Hazel's POV
"What are you talking about?"I asked with furrowed brows, and she took a deep breath to calm herself when she realized I was no longer trying to shut her out.
"I know I accused you of being the naive one, but now I've realized how naive I was. I was stupidly blinded by the urge for power that I failedto realize that I was instead hurting a true friend. Yes, you're right when you said we are good together. However, even though I agree that I deserve such cruel fate after what I did to you and believe when I say I regret what I did every single day. There's not a day that I have not regretted it. I know coming here was selfish because you might get caught, but please listen to me," she said desperately.
"And you think just acting with a pitiful expression would move me? You've not only shown your face here, but you've also disrespected me. If you truly feel sorry, then you shouldn't have come here. You don't know how much I hate you after what you did. And if you're saying that, so I would feel pity for you, then you better just give up the try because you sucked at it," I said flatly.
Her voice broke as she tried to speak. "Amber, I know you won't forgive, and neither do I want you to. It is true that I deserve whatever is happening to me, but I didn't totally come here selfishly. I came here because I wanted to apologize to you. Recently, I was able to feel your pain. I never knew it would be this cruel, and I had no idea that he had physically abused you to the extent that you start hating yourself. These days that you've been absent, I was capable of seeing just a glimpse of what you've been experiencing and to be honest, I hated myself even more," she said, causing me to take a step back with a perplexed expression.
What was she talking about? Why exactly was she here? I refuse to believe that she came here solely to apologize. I would rather not fall victim to her manipulation like last time, but somehow I felt curious to know what she wanted to say.
Furthermore, I might get some insight about things inside the kingdom and give it to Colton. Yes, that wasn't a bad plan, and it could work for the both of us. Presently, Colton was trying so hard to gather information concerning what wasgoing on in the kingdom, but there had been no progress. Now that she stood right in front of me with that pathetic expression, maybe I could get something from here.
There was no harm in doing so, right? I would just listen to her and then kick her out the moment she was done providing me the information I wanted.
Crossing my hand in front me, I stared at her with a frown. "So, what are you trying to say? What do you have to say?" I asked her, and she smiled at me, but the smile was quickly gone, replaced by a look of sadness.
"I know you probably hate me--" she was immediately cut off.
"Probably? You make my skin crawl and there's nothing I hate more than you right now… well, of course Liam comes first because I had to endure so much from him," I said, and she nodded in understanding, something I was expecting."You're right. I equally think you're brave enough to endure so much from him. Ever since you left him, Liam has turned all the frustration to me. The beasts treat me like nothing less than trash at his disposal. I don't know what to do and how to escape this fate, but I can't take it anymore. I think this would continue if I don't do something about it.
I'm scared that he would definitely do something to me because as the days passes by, his anger continues to grow, and I don't understand why I feel like something bad would happen to me," she revealed, and I so badly want to say 'now you know how it feels' but I couldn't find my voice.
Maybe it was because I knew that feeling. It was so relatable having dealt with it ever since my marriage to him. My throat tightened as I stared at her while she looked back with teary eyes. Why was I feeling bad for someone who was previously enjoying herself with him while I suffered brutally?She had no sympathy then, so why should I feel bad for her now, just because she had started to experience my pain as well? This was her karma for everything she did, so I should be happy?
Yet, I was far from happy. Something about her sad expression made it hard for me to look away or smirk. I knew the kind of beast he was, and I knew she must've experienced just a tip of it, having dealt with it for so long.
"Hazel, I know I shouldn't have come here, but I wanted to tell you that I apologize for thinking you are just overreacting. You've ensured so much and now that I got to experience that, I can't help but hate myself. I'm truly sorry, so please forgive," she pleaded, holding my hand tightly but not enough to cause me pain.
"Stop trying to seek sympathy and carry the cross," I said, trying to make my voice sound neutral.
"I'm sorry if that's how it seemed. Here are the scars if you don't believe me," she said, pulling up her sleeves and I saw the marks on her hands which were undeniably caused by Liam.
I could still remember the marks he gave me. They were brutal and painful, and seeing the marks on her was sad. But what about what she did? I couldn't forget it so easily.
"I was deceived by him," she added, and I was left speechless. "He made me think he was someone capable of love, and I never saw this side of him. He made me believe in something forbidden, and I betrayed a good friend because of him. And now I get nightmares every time I think about it. Hazel, I'm sorry, Liam deceived us," she pleaded even more while in tears.
I was speechless for a while, trying to comprehend everything she just said. Should I believe her? Was she really a pawn or an accomplice?