Chapter 259: 136
Chapter 259: 136
"What did you do to her?!" Zarin asked Lothaire.
Lothaire was sitting comfortably on his throne and looked down at Zarin, raising one eyebrow. "Who?"
"Heaven."
"Oh. You met her already. I was about to tell you that I fulfilled your request. You wanted Zamiel gone, but I did something even better. I brough Heaven here. You can now do whatever you said you would do."
Zarin paused, shocked. Why had he been so angry? It was true. He was the one who asked for help and for Zamiel to be removed.
"She doesn't want to be here. I thought you would bring her here willingly." Zarin said.
Lothaire laughed out loud. "Would you be willing to wait… maybe a hundred years because that is how long it would take for her to join willingly?"
"How did you force her to stay here?" Zarin asked.
His heart skipped. From the look in Heaven's eyes, it seemed like her grandfather did something horrible.
"Horrible?" Lothaire laughed again. "Oh dear. I just did what you did, except my plan worked. You sent a prostitute to separate them and I used her fear of hurting her mate to separate them."
Zarin frowned. Hurt her mate? "What do you mean?"
Tezz, who was sitting on the stairs and listening to them, decided to join the conversation. "Don't you know?" She began. "Your friend really tells you nothing. She is the one thing that can kill her mate. How romantic."
This was a surprise to him. He really didn't know.
"Father could have killed him. Zamiel was actually close to dying but…" She turned and looked at him intently. "It is better not to kill him even though it didn't matter to you how we got rid of him as long as we did."
The truth hit Zarin hard. He was about to lash out at them for using her to hurt her mate, but again it was true that he wanted to get rid of Zamiel. He was no better than them. He truly belonged here.
Tezz smirked. "You belong here, Zarin. No need to be ashamed. We have all wanted things for ourselves."
"I will be leaving for a while." Zarin said, feeling unwell. He just wanted to leave their sight.
Lothaire nodded. "You are going home." He said. "It is not a bad idea. It is good to assure everyone that you and Heaven are alright."
Zarin turned and left the hall without saying another word. He tried his best to not think of anything while he was near them. As soon as he was out of reach, thoughts flooded his head.
Now he understood everything. He understood the look in Heaven's eyes. He understood her unusual anger and why she hadn't been as easy on him this time as she used to be. He didn't deserve any of her kindness.
He couldn't imagine what she went through, almost killing her own mate. The one he claimed to hate in front of her this morning. He was surprised she didn't slap him, but she did it with her words. If she had known the truth about him, she wouldn't even look him in the eyes. She would have been disgusted.
Her eyes had been different. There wasn't the familiar warmth in them. They were somehow cold and tired. Absent of the many emotions that used to swirl in them. It was as if had shut her heart to protect herself from getting hurt.
He couldn't blame her. Someone she called her best friend and grandfather did this to her. He was part of this cruel thing that was done to her. He was one of the reasons the light in her eyes dimmed.
Zarin didn't want her to lose that light. He didn't want her to lose all the emotions he used to see in her eyes. That was what made her special. But he knew staying here wouldn't bring the light back in her eyes and she was right to protect her heart while being here, or it could be used against her. If she opened up while being here, she would change, and it would be very difficult to leave this place. Ever.
He had to get her out before she let her guard down. He couldn't let her stay too long, but what could he do? He was helpless. Useless.
He went to her room and knocked on the door. "Come in." She called.
Zarin walked in carefully and found Heaven sitting at a table, preparing the letter she wanted to send to her parents and Zamiel. While she was busy wrapping them, he studied her in silence. She looked thinner, and her normally radiant skin seemed dull. She had darkness under her eyes, as if she had been sleep-deprived for many nights.
Once she was done, she stood up from her seat and came to give him the letters. He took them from her hands. "Do you trust me to deliver them?" He asked.
"Can I trust you?" She asked him in return.
How could he tell her to trust him after everything he did? Especially when he wasn't changing for the better. He had no plans to go back.
She nodded when he didn't reply. "There is no crucial information in the letters. I just want to assure my family that I am alright. You can either deliver it or not."
She was very calm as she spoke. She had no more expectations. He had disappointed her too many times.
"I'll deliver them." He said, even if she didn't believe him. But he hoped she would.
When he teleported to the castle, he hoped to not find his parents there. It would be enough guilt of meeting Heaven's parents. He wasn't ready to meet his own.
Zarin was nervous as he went to look for Lucian. He finally found him in his study.
"Zarin." His uncle was surprised to see him.
The conversation they had last time had been deep, and it had made him realize how wrong he was. But it had already been too late by then. Zarin wanted to avoid another deep conversation. He had already made up his mind. He wasn't coming back. He couldn't.
Lucian asked him to sit down, and then wanted to know how he was doing. "I am alright, thank you." Zarin said.
And then he told him that he met Heaven. The whole time he spoke, he avoided to meet his uncle's gaze, then he gave him the letter.
Lucian opened it immediately and started reading. "I will pass this to her mother." He said after finishing to read. "We would like to write back to her if you could deliver them."
Zarin nodded.
"Thank you." Lucian said. "How is she?" He then asked.
Zarin thought of what Heaven would want him to say. "She is fine."
Lucian nodded while trying to hide his emotions, but he couldn't. He started talking, his eyes showing sadness. "Remember when you were younger. You and Heaven used to fight a lot, then one day after a fight I asked you to be her friend because she didn't have any. You became the friend and sibling she never had. She got to experience the outside world through you. You kept her company when she felt alone the most. We were only her parents, but you were many things to her. Did you know that?"
Zarin looked up and met Lucian's gaze for the first time. His uncle looked at him as a concerned father. Not just for his daughter, but for him, whom he considered a son as well. Zarin felt deeply ashamed and averted his gaze quickly.
"I know you two had many fights, and she scolded you." He smiled sadly and shook his head. "She pointed out the ways she felt you were lacking as a friend but has she ever denied the good things you did for her? Heaven never forgets good deeds and good moments. I hope those don't only become painful memories."
This was his uncle's way of telling him to restore their friendship and that Heaven would forgive him because the good moments they had together would always be precious to her. But Zarin didn't want forgiveness, and they wouldn't forgive him if they knew his true nature. They didn't know how horrible he was yet.
Zarin looked down at his hands and remained silent. After a while, Lucian stood up from his seat with a sigh. "Why don't you stay for dinner?" He asked.
Zarin stood up as well. "Maybe some other time. I have to go now." He just wanted to disappear. "I'll come by sometime soon to deliver your letters to Heaven." He said.
Lucian didn't try to convince him. He just nodded.