Chapter 51: Can we start over again?
"It is far too late to seek the truth," Izabelle murmured, her head bowed and her voice tinged with weariness.
"Kill me and be done with it." Though she spoke with resignation, the pain threaded through her words was unmistakable. For the first time, she seemed burdened with guilt, as though offering him a final reason to end her life. He despised taking lives devoid of remorse, knowing such actions only added weight to his already heavy soul.
"And what of Belle?" He asked, his voice low but sharp. "Do you feel no guilt for trapping her in a revenge she never deserved?"
Izabelle’s lips curled into a bitter smile. "Guilt, you say? If she were not so trusting, she would have escaped the simplest of my traps. Yes, I pity her. Yet, thanks to me, she now stands in the arms of a man who will cherish her as you never could. You do not deserve her, Quinn!" Her words came as venom, each one meant to wound.
Before she could continue, Quinn’s hand shot out, gripping her throat with unrelenting force. "You will not dictate to me who is worthy of Belle’s love," he hissed, his grip tightening. "Mark my words, you will not live to witness me reclaim her. Yet, when I do, perhaps we shall visit your grave together as a jesting tribute."
With a single movement, he released her, and she fell to the floor, crumpled like discarded parchment. Without sparing her a second glance, he strode out of the dungeon, his rage simmering beneath his composed exterior.
Belle was his, and his alone. No power, mortal or divine, would part them. Even if she were bound to Hezekiah by law or oath, he would find a way. Should the world oppose him, he would simply take her and flee, for she was his anchor, the singular light in the consuming dark.
"Since you are determined to investigate further..." Izabelle began, her voice trailing off as Ray stepped forward, his sword flashing to her throat.
"You have said more than enough," he interrupted coldly. "We shall uncover the remainder of the truth ourselves." With a sharp nod to the guards, he added, "Lock her away."