Chapter 299: Maybe, divorce.
The old guard was not finished. He went through the servants next, and then the guards. One by one, they were called, their memories pruned, reshaped. He erased only what was necessary, leaving behind gaps that would never be filled. Even the Rocland’s were not spared.
While they did that, Timothy’s team checked their communication devices like phones and watches for any material saved or messages sent. Even the people they had called from the moment of Owena’s arrival were noted down.
And that was how they discovered two of the king’s moles in the house. One was nanny Fortunate and another was a guard. Elias was sure there were more, but they were not discovered tonight.
Sienna sat rigid at the table, her stomach churning. She wanted to protest, to shield her family somehow, even her bitter aunt, but she knew the weight of the Veythar family. Their secrets were older than kingdoms, their methods ruthless. To defy them was to invite ruin. It was probably a good thing that they had decided to tamper with memories rather than killing the dirty Miller’s who had soiled their good house with their dirty thieving blood.
Finally, it was Soren’s turn. They boy didn’t argue, he went willingly to have his memory wiped. It was clear that he didn’t want to know his maternal family. He wanted to remember his mother as the weak, warm woman, who had gone hungry while giving him the last handful of rice they had in the house.
Elias, hand brushed over her shoulder. "The choice is yours?"
Sienna rose, and walked upstairs, without saying a word. The Veythar’s watched her go, and held their silence. They had known she would not agree. Some people had to forget, but others had to remember. And those who remembered would protect the rest.
In the bedroom, Sienna lay curled beneath the blanket, her body trembling, tears soaking the pillow. The silence of the room was broken only by her muffled, bitter sobs. When Elias came upstairs. he hesitated at the door, his shadow stretching across the floor. But finally, he went inside, and lifted the blanket. revealing the tear-streaked face.
She turned away, voice raw. "I feel dirty Elias," she whispered. "I am sick to my stomach. It seemed funny in the beginning, but the more Owena talked, the worse I started to feel. I am starting to think I am cursed. My mother’s side--thieves, kidnappers, fraudsters, liars. My father’s side--a rebel. What pride I had before your family has been trampled. How can I face them now? How can I sit at the same table with them and not wonder what they are thinking when they look at me and my family. Will they start hiding their valuables around us? Will they sneer at us secretly? I don’t blame them, we have dirty blood after all."
Her words spilled out, almost hysterical. "I have accepted everything about the old Sienna, the good and bad. But I am struggling to accept this. I want to escape. To run and hide. To leave all this behind. I am not her--this evil past is not mine. Yet it clings to me like rot. I feel like a fraud, like a shadow wearing someone else’s skin. I don’t belong here. I don’t belong with you."
Elias sat beside her, his expression taut with restraint. "Sienna," he said evenly, "bloodlines do not define you. You are not Owena’s stories. The things your mother did, she only did because her parents led her down that path. And when she walked away, she did not look back. You are not your ancestor’s sins. You are the woman who stood before the king to seek justice for hundreds of bullied children you never knew. You are the woman who jumped in front of an assassin to protect Eli without flinching. That is who you are."
But she shook her head violently. "No! You don’t understand. Every time they look at me, they will see the thief’s daughter, the rebel’s child. I will never be clean in their eyes. I will never be worthy. I should leave you before your grandparents cast me out. And they won’t be wrong to do so because how else can they protect your precious lineage from scandal. We should divorce."
The word hung in the air like a blade.
Elias’s composure cracked. His eyes blazed, his jaw clenched. "Divorce?" he repeated, voice low and dangerous. "You dare suggest that? After everything we have endured? I know you are not thinking straight right now. I will take it that you haven’t said anything at all."
Sienna flinched, but her desperation pushed her forward. "It would be better. For you, for your family. I am a stain on your honor. Let me go."
His anger surged. He leaned closer, his voice rough. "You think you can walk away? You think you can erase yourself from my life with a few words? No, Sienna. You are mine. My wife. My children’s mother. My partner in every battle. Divorce is not a choice you get to make. If the word comes out of your mouth again, I am going to lock you up on the estate and never let you out." His voice rose, stern and loud, "You are never leaving me. Do you hear me? You are never leaving me."
Sienna’s tears flowed harder. "Then what am I to do? I am filled with so much shame that I don’t know how to wipe it away. I can’t pretend. Do you expect me to smile? How can I carry shame that isn’t mine?"
Elias’s response was not gentle. He seized her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "You will hold your head high. You will remember that you are stronger any rumor, any curse. And if they dare whisper, they will answer to me."
Sienna’s breath hitched. "I can’t...I can’t bear it."
His lips crashed against hers, ruthless, silencing her protest. The kiss was not tender, it was a claim, a defiance, a punishment for the word she had spoken. He bit her lower lip, drawing blood fro it. He growled, and sunk his teeth in her neck, biting with vengeance. When she cried out, he covered her lips with hers.
She struggled, pushing weakly against his chest, but his grip was unyielding.
When he pulled back, his voice was a growl. "Never speak of divorce again. You belong here. You belong to me. And I will not let you run from me. Not back to the world you came from and not anywhere on this world. You will not run from what we have built."