Part 54

Stanley stared at the glistening crystal ball, a relic from his imprisonment. Warm light fell on his face as his fingertips glided over its smooth surface, showing a subtle glow inside. Memories surged back, taking him back in time.

Stanley had felt pain for closeness during the worst of his imprisonment, especially with William, his younger brother. But fate had kept them apart, preventing Stanley from witnessing William's childhood and from experiencing the joys and hardships of being a sibling.

But Stanley's love for his brother knew no bounds. He had poured his heart and soul into creating the crystal ball, a vessel for his dreams and longing, with the imagination that comes from love and desperation. Every night he would force himself to sleep, leaving behind the cruel reality of his captivity to enter a world where he and William might play together unrestrained by their mother's gentle embrace.

Stanley found comfort and hope in those dreams. Despite the years and distance between them, he could only envision the bonds of affection they would create, the joy they would share and the adventures they would go on. He treasured each moment as though it were real, remembering every detail.

The day of freedom finally came. After getting out of prison, Stanley continued to think about his unfinished task, which was the crystal ball that he had given William. He smiled bittersweetly and left it there, leaving his brother with a quiet message of love and yearning.

The memory of their dreams together, a ray of hope in the shadow of the past, accompanied Stanley as he left. And he prayed that William could find the crystal ball and, realise the love that had always been there, just waiting to be discovered.

Stanley grinned at the crystal ball, lost in its glow. William, his half-brother, watched him with a puzzled frown. He couldn't understand why Stanley seemed so happy over a silly ball. He had come here to bother Stanley, but now he was getting the opposite reaction.

Stanley met William's gaze with a sincere expression as if trying to convey something important without words.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" William asked Stanley with his eyebrows creased.

"Did you know what is inside this?" Stanley asked him with a smile. William didn't reply.

"I made this for you when we were kids." A wide smile spread across his face when Stanley spoke. He extended his hand for him to take the crystal from it.

"For me?" He asked in a cryptic tone.

"Take a look." He says and places it in his brother's hand. He paused and stared awkwardly down at the crystal.

When its gentle light washed over him as he stepped towards it, he found himself transported into Stanley's world—a world of prison bars and loneliness, where his brother endured hardships beyond imagination.

As the memories unfolded, William felt a pang in his chest. His throat tightened and his pulse quickened. Deep inside him was this prickling heat that radiated out into his skin, making it ache. The intensity of it scared William, and he thought about walking away, but he couldn't. He had no option but to stand and watch his brother's memories and what he wanted to say to his brother.

William saw Stanley's childhood, his longing for family, and his affection for his stepbrother. It was like a movie playing in front of him. Stanley filled the crystal with his wishes. He adored his half-brother when he tried to sneak into the prison and look for him. His small feet will wake Stanley up even when he has no energy after the constant torture by the guards and lack of food. He would use the little magic energy of his life force to appear in front of his clean and make the bloodied clothes disappear. What William saw was a flawless teenager held in prison like a guest. When William hides behind a pillar and looks at Stanley, he makes magical figures fly out of his hand, and William is amazed by the magic.

Stanley wished to spend more time with him and his mother. He always wished to know about his mother, but no one would help him in prison. Eventually, Edmond found out and refrained William from stepping inside the prison. Stanley suffered alone for a very long time. All the constant beating and torture were captured in the crystal. Every night, he used to sit with the crystal and talk to it like he was talking to William. Every year, he used to wish him and his mother a happy birthday and would dream about how it would be to be with both parents. Before he escaped the prison, he hid the crystal in a place for William to find someday.

It was a stark contrast to the stories he had been fed—the lies that had poisoned his mind against his own flesh and blood.

Growing up, William had been taught to see Stanley as the enemy, as a rival for their mother's affection. Edmond had fueled his resentment, filling William's young mind with poisonous words of jealousy and mistrust.

But now, faced with the truth shining brightly in the crystal's glow, William was at a loss. The love he saw in Stanley's memories clashed violently with the hatred he had been taught to harbour. It left him dumbfounded, questioning everything he had ever known.

"You are my brother, William. I always regretted losing our brotherhood. Your father kept us apart all this time, but my affection for you never changed." Stanley said it with a hint of sadness in his tone.

William's heart shattered as he watched his brother's tender moments unfold before him. This wasn't what he had expected. He had come here ready to confront his enemy, to take away what he believed was rightfully his. But now, faced with Stanley's love, his anger boiled over.

"What kind of twisted game are you playing?" William spat, his voice thick with fury. His eyes blazed with red-hot rage, unable to reconcile the truth he had witnessed with the hatred he had been taught to feel. He couldn't bring himself to accept his brother, not after everything he had been told. Even though, deep down, he knew what he saw was real, he wasn't ready to let go of the bitterness that had consumed him for so long.

Stanley pressed his lips into a thin line and shook his head. "There is no trick, William."

"I am not here to bond with you. I am here for Kristen." William says, clenching his fist.

Stanley sighs. "Why are you doing this, William?"

"She belongs with me. I love her." William says confidently, wiping off the smile from Stanley's face.

"You were tricked to think like that, William. She doesn't belong to you. She's mine." William's anger increases, and he lunges forward to hurt his brother with rage.

William landed a punch on Stanley's face, which made blood ooze out of the corner of his mouth. He kept punching him repeatedly, and Stanley just took the blow. "Fight back, you bastard." William gets furious, lifts him in the air, and hits him again, which makes Stanley's back collide against the wall and fall to the ground. William looks at his brother furiously.

His hands were raised in a gesture of peace. "I will not fight you, brother. But you cannot have Kristen." He says and spits the blood from his mouth while struggling to stand up.

"It's because you tricked and manipulated her. She fell for me first, and I love her more than you." William argued stubbornly.

"William, you are my brother, and if you hate me, I will accept it, but if you try to force Kristen, I will stop you," Stanley says it in a warning tone. They lock eyes with a stern and piercing gaze, trying to assert dominance or intimidate each other.

"Huh, let's see that. I will take what's mine." He said as his eyes burned with anger and he walked out of the room.

….

I just walked aimlessly in the garden, and when I heard footsteps, I turned my head and saw William walking towards me furiously with blood on his knuckles. I understood what happened.

Before William opens his mouth to speak,. I asked as my forehead creased, looking at his hand.

"Did you hurt Stanley?"

"Yes." He replies coldly as his eyes bore into mine.

"Why?"

"Are you seriously asking me that?" His nose flared in anger. "I have more than enough reasons to hit him. He took you away from me. He tricked you into falling for him, and above all, he is playing a sick mind game with me." He screams in anger as his face twists. My expression hardened.

"What are you, 12?" I muttered sarcastically.

William was dumbfounded and looked at me speechlessly. "Whether you believe it or not, Stanley is your brother, and you should acknowledge that. How long do you plan to live as your father's puppet? After all these, do you still think whatever happened is others' fault and not yours?" I asked. William just stood quietly. His face softened, and he looked back at me with large, sad eyes.

"William, if there is anyone to blame, it's your father. You should've realised that by now." I said. William's fingers rubbed his temple; the migraine had been growing, pressing harshly against the back of his eyes and beating on his skull.

"Kristen, I know what my father did was wrong by trying to use you for his revenge. But my love for you is true. Everything I did was for you and to be with you, why can't you understand that? Why did you run away from me?" He asked, placing his hands on my arms. His voice was cold and detached.

"I do not love you, William. I love my mate. You just want to possess me; that's not love, your mate is still out there. You should find her." I spoke my mind.

"I was human when I had a crush on you, but I realised later that it was not love." I tried to convince him calmly.

"You are wrong." William denies listening to me. I sigh and lower the fabric of my gown from my shoulder to my right arm slightly to show him my mark. William's eyes turned red in anger, and his fangs were trying to pop out. He was trying hard to control his anger.

"Do you understand what this means? We marked each other. If we don't truly love each other, do you think this is possible? I hope you understand reality and stop wasting your time obsessing over me. You should move on and start living your life, William. I truly want that for you." I said that and placed my hand over his. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words dried up on his tongue and evaporated into silence.

William's face tightened, and he took a step closer, his fingers tracing over my cheek and down my neck, landing on the mark. The confidence and charm he normally projected had withered and died before my eyes when I said that, and now he seemed completely lost.

He placed my hand on his chest and said, "You feel it don't you?"

"Feel what?"

"The pain in here...the pain that comes from the thought of being away from you."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"You don't feel it?" He said it softly and almost woundedly.

"No," I replied, feeling the sharp pain inside me.

William stepped aside with his head hanging low and said, "You should go, Kristen."

I should have walked through that hallway and run down the stairs, but I didn't. I stood there, watching him. So lonely and broken.

"William," I called his name gently, and when he didn't look at me, I softly touched his hand. He lifted his head, and I could see the pain in his eyes. I moved my thumb lightly over the back of his hand, trying to reassure him. "I'm sorry, William. I didn't mean to be cruel.

The corner of his mouth twitched into a half smile, and he sighed, "You don't need to apologise, Kristen. It's not your fault. It's only natural that my feelings are stronger than yours.

He suddenly leaned forward, brushed a light kiss on top of my forehead, and whispered, "I will always love you."

The warmth and affection in his voice and lips made my insides melt. He made me feel the locked-up emotions that he gave me long ago when we first met. He took a step back and gave me a weak smile before walking away.