Chapter 477
Yorick:
Flashback.
I was hugging Clementine, a needle pressed against her back, but I did not inject her with the poison. I pulled the needle out and dropped to my knees, watching her sink down as well.
“What the hell are you doing, Yorick?” she asked, barely able to speak.
I looked up at her and tilted my head back.
“What I am about to tell you will make you hate me,” I uttered. “This is not medicine. It is a poison made to make you fall for me p>
As I confessed, I watched her eyes widen, disgust forming clearly on her face.
“I lost control. I thought maybe this was the only way I could have you,” I continued, unable to look at her.
“How could you do this, Yorick? I thought we were friends,” she replied.
Her words echoed in my head as I clenched the small rug beneath me, tightening it in my fist.
“I told you I got carried away, but Clementine, I promise I will not harm you,” I said, straightening my back and looking at her again.
Pain was still written all over her face as she stared at me in disbelief.
“You used to tell me never to eat your mother’s food. You have been feeding me yourself,” she said, as if she were finally putting everything together.
“I did not have a choice,” I uttered, closing my eyes.
“Everyone has a choice. It is just that they believe they choose what they want over what is right,” she commented, making goosebumps rise on my skin.
She was not wrong. She was never wrong.
“But trust me, I did not have one,” I uttered.
“Well, now you have a choice. Let me go,” she insisted.
I wished I could let her go. I wished this had never happened. I hated the way she was looking at me. I hated seeing her in pain.
“Clementine, when you were abducted, my parents never told me directly that you were the gift they were bringing me,” I said. Even calling her a gift in front of her made me feel low. I did not look at her while saying it. “But there was one thing, a hidden warning. If I told anyone they were bringing you here, you would never even arrive. I or anyone else would never see you again p>
I paused as I remembered how the internet was cut off, how my phone was tapped, how I could not even breathe without my mother watching me from behind. Keeping an eye on me.
Thankfully, I still had a few warriors that gathered some information for me here and there, but even my phone was linked to my mother’s. I could question her. I had done it before, but I knew the outcome. I would not be able to leave. They controlled me well.
“Clementine, if I did not feed you the food, they would have fed you poison to turn you into the worst monster so they could slay you and come across as heroes p>
As I finished, Clementine grunted.
“Well then, so be it. You know I am not afraid of anyone. I just hate people controlling me,” she replied.
She let out a small whimper that made me feel even more guilty.
“You are right. I had no right to keep you here. But Clementine, it was not easy for me to watch you die. So please forgive me if I gave in to their control for a while,” I whispered.
Then I decided to comfort her. I decided to make things right.
“I am really sorry. I told you I made a mistake, but I will fix everything. I promise,” I said, stepping toward her and holding her arm so she would not collapse onto the floor.
“Then fix it. After that, I will decide if I forgive you or not,” she replied.
I carried her to the bed and laid her down. Then I went into the bathroom and emptied the injection into the sink. I splashed water on my face before stepping back out.
End of flashback.
“You disappointed me, son,” my mother commented.
“Well, I thought a mother would be proud of her son after knowing that he refused to do the wrong thing, that he chose to let go of his desires and be a better person, to let the love of his life choose her own path,” I spoke, hoping my mother would understand what I was trying to say.
If she had looked more closely at my face, she would have noticed that her son was broken beyond repair, that I was slowly dying inside. This was not a life I wanted to live.
Instead, my mother scoffed and shook her head. Her arms tightened around her chest, making it clear that she hated how I was still defending my actions.
“I had so many hopes for you. I was ready to watch you marry the girl who is a threat to us and our future. But it turns out my own son is willing to become a threat,” my mother commented, making my heart skip a beat.
As my muscles tensed, my mother noticed. Her eyes moved from my temples to my biceps before she rolled her eyes.
“Of course, I am not going to harm you. You are my son,” she hissed, clearly offended that I would even think that.
“Then do not harm her either,” I replied. “Because trust me, your son will never be in more pain than watching the woman he loves in pain. If anything is done to her, it will destroy me p>
I reached out, placing both my hands on her shoulders.
She looked like a mother upset because her child asked the father for permission when she had already said no. But this was not something small. This was complicated.
“Fine,” she grunted, slowly lowering her arms from her chest.
“Really?” I asked, shocked and confused.
That response was unlike her, but if it was true, it would mean everything to me.
“You know I love you, and I will do anything for your happiness,” she commented, clearly upset that I even questioned her.
I smiled and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tightly. She hugged me back and patted my shoulder.