Chapter 1.8: 36 days of suffering

Leila had slightly miscalculated the arrival of Cleo's brother. She had to act like a frightened child for weeks as she waited. Cleo's parents were enraged by how badly she'd been treated. The entire household was on edge when they saw her current state. If she broke her mask too early, the man would never slip into her grasp. That day in prison she realized something. Men in this world liked to break down their adversaries.

The prince saw Cleo at her most attractive when she was on her knees, begging for her life in a fit of hysteria. She had no doubt that Cleo's brothers would be the same. They desired the love their parents showered her with. She had no doubt they secretly wished her dead and celebrated her imprisonment. So when they found out not only she survived but came home harmed and a shell of herself, they cracked.

'This pitiful act better pay off,' The teenager listened to the ruckus outside her door eagerly. 'I can't afford people thinking they can walk all over me.'

She sighed and shook her thoughts away. 'But, I doubt Cleo's brothers would like her confidence at a time like this.' It was best to play the damsel role when surrounded by men like that. Then, when their backs were turned you would strike.

The first to return was the oldest. Leila had been laying in bed when the man arrived. She bristled and clenched at her blankets. He sounded angry, his voice was deeper than she expected. Part of her was scared. This man hated the body she was in more than he valued his own life. In his eyes, Cleo's birth signaled the end of his childhood. Her death would surely be a blessing.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and sat up. The blanket fell down revealing the thin nightgown she wore. Her skin wasn't as bruised as before but its remnants remained visible. Leila felt a small smile come on her face. Even if the man tried to kill her, their parents would never love him. His brothers would always see him as a rival and his life wouldn't change.

She got off the bed and planted her feet loudly on the floor. Her hands moved to undo the braid in her hair until it was a mess of curls. The man was coming closer and no one could stop him. She heard him roughly push aside a maid who said she was asleep. What a brute, she knew she'd enjoy getting rid of him after the prince was dead. With her hair a mess she felt her face.

Still tender from her latest meltdown, she pretended to have a night terror. It ended with her face being slammed into a bedpost. The touch hurt from how tender her cheeks felt but she smiled wider. It was perfect for what was about to happen. She walked towards the door and reached for the doorknob. He needed to see her up close, even if he found himself lost for words.

"...Brother?" Leila feigned confusion as the door swung open to reveal the man. She curled into herself, looking downward in shame.

The man looked at her in shock, his grip on the door loosening as he saw her body. Volume four of the book described Cleo's brothers as strong men with long hair. This rang true as she was faced with a man who had a strong but lithe build. He was dressed in the uniform of a bodyguard with his black hood falling downward. This revealed his black hair which looked like a mirror image of his younger siblings. He towered over her at a loss for words as she started to cower.

"Brother please," She moved to cover her chest with her hands pitifully. A tear fell down her cheek as she was unable to meet his gaze. "I'm sorry we have to meet again like this. I'm a disgrace."

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

His gaze darkened at her words and before she knew it he was holding her shoulders. His grip was strong as he firmly grabbed at her frail body.

"Cleo, the prince did this to you?" He ignored her words and instead looked as if he were sick. His fingers touched her bony shoulders and recoiled.

Leila played her part with a sniffle leaving her. She covered her face and began to cry. "Brother, I disgraced our family name. The prince ordered his men to beat me after his beloved was attacked. I should have fought harder as father taught us to!"

She made to scream the last sentence and grabbed at her head. Leila was exhausted from her lack of sleep but she needed to do this. He heard of her fits but he needed to see one up close. The teenager wanted him to feel her pain and be consumed by it. That way the guilt of wanting this to happen would devour his mind. He wouldn't be able to sleep without seeing her destroyed self in his vision.

"I cried for my father to save me but those brutes laughed at me. They stripped me naked in front of the entire palace staff and beat me." Her hands moved to her throat and she gripped at it. "I was forced to eat strange liquids and if I threw it up they force-fed it to me."

"Sister stop!" Her brother pulled her body to his chest and shielded her from the world. She saw his expression as he did so. His guilt was laid bare to the world as he held her.

The man was disgusting. He would've been filled with joy at Cleo's original death. The sister who was always put above him was slain like a pig. Her body would be trash to him that he would ignore. Cleo was a conquest to show his parents who were the better of the two. That euphoric high was gone as her body lay against his. To see firsthand the torture she had gone through by her former lover pained him. And the knowledge that he wanted it to happen made the man sick as she cried. It was perfect, Leila made sure to meet his disturbed gaze and hold onto it. She wanted to see the light in his eyes be snuffed out as reality hit him.

Personally, she didn't have anything against him. But she had something against cowards who didn't think things through. Any of Cleo's brothers could have saved her. They could have fought for her freedom as her parents had. But they stood by and never visited her during her imprisonment. When Leila felt that whip slice away at her body, they were nowhere to be found. The character is written as a nobleman neglected by a cold mother and a careless father. He forgot all his morals to wait for his little sister to crumble. The original Cleo wrote each of her brother's letters and they burned them.

'Cleo, did anyone ever love you?' Leila hid her face in the man's chest. A hand patted her head as she heard the maid from earlier speak far away 'Or did everyone just see you as a possession?'

"Please don't work yourself up," The man sounded desperate as he comforted her. She felt a smirk grow on her hidden face as he continued. "I'll take care of everything with our mother and father. Just go back to sleep, sister."

She nodded her head and was engulfed in satisfaction. The whole household would bend to her will in a few months. She'd have everyone at her feet, eager to help her revenge. To them, she was an injured fawn who desperately needed to be saved. The girl they had raised was gone and replaced by someone much different. Too bad they didn't know her true intentions. If only they weren't monsters who killed for a living. Innocent blood was on their hands all for a check. She'd never come to love a killer, much less one who wasn't real.

Slowly, her brother pushed her away and looked at her tear-ridden face. "Do you want me to stay with you until you fall asleep?"

Leila nodded again and rubbed at her arm sheepishly. She was struggling not to berate the older man. It was amazing how panicked he looked. She wondered if he had planned on doing something to her and the maid's presence stopped him. That would explain his behavior more than simple guilt. Had he come to finish the job and act as if he found her dead body? Was he really that callous of a human being to murder his own sister? Just for a little sliver of parental love, he would kill the one family member who cared for him. It was pathetic.

"Thank you brother," She grabbed one of his hands and held it close. "I feel much better knowing you're here to protect me."