บท 68: Numb to the feeling

After her tears finally stopped, she raised her head and anyone who saw her would have named her a heartbroken angel. Her eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks wet with the sign of lingering tears visible. Her nose and lips were a shade of bright red as she got up to her feet and gripped the edge of the table to steady herself.

With an emotionless look on her face, she walked numbly to the bathroom and swung open the door. Her eyes landed on the bathtub which was big enough to submerge her whole body in it.

The only way to forget everything, she thought, was to drown all the pain away.

With her dressing gown still on, she twisted open the tap and watched as freezing cold water filled the marble white bath. After it was filled to the brim, she closed the tap and gazed at the bath with an empty look.

How strange was life, she thought.

One second you are the happiest person on Earth and the next, you are wanting to drown yourself away. She was beaming when she had entered the gardens and now, she only desired to close her eyes and never open them again.

There was no one she had left.

No one she could live for.

No, her heart murmured, and she felt comforted with that one single word. He's still out there.

Theodore.

Theo.

The man who was saving her without even being here. With his face in her mind, she let herself smile and raised her foot to place it in the chilling water.

The coldness didn't bother her. All she felt was... nothing. She felt blank and for the very first time, she was glad that her heart wasn't feeling sad.

Wasn't feeling happy,

Excited,

Hopeful,

Bored,

Angry,

Frustrated,

Worried.

Who was left to be felt worried about?

In a minute, her whole body was under the water, with only her head peeking out. Closing her eyes, she let go.

It felt nothing like she had expected.

—

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER?" roared Alastor, glaring at Diana who had resumed her original form after leaving the room.

They were standing in the Queen's study chamber with Isabella sitting behind a table and twirling her ring around her finger as she ignored the two like she always did.

"I didn't do anything. What do you mean?" she asked and smiled despite trying not to.

Alastor had seen that look too many times to forget what it meant. "What did you tell her?" he asked, his voice low, resembling a growl. "You told her about her mother, didn't you?"

Diana smirked, her dark red lips lifting. "And about her sister."

Alastor froze for a second before letting a furious expression take over his face. From the start, he knew this woman was psychotic but no matter what he did to get rid of her, she was an all-time favorite with the Queen. She got all the jobs done while secretly hiding her identity every day. She had been assigned the job of keeping an eye on Eva along with him after she had killed the small girl named Vanessa.

In some ways, she was too similar to the Queen. They were both heartless and cared only for themselves. If others had to die for them to get what they want, they wouldn't blink an eyelash before ripping their throats out.

He couldn't imagine what Eva would be going through now and glanced at the Queen before hurriedly departing from the room after passing Diana a menacing glare.

After he had slammed the door behind him, Diana let her smile fall which was replaced with an infuriated scowl.

"What do they all see in her?" she questioned but still felt her head aching from the aftereffect of hitting her head against the wall.

"We still don't know what she is hiding behind that frail body of hers," Isabella stated, and noticed hesitation cross Diana's face like a flash.

"Is there something you intend to tell me?" asked the Queen, and Diana looked up and reluctantly nodded.

"Back when I was telling her everything, she had started crying while crouching on the floor. All of a sudden, a burst of uncontrollable power flowed out from her and hit me hard. What do you think it means, My Queen?"

Isabella felt a hint of anxiety enter her heart as she had not expected Eva's powers to emerge so quickly. Was it her emotions reacting to the news of her family's death? But that meant her powers were not in her control and she could go berserk anytime she let her emotions loose.

It scared her to death, but Isabella didn't let it show on her face. The last thing she wanted was to feel afraid in front of her subjects. Especially loyal people who looked up to her as Diana did.

"Is it something we should worry about, Your Majesty?" Isabella landed back on the Earth and looked around to see Diana staring at her worriedly. She had gotten so lost in her thoughts that he had forgotten somebody was listening to her.

"Don't provoke her from now on," she warned, and tried not to stutter out in her fear.

"I don't think there is anything left to stir her up," muttered Diana before bowing and exiting the room to take care of the remaining duties the Queen had delegated to her.

As she strutted along the corridors, she let herself smirk in satisfaction as she noticed the maids bowing as soon as they saw her. Being so hardworking and devoted to her work had made everyone fear her. It made her feel powerful and in control.

She was just about to open the door to her room when her sharp eyes detected Alastor running towards her, pale-faced with worry etched all over his face.

"What's wrong— " she started but he interrupted her with a loud cry.

"Call the physician!"