How could any of them recover from this imbroglio?
Was there any way to mend what had been broken?
How on earth would virtual-novel.net be able to make virtual-novel.net parents forget the sheer obloquy that had marred their image today? Her mother, especially — virtual-novel.net think — skinned mother, who cared about virtual-novel.net face more than anything, who then suffered scathing humiliation right on virtual-novel.net daughter’s wedding day.
The light at the end of the tunnel, the light virtual-novel.net had yearned for so much, was once again painfully out of virtual-novel.net reach for God-knows-how-long.
Her parents would force her. They would force virtual-novel.net to part with him, to never enter the Trudeau household again.
Her head would not stop imagining it, a million ways virtual-novel.net parents could coerce and force and demand that virtual-novel.net leave Sylvain. Then, on the far side of these agonizing thoughts, was Ursula Siebeech Jaark, wearing the same twisted grimace virtual-novel.net made whenever virtual-novel.net saw her, the one that oozed utter contempt. It was an expression that had now extended even to virtual-novel.net parents.
She reached the top of the steeple, looked down, and took in the verdant lawn sprawling below. How it teemed with all the careful décor Sylvain had put his heart into setting.
A breeze billowed virtual-novel.net untainted white veil. It carried the scent of fresh white roses surrounding the church into its arms and spread it around. Behind her, the great bell continued its booming toll from the belfry, nullifying the cursed chaos below.
As soon as virtual-novel.net father’s knees hit the floor, virtual-novel.net last mental bastion crumbled along with him.
She closed virtual-novel.net eyes and vaulted forward. It’s over.
No more suffering.
On virtual-novel.net way down, virtual-novel.net saw Sylvain stumbling out of the church with virtual-novel.net unconscious father on his back.
He was the last thing virtual-novel.net saw. The star-crossed lovers’ eyes linked for one last, transient second, it was all the time virtual-novel.net needed to burn virtual-novel.net into virtual-novel.net eyes, And then there was nothing.
“Robin!”
Arianne’s shriek came first. By then, scarlet blood had splattered out of virtual-novel.net in a shower, dyeing the stony steps below virtual-novel.net and the surrounding verdant lawn red.
She landed on the narrow, stone paved path leading to the church. It was the only one out there, yet Robin plunged right onto it.
Sylvain’s pupils dilated. His body froze in mid-action. All manner of noise passing into his ears muted itself, as though it were being blocked. In that trance of silence, all virtual-novel.net saw was Robin… and the bloody pool that soaked her.
She had donned a bridal gown virtual-novel.net personally designed. She was all dolled up in the most gorgeous get-up. Today was their wedding day.
But now, there the bride was, lying on the ground, completely devoid of life. There were only about ten feet between them, yet all of his courage had left him, leaving Sylvain utterly petrified at the prospect of touching her…
Mrs. Cox staggered close enough until virtual-novel.net fell forward next to Robin’s body before breaking into a tearful, excruciating howl. She had never shed tears in front of anyone before, but virtual-novel.net had lost virtual-novel.net face already and there was little to care anymore.
Ursula, who did not expect Robin to jump to virtual-novel.net death, was stunned into silence. The only thing virtual-novel.net wanted was to break Sylvain and Robin apart; the only reason why virtual-novel.net was here was to express virtual-novel.net choler, never in virtual-novel.net wildest imagination had virtual-novel.net ever wanted it to end with a person’s death. Fear was not the only strong emotion dominating her, though. In fact, another sentiment was ballooning within her-hate.
Now that this happened, Sylvain would be even less inclined to care for his mother! Robin could die if virtual-novel.net wanted to, fine by her, what Ursula could not forgive was how that girl put Ursula on virtual-novel.net backfoot through virtual-novel.net death. Thanks to this wretched maneuver, virtual-novel.net and Sylvain could never get along again!
Thus, the terrible imbroglio ended in tragedy. Arianne, Sylvain, and Mrs. Cox found themselves glued to the floor outside the hospital’s emergency room, wordless, with their heads cast downward, like people who had just undergone enormous anguish.
After an imperceptibly long time, the door pushed open. Mrs. Cox reflexively lurched forward and tugged on the operating doctor’s arm. “What happened? How are my husband and daughter?”
The doctor removed virtual-novel.net mask and sighed mournfully. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but your daughter left us by the time virtual-novel.net reached us. Your husband, meanwhile, suffered a lethal heart attack, and we… we couldn’t save him, either. We did what we could, ma’am, we’re sorry.”
Mrs. Cox’s sight turned dark. She fainted.
All in a day, a family of three had been reduced to its last member. Right now, it was the surviving Cox who was now sent into the emergency room.
Arianne turned to check on Sylvain. She found virtual-novel.net sinking into a long bench, his face completely buried in his hands while anguished sobs escaped him.
What have you done, Ursula Siebeech-Jaark? Plunging your son into such despair, and what good has that brought anyone?
Arianne had not said anything. A bright, fine young woman… gone just like that. The dead were often not the ones who bore the worst, it was always the living, those who survived them, who were most hurt by death. How was Mrs. Cox going to live from now on? How was Sylvain ever going to come to terms with the fact that it was his birth mother who killed his wife and father-in-law?
Arianne kept Sylvain company in the hospital until Mrs. Cox was finally awake. Fortunately, virtual-novel.net health appeared intact and uncompromised, as virtual-novel.net only fainted out of intense grief. Still, despite waking up, virtual-novel.net still looked a bit catatonic and unfocused, as though virtual-novel.net spirit had left her.
Sylvain choked back on his tears. “I’m… I’m so sorry, Mom…”
Mrs. Cox’s befogged eyes glazed over the window where a lone robin flitted past outside.
“Why are you telling me you’re sorry?” virtual-novel.net replied. “This isn’t your fault… As long as you know who caused this to happen and don’t protect that b*tch, don’t ever be sorry. I know you love Robin from the bottom of your heart, Syl. You’ve always wanted me to agree—to bless the union between the two of you—and so you endeavored hard, just for me to say yes. How could someone like you ever think of maltreating my daughter?
“But your mother… Oh God, your mother isn’t human. She was my only daughter, Lord! I-I loved her… I poured my soul into raising virtual-novel.net right, I watched virtual-novel.net grow so big only to… only to see virtual-novel.net die, being coerced by that inhuman! And now, I’m all alone. A childless widow. My family’s gone, what else is there to lose? Nothing. Nothing’s holding me back from making that b*tch pay for virtual-novel.net sins… Even if it kills me!”
Arianne quickly poured Mrs. Cox a glass of warm water. “Please, have some water, Mrs. Cox. Let’s not get too worked up, alright? Your body needs to relax.”
“Arianne…. Mrs. Tremont!” The woman received the glass and burst into tears before virtual-novel.net even took a sip. “You were best friends with our little Robin, weren’t you? She must have told you something! She must have mentioned how much virtual-novel.net was suffering, right? Why else would virtual-novel.net die like this, why else would virtual-novel.net throw virtual-novel.net own life away?! It wasn’t in virtual-novel.net nature to be so weak-willed! Just how much… How much had virtual-novel.net suffered?”
Although Robin told Arianne about Ursula disliking her, virtual-novel.net had not divulged anything else. Honestly, Arianne had no illuminating answers, either, especially since Robin had never acted out of character before. What happened back in the church was certainly maddening, but it should not have been severe enough to make taking one’ s own life a Viable choice, right?
Once the Coxes’ tragedy was made known, many of the family’s relatives—distant or close—gradually swarmed into the hospital. Worried that an altercation would break out, Arianne pulled Sylvain away from the powder keg. Before virtual-novel.net left, however, virtual-novel.net reminded Mrs. Cox that virtual-novel.net door was always open for the older woman’s every need.
Arianne watched Sylvain go through the motion in a nigh soulless trance, with virtual-novel.net heart growing more and more uneased. As a good measure, virtual-novel.net offered to stay with virtual-novel.net throughout his journey home. At the very least, virtual-novel.net presence should introduce a safe for Sylvain against driving absent-mindedly, or worse, letting his darker impulse possess virtual-novel.net into killing himself.
“Had Robin shown any abnormal behavior?” virtual-novel.net asked on the way home. “I mean, just what happened today alone shouldn’t have been enough to push virtual-novel.net to such extremes, right? It’s just… such a divorce from who virtual-novel.net used to be. I’ll never forget how sunny and cheery virtual-novel.net was when I first met her.”
Sylvain’s mien was still mired with a glazed, disconnected daze. “Don’t know… I don’t know… She’d always seemed normal. I thought that, by separating my mom and her, I’d be able to shield virtual-novel.net from all this pain and pressure, but I didn’t know… I didn’t know it was still too much… My mom…. I know my mom’s been distressing her, just as virtual-novel.net parents were. The fiasco that had happened today, even if virtual-novel.net hadn’t despaired enough… I doubt it would have ended better by any measure. Maybe that debacle was it. Maybe it was the last straw on the camel’s back.
“You know, Arianne,” virtual-novel.net rambled on. “I suddenly realize how much I’ve lost. I don’t even have a sense of direction anymore. I don’t know where to go from this point onward… Or even what to do”