A Season of Masks and Masquerades

Chapter 57: A Royal Mess

As Edward stood there in front of her, his hand stretched out for her to take, Esther failed to see the deception in his eyes. 

All she could see was honesty, love and happiness, and adoration for her.  His eyes shone like that of a child who has just been given a plate full of his favourite pie, and it was maddening because despite it being afront her eyes she could now not bring herself to believe it. However, she didn't believe the otherwise as well. 

It was too difficult for her to see him as a traitor who apparently had been conspiring all this time to break her heart at her wedding aisle, or perhaps even later, and that he did not truly love her at all, as he said, as she felt it when she saw him in that garden reuniting Florence with Leo for her happiness, when he came to her in that chapel, when he put that ring around her neck, when he touched her, when he kissed her. She felt the love that now was supposed to be a lie. It was beyond possible to comprehend. Her thoughts were a mess.

His eyes didn't carry even the tiniest speck of guilt or lies for her to catch and justify treating him as she should, not that she knew how that was. If this was a week ago, she could swear she saw it, heavy guilt weighing down his eyelids, lies making his lips quiver every time he said a word to her. It was almost evident. But now it was gone, or maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was exactly there, just like it had been all this time, she just didn't want to see it anymore.

Can love really make one so blind? Can it really change things so much as one cannot see the right from the wrong? The delusion from reality?

Love is the enemy of reason, she knew of it when she found herself slipping her hand into Edward's and as he kissed it she knew was too deep in trouble to scurry herself out of it anymore.

Edward walked her to the floor in a hurry almost pulling her behind him. "I was planning to only dance with you again when you had become my wife but this is something that just couldn't wait," he said as they found their place on the dance floor. 

"What?" Esther asked plainly. 

The music had hit notes and they had started moving with the beats. "Well there are a few questions you must answer for me, you see you know me now, all of me, from my truths to my lies, my masks and my masquerades, it is all in front of you but I have just come to realise-" 

They exchanged partners before he could complete his statement. Esther's eyes followed him like if she blinked he would disappear. 

"Realise what?" Esther asked the moment they reunite, not knowing herself what it was that she expected to hear but being impatient nevertheless. If only he could say something that could overweight the accusations that now marked his face every time she looked up at him. 

"That, my dear Esther, I do not know you well at all." 

"I see." She muttered, almost inaudible and took her expectant eyes that now carried disappointment, off his face. From over his shoulder, her eyes met Nate's and the look on his tight face caused a pang of pain and realisation to shoot through her chest. He looked confused, yet angry and enraged to his core, but also in pain. 

It was as if Esther was seeing her own reflection in his face. 

Her face curled only slightly as she failed to contain her emotions and Nate was already storming toward them. The thunder in his gaze was enough for Esther to know for certain, she did not wish to know what he held on his tongue, or behind the fist that he was clenching with all his might. She jumped out of Edward's hand sooner than she needed to, he looked at her quizzically for a second before she resumed dancing with another gentleman. 

Her eyes jumped to Nate, who had stopped in his steps, fortunately, perhaps taken aback by her unexpected halt. She shook her head and begged him to stop and stay there. A vein tightened at Nate's forehead but he obeyed.