss her so much.
“Love you. You take care, OK?” she said, then kissed her cheek.
“I love you, my friend.” Adara watched as Sofia hurried off to the kitchen,
then reaching for the door, her hand stopped on the cool metal when she heard Louise’s voice.
“Adara.”
She turned, expecting the manipulation to start. Perhaps the contract was a ruse, like everything else had been. Instead, she saw a broken woman, her hair over her face and covering most of it. But Adara knew she was a woman who was as cold as the stone floor beneath their feet.
“What I have done to you, is not forgivable, so I will not ask for it. But I do ask just this one thing. Do not let the anger running through you do what it has done to me for these many years.”
Adara said nothing for a moment, the stillness around her unnerving, as if the air in the room had been sucked out. Once, laughs and words of friendship, and maybe even love, used to fill it. But now, she heard only lies in Louise's words, and anger in her own.
“And what has it done to you?” Adara said, turning the knob and opening the door, ready to leave.
“Left me cursed.”
Adara stood and looked at Louise for a moment as she stood just a few feet away from her. For a brief second, memories of dreams she had with those same words crossed her mind. For a moment her heart went out to her before quickly retreating. Louise was not her friend and deserved no compassion. For she was a beast.
Stepping out, she closed the door behind her. The night air was cool, the stars all hidden among the clouds. The fountain was off, and the only light came from the artificial ones around it and those near the hedges to either side of her. A truck was waiting, its exhaust fumes shimmering in the night. John stood outside the open passenger door, his hands clasped in front of him. Without saying a word, she hurried to it, got in, and closed the door.
She glanced around the castle grounds for the last time, realizing she would never return to this cursed place. It had started off under duress, then a friendship, then something more. She had felt love for Louise, true, beautiful love, she had realized it before she knocked on Sofia's door. And all of it, from her father selecting the rose to the carriage tonight, was all a trick. Maybe she did love Louise, but it did not matter now. Those feelings were going to be pushed away and never acknowledges again.
As John began to drive off, she looked back once more to the great castle, the place where dreams were supposed to come true. Louise was standing at the door, and try as she might, Adara could not help but feel pity for her.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Louise stood in the library staring at the roaring flames in the fireplace, the heat so intense it dried the tears as fast as they fell. Adara had been gone just over thirty minutes and yet it seemed like a millennium, the precious beauty that was brought to her by a single rose—and a single lie. That lie led to another, and those lies compiled very quickly, one on top of another, building deceit thicker than the walls this very castle was made of.
Louise had discovered that one thing that could bring it all down. Love. For it was the love of friendship that Sofia had told Adara the truth. She risked everything so Adara would not suffer. Louise was tempted for just a brief moment, to threaten Adara, to let her know if she left early, she would make sure her father was found with enough drugs to send him away for years.
But as quickly as old ways came to the surface, she threw them out. There would be no more holding people here by lies and deceit. Only love would keep those here who wanted to stay.
Then the pain became too much, knowing that no one could ever love her. Falling to her knees, she cried out. Adara could have loved her, she was close, so close that Louise could feel it. Tonight she saw it, and some time alone would of brought her back.
Now she was gone, and soon, her only living blood relative as well. Her own sister, who she had tormented for years. Louise's stomach hurt, her chest tight, the pain and grief for those she had manipulated too much for her to carry.
“I truly loved you,” Louise whispered, looking up at the wall where the portrait of Adara in her blue dress hung. “And now I have lost you forever.”
The pain she felt was great as she fell forward, her hands propping her up. In front of her, the fire blazed, its flames seeming to grow stronger, the same flames that had turned her into a beast. Well, at least on the outside. It was what was on the inside that counted, Louise could see that now. And that beast inside was now gone.
“You were not silly, Adara. You were right. It is about the inside,” she cried out, moving toward the fire, her tears dripping on the rug beneath.
Adara had managed to look past the outside, and when she saw the deceit, the lies on the inside, she ran, just as one would run from any beast. Louise could not blame her, for she did the right thing. The castle was Louise's tomb, not her home, and she was going to die here, perhaps much sooner than she had ever imagined.
Rising up slowly, she stumbled to the wine cart and grabbed a bottle. Then moving toward the bay window, she dropped herself onto the bench and began to drink.
***
Sofia placed the photo of her mother inside the suitcase and then zipped it up. Wiping at her eyes, she was happy that Adara was now gone. The woman did not deserve to be here a moment longer, and in her heart, Sofia wished her all the best. Grabbing her suitcase, she went to her door, opened it, and stepped through. Taking one look back at the small cell that had been her room, she shook her head and then hurried out.
For the last two of the seven years she had been confined in the castle with her sister, not being able to leave. The sister that blamed her for the scars on her face. Though Sofia felt horrible for what had happened to Louise, the fire did far more damage than what it did to Louise's face. It had turned her into something horrible.
The young woman she had spent those three days with was a beautiful woman, full of laughter and love. Promises of making up for lost time happened the day before the fire. A future ahead for both as sisters.
After arriving at the castle, Sofia was guilted into staying. Then as each year progressed, Louise became worse. But that did not matter now, Sofia was leaving, never to return.
She moved through the kitchen and stopped at the front door, and just as her hand touched the handle, she heard a sob. Though she had heard Louise cry many nights, this cry was different. It seemed to have a different tone to it, something Sofia could not quite place. Setting her suitcase down, she hurried to the library where the door was slightly ajar.
For some time, Sofia stood there watching her sister cry. Though she had tormented Sofia and made her say and do disgusting things, she never could break her. Sofia had too much love inside of her to let that happen. Even love for her jailer.
As she watched her sister weep, that same love from those first three days that had carried her for these last years called to her again, urging her to go to Louise to comfort her and help her. She did not deserve it, but then who did? All Sofia had to do was turn around and walk out of the castle, go to the mother and brother who were waiting. But the words Louise uttered at this moment were different and contained something that could not be deceptive. A tear of happiness fell as Sofia heard more of those words.
***
Louise set the empty bottle to the side and laid her face against the window. The pane was cold, numbing the scars that covered her face. And that was how she felt inside. There was no more rage, just some love she was holding onto to ease the numbness. Adara was gone, and Sofia had more than likely already left. Another woman scorned by Louise, manipulated. The things she had done to her, all out of jealousy and unfounded blame. Louise began to cry again, her sobs heavy, pushing against her chest as though trying to break through a wall, when a voice came to her ears.
“Louise?”
The French accent was unmistakable, and turning her head slightly, Sofia stood just a few feet from her. She was wearing a black sweater and pants and had a sign of friendship around her neck. The purple scarf Adara had bought for her. The same scarf that Louise was jealous of, threatening to burn it, to destroy it. Because that is what Louise did, destroy things.
/> “Why are you still here? The limo is waiting.”
“I will not need it,” Sofia said, walking over.
Louise shrank back, pressing her face harder against the window, lest Sofia see her.
“I have been watching you for the last hour. Listening.” Sofia came and sat beside her, her hand coming out and going to Louise's shoulder. Her touch was kind, though Louise suspected great rage was coming.
“And what did you hear?”
“I heard a woman who is in much pain and full of heartache. A woman who has made many mistakes, but now feels the repercussions for what she has done.”
Louise wiped at her eye. “You are right. But it is too late now. Adara is gone, and you should go too. There is no reason for you to stay anymore, your family is safe. The check in the passport will clear with my bank. Go to them, take care of them.”
A choked sob came to Louise's ear, as Sofia spoke up. “You are my family, Louise. You are my sister, and as much pain as you have caused me, I cannot help but love you.”
Louise tried to comprehend Sofia's words, still afraid to turn and face her sister.
“But I have threatened you, kept you here against your will. The horrible things I said about you and your mother…”
“Because you were full of anger. You know I never wanted to replace you in the eyes of our father.”
Louise nodded. “I know.”
“The night at the hotel, I was pushed against you by the crowd. I would never try to hurt you.”
Louise brought her hand to her cheek without moving away from the window, her cries echoing through the small space in between her fingers.
“I know, I have always known. My beauty was everything, and when I lost it, I hated everyone. But the truth I have realized over the last few weeks is that I have hated myself. And then slowly, I came to like and then love myself. Sofia, I am so sorry. I can never repay to you what I have done.”
“Louise, look at me please.”
She shook her head vigorously. She was not ready. “I can’t.”
