“Well then—”
But before he could finish, the second wife interrupted with a sly smile.
“Sigh… I wanted to resolve this quietly,” she murmured, “but there’s something else… something I hesitate to bring up.” She paused dramatically, her gaze shifting to Aqualina. “Are you certain she’s even your daughter, Your Majesty?”
Aqualina’s heart stopped…. The room fell into an oppressive silence…
“What?” the Emperor asked, his tone sharp.
“Think about it,” the second wife pressed on, “Celestia is powerful, gifted—just like you. But Marisandra? Not a speck of talent. How can that be? Two children, both yours, same blood, yet one is… defective. She can’t even see. It’s as if she’s cursed. Could your blood truly produce such a flawed child? Or… Unless…” she let the insinuation linger, her gaze piercing through Aqualina.
“YOU FUCKING BITCH!” Aqualina roared, lunging at her. Her fist connected with the woman’s face… but it was like a punching stone.
The second wife barely flinched… yet, her grin widened as if she’d been waiting for this.
Without hesitation, she grabbed Aqualina’s arm and SNAP—the bone broke.
BOOM!
“ARRRRRHHHHH!” Aqualina hit the ground, her body trembling from the pain. The second woman pressed her foot into Aqualina’s face, grinding it into the floor.
“How dare you attack me in the Emperor’s presence?” she sneered, leaning in close. Her breath was hot against Aqualina’s ear as she whispered, “A roadside commer now stepping on the once mighty queen~” with a wicked grin.
Aqualina struggled, pain and fury blinding her.
“ENOUGH!” the Emperor’s voice echoed through the hall, halting the chaos. He stepped forward, pulling the second woman away. “I may have neglected my duties, but I know Aqualina’s loyalty. This matter is closed. Return to your duties. As for Marisandra… I will determine her fate.”
Without another word, he strode away, leaving Aqualina crumpled on the ground.
Aqualina slowly rose to her feet, her broken arm hanging uselessly at her side. Pain rippled through her body, but it was nothing compared to the ache in her heart. Her eyes scanned the throne room. Laughter echoed from every corner, cruel and mocking. Even her own family stood there, silent and detached, watching her humiliation like outsiders, as if she were a stranger rather than blood.
Her once vibrant purple eyes dulled, hollow and lifeless. She had lost everything—her dignity shattered, her body battered, her loyalty questioned.
There was nothing left!
“Are you feeling pain?”
Aqualina turned her gaze to the small voice. Celestia stood before her, a healing potion cradled in her tiny hands. Her expression was as cold and indifferent as ever.
Aqualina stared at her for a moment, no words escaping her lips. Then, she turned and walked away, her steps slow and dragging, ignoring the outstretched potion.
Celestia’s eyes followed her. She glanced at the potion in her hand, then back at Aqualina’s retreating form. “Maybe… she’s not feeling pain at all,” she murmured, her tone emotionless, before walking away.
Later, Aqualina stumbled into her room, every breath laboured. She clutched her arm, wincing at the sharp jabs of pain.
Her eyes fell on Sandra, peacefully asleep on the bed, her small chest rising and falling in a rhythmic, tranquil motion.
A free, innocent child—unaware of anything!
Snap!
For whatever reason, Something inside Aqualina snapped seeing her daughter. She moved without thought, grabbing a pillow with her working hand nearby.
She loomed over Sandra, her face contorted with a mix of anguish and rage and then…. Pressing the pillow down over Sandra’s face, she screamed,
“All because of you!! Because you were born to me!! If only you weren’t defective… I wouldn’t have suffered like this… Why can’t you just die!!”
“Mmmfff!!”
Sandra’s small body convulsed beneath her, her arms flailing weakly. She struggled to breathe, her tiny hands pushing futilely against her mother’s grip. But she didn’t have the strength.
“Why?Why?Why?Why?…. WHY?!” Aqualina’s voice cracked with each word. Her lifeless, hollow eyes stared down at her daughter as she pressed harder, pouring all her pain, her humiliation, her loss into that act—her shattered dignity, her ruined status, her broken life—everything!
“Mmmfff—-“
Finally, Sandra’s body stopped moving… Her tiny legs fell limp!
Yet, Aqualina didn’t stop. She kept pressing the pillow, even as the agony from her broken arm intensified until the pain became unbearable.
Finally, with her arm fully incapable of any movement, she released the pillow, staring at her daughter’s peaceful face.
She blinked, eyes glazed and hollow…. For a moment, she simply stared, emotionless, until a sudden realization struck her—an awful, gut-wrenching realization.
Her eyes widened, then slowly returned to life, colourful purple as if she realized what she had done, filled with terror.
Thud!
“W-What? WHAT HAVE I DONE?!” Aqualina’s voice broke as panic overtook her. Her body trembled violently, each movement unsteady and disjointed. She reached for Sandra’s nose with shaking hands, hoping against hope.
“No… No, no, no…!” Her fingers brushed against her daughter’s cold skin.
And,
“AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!” she screamed from the very depths of her soul. Desperately, she pulled her daughter’s limp form into her arms, holding her tightly, as if she could reverse her actions. “WHAT HAVE I DONE?! MY DAUGHTERRRRRR… AAARRRRRRHHHHHH!!”
Her voice cracked like brittle glass. Tears streamed down her face as she rocked her daughter, sobbing, trying everything to bring her back—shaking her gently, desperately calling her name.
“What have I done?! My daughter… my baby! Wake up… please! PLEASE!”
Desperately, she attempted CPR, pressing against her tiny chest, and breathing into her mouth.
Yet,
Nothing.
Sandra remained still, lifeless.
“NOOOOOOOO!” Aqualina wailed, collapsing onto her daughter’s body, her sobs echoing through the room. “No, no…Sandra… Ssssobbbb… sniff… nooo… what have I done… ARRRHHHH!!!” Aqualina wailed in despair, her words choked by grief. She cried, truly cried, until her sobs could no longer be heard.
She kissed Sandra’s forehead gently, smoothing her hair, as if she were still alive. Slowly, she placed her back on the bed, as though nothing had changed, as though her daughter were merely sleeping.
Aqualina sank to her knees, her broken spirit a hollow shell of what it had been. She bowed her head, her laughter coming out strangled and cracked. “Ha… ha… haha… sniff… I… I… am…” The words failed her. She could not bring herself to say them…. She didn’t have any right to say those words after what she did!
Her lips quivered as the tears and snot mixed, rolling down her face, before she slammed her forehead onto the cold floor in front of Sandra’s lifeless body.
Slam
Slam.
Slam..
Slam…
Each desperate impact against the ground seemed to drive her deeper into her guilt, into the abyss. Her eyes glazed over, and her mind spun.
What had she done? What had she become?
Blood flowed from her forehead…
With difficulty, Aqualina stood up, her legs barely able to support her… both weights!
She took one last glance at Sandra’s motionless form, her eyes lifeless and hollow.
She staggered toward the balcony.
Not noticing Sandra’s finger twitch ever so slightly.
Aqualina stepped onto the balcony, her eyes hollow as she gazed up at the sky, her expression lost. Read latest chapters at My Virtual Library Empire
She mumbled her voice, barely a whisper, drifting in the air….The breeze swept the curtains, fluttering gently and,
….
Thud!