Chapter 140 - Beloved

Persephone had been staring at the baby bracelet since last night and still, she wasn't able to draw Santiago's intention from that act. What was he aiming at? 

'Don't be softhearted, Percy. He wants you confused and impressed. Don't give him the desired result.' 

'Yes, I will not think about him at all. After all, he will be my brother-in-law officially from tomorrow onwards.'

'But I don't want him to marry Sophia.'

'Now don't ask why?'

'Isn't it clear because he is a bad man? And her sister must not marry a bad man.'

'How great it will be if Sophia ends up marrying Nico!'

Persephone was so engaged in her monologue that she spent half of the noon cooped inside her room. When she left her room to look for Sophia, she didn't find Sophia inside her room or anywhere else in the house. 

Hadn't their father informed Sophia today not to leave the house? 

Sighing, she headed to the kitchen and found her mother busy as usual. Entering the kitchen door, she asked with furrowed brows, "Mom, where is Sophia?"

Carina's face lost all of its colours when she heard Persephone's question. She looked at her before gesturing to follow her and Persephone did what she was supposed to. 

"Where is Sophia?" Persephone asked in a whisper. 

Carina sighed out," She went out with her friends." 

Persephone's eyes widened in shock. Her sister must have gone crazy! She then asked, "Why? And does papa know?"

Carina shook her head. "She has been crying about how she doesn't feel like she is a real bride. Her friends are not attending the wedding but she wanted to throw a party for them. I tried making her understand that her father won't like her going out. But I couldn't bear to see her sad… that's why I sent her with her guard…" She paused and then checked the time on her wristwatch," She will be back within an hour." 

Persephone nodded. She understood what Sophia was feeling. No girl would want to get married in such a rush. If not for the fact that they were Catholic, her papa wouldn't even have allowed the church wedding and straightly went for paperwork.

Poor Sophia didn't know whether to cry or laugh that she at least got to wear the wedding dress! 

However, right now she just prayed for Sophia to come back sooner and so she could talk to her about Santiago. She tried talking to Salvatore but he was so anxious in the morning that he didn't have time to hear her. She even called Nico but her call wasn't connected. If not for the strict orders that she and Sophia weren't to exit the estate today at all the cost, she would have gone straight to Nico. 

She didn't want Santiago to land in trouble but it didn't mean, she would just see from the sidelines, that monster destroying her sister's life. 

Half an hour passed with Persephone lost in her thoughts, she didn't even notice that Carina had served her lunch and she had eaten double the amount she usually did. 

Since she had over-eaten, it was natural that she would feel bloated. Looking outside the window, she found the weather quite mesmerising. 

She saw Carina coming her way. "Mom, I will be back after a walk. I don't feel good." 

"What happened?" Carina placed the thing in her hand on the table and rubbed her back as she was standing while holding her waist. 

"Nothing much," Persephone replied with a tight smile. "Just feeling bloated." 

Carina let out a helpless sigh. "Silly girl. Go take a walk and you will be alright." 

Persephone nodded and left through the main door. While walking towards the garden, she felt a bit relaxed. It had been a long time since she came to this side of the estate. Marino Residence was sprawled across several acres of the property. Apart from the gigantic Mediterranean style Mansion in the middle, there were three Villas on the estate too. Not only that, there were a few huge outhouses too. 

Penelope Marino was an artist and she used to have one of the outhouses as her studio. Persephone remembered that when she used to be a little girl, she would follow her mother to her studio. When her mother used to be engaged in her art, she would sneak out to check out the abandoned villa that was no longer considered part of the Marino estate. 

Persephone didn't understand why her feet walked on their own. She was so lost in another world that she didn't notice when she stood outside the studio-outhouse that her mother used to utilize. 

A rush of memories ran from her nape down the length of her spine. She jolted when another rush was accompanied by a sudden hit of headache. 

What was happening?

Persephone felt dizzy. 

She wanted to throw up? 

No, she wanted to cry. 

She had this dire urge to cry but why did she want to cry? 

Even though she stared at the closed door holding back her tears, she had no idea what was happening because something inside her gut was urging her to walk to the back of the outhouse. The key related to her strange condition would be found there. Her instincts were telling her that. 

Holding her head in her hands, she sat on the step outside the door of the outhouse and cried her heart out. She didn't know why she was doing what she was doing but she had to cry. Her hand was now clutching the sapphire necklace and something frightening was happening to her head. 

When she felt that she could breathe without crying, she ran to the back of the outhouse. Her eyes fell on a narrow route that led to another abandoned broken outhouse. It didn't look like an outhouse. It was more like an abandoned and haunted Villa. 

Persephone should be afraid to enter this haunted structure, shouldn't she? But she didn't even feel a speck of fear when she entered. It was like she was so familiar with this place that she didn't find it complicated to enter or locate the rooms. 

When she looked back, she saw out of the broken window that a dirty pond was glistening under bright sunlight. 

The sun had not come out all day? Now, where did it come out? 

On instinct, she opened the door of the first room across the hall and was stunned by the scene unfolding before her eyes, dirty floor, broken furniture and a bizarre staircase. When the normal stairs went up, it slid downwards… While taking those blizzard creaky stairs, she reached a dimly lit room. 

A basement… she later found the word to give it a name. 

As she was about to descend the last step of the stairs, she found a tall silhouette staring at a particular place in the corner of the vast basement. Since his back was facing her, she couldn't make out his face. But she was sure that his physique was that of a man. 

Her pulse drummed in her ears as her heart raced against reason inside her chest in a way that could only be called entering the threshold of insanity. A rush of unwanted anticipation brought fear inside her. She held up her hand to touch his back and utter the words on the tip of her tongue, the words that even her brain couldn't seem to recognise and understand...all she knew was that she wanted to call him out by a name… 

A name that heart knows but her brain refuses to utter it… 

Santiago was haunted by a series of memories when Valencia and Cameron left earlier. It wasn't wrong when people said that the more you seem to run away from your past, the more it will catch up to you. His heart was feeling weird for some reason for a long time… 

Since he would be starting a chapter of his new life tomorrow, then why not end the old one, for once for all? 

He was going to take vows with a woman he didn't love. If one were to ask Santiago if he had ever been in love or if he even understands the meaning of the word… He might not understand the word love but he knew what Persephone meant...His little and sweet beloved… His Persephone was the embodiment of selfless care and love. 

Ever since he met his Red, he had stopped remembering his Percy, his sweet beloved, the girl who lit up his world when he was held hostage by the darkness...also the girl he had once loved more than the life itself. 

Today, he didn't know where she was...but he wanted to meet her...tell her that he was going to marry someone else… 

Although he loved his beloved, he still knew that he wouldn't wish to drag her to his dark world. She belonged to light, not to darkness…

Moreover, his love for her was pure, it was so pure that he couldn't bear to have indecent thoughts about her at all. It could be said that he loved her but never imagined about marrying her. 

The love he had for her couldn't be described in words…