Capítulo 24: A Face that Doesn't Fix [2]
"Is it even Lord Alaric's child?"
"Perhaps she strayed. It would explain the hair."
"What a disgrace to the Arcwright name."
Eleana's vision blurred as the voices grew louder, overlapping and consuming the room.
Alaric handed the child back to the midwife, his expression unreadable.
Eleana's composure crumbled, her tears spilling over as she turned to Alaric.
"Please, believe me."
Alaric's gaze lingered on her for a moment, but his face betrayed nothing.
He turned away, passing the child back to the midwife.
"We'll deal with this later," he said simply. "For now, ensure the boy is cared for."
Eleana's breath caught in her throat.
"Alaric, you can't mean that. He's your son." Eleana said.
"Is he?" Alaric's gaze was icy as he turned to leave the room. "Prove it, Eleana. Until then, he is nothing to me."
THUD
As the door closed behind him, the room seemed to shrink around her.
Morganna and Amara exchanged looks before following him out, leaving Eleana alone with her shame.
She looked down at her hands, trembling and pale.
"Waah!"
"Waah!"
The child's cries filled the air, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him.
Not now. Not when every glance at his white hair felt like a dagger to her chest.
Her tears fell silently, staining the sheets as the realization set in.
She was no longer Eleana Arcwright, the proud wife of a powerful lord.
She was Eleana, the disgraced woman, the mother of a child no one wanted.
And in that moment, a seed of resentment took root in her heart.
....
Eleana jolted awake, her chest heaving as she gasped for air.
The memory clung to her.
She pressed a hand to her forehead.
Nine years had passed since that day, yet the pain was as fresh as if it had happened moments ago.
She could still hear the whispers, the biting accusations, and the disdainful laughter.
She could still feel the weight of Alaric's gaze, piercing and cold.
Eleana's gaze shifted to the car window beside her.
The lush countryside blurred into a wash of greens and browns as they traveled toward the Capital city, but her mind remained far from the present.
Her thoughts turned, as they often did, to Caspian—the boy with white hair and crimson eyes.
A symbol of her shame.
A reminder of the day her world fractured.
For years, she had kept her distance, convincing herself it was for the best.
She had told herself that by staying away, she was protecting them both—from the pain, from the questions, from the truth.
But no matter how far she tried to retreat, she couldn't ignore him.
She couldn't ignore the quiet strength he had begun to display, the way he carried himself with a resolve far too great for a child of his age.
Nor could she ignore the faint glimmers of hope that sometimes flickered in his gaze—a hope she knew she didn't deserve to see.
Eleana closed her eyes, leaning back against the seat.
Jaxar and Eirak, sleeping on the front seat.
Eirlys hadn't come with them.
"She never does," Eleana murmured under her breath.
Her other children were at the academy. Jaxar and Eirak presence fill empty.
No amount of chatter or laughter could drown out the memories—or the guilt.
A fleeting thought struck her, unbidden and sharp: Would Caspian have been different if I had embraced him, instead of pushing him away?
She shook her head, willing the thought away, but it lingered.
"Mother, are you alright?" Jaxar's asked.
Eleana forced a smile,"Yes, Jaxar. Just... tired."
He nodded, unconvinced, but turned back to Eirak.
Eleana's gaze fell to her lap.
Her hands trembled faintly, and she clasped them together to still them.
In the depths of her heart, she knew she couldn't run from her past forever.
And she knew that no matter how much she tried to ignore it, her thoughts would always return to the boy she had failed to love—the boy who, despite everything, had never stopped looking at her with hope.
The boy she might have already lost.
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