Accursed Heir

Betrayal Unveiled

A soft knock echoed through Elijah’s study, rousing him from his reading. The night was thick and still, the air heavy with the scent of old leather and parchment as he pored over Matthias’s journal. He’d grown accustomed to the solitude of these quiet evenings, the comforting repetition of familiar lines, but something about the knock sent a chill down his spine.

When the door opened, he saw Lina standing there, her face shadowed and unreadable in the dim light. She held a small stack of papers in her hand, her grip tight as if she were afraid they might slip away. Elijah’s heart tightened at the sight of her, hoping for a moment that she’d come to talk, to reach across the chasm that had grown between them. But her expression was cold, her gaze averted as she stepped inside.

“Lina?” he asked, setting the journal aside. “Is everything all right?”

She didn’t answer for a moment, her gaze drifting to the window as if gathering her thoughts, steeling herself. She turned slowly, extending the papers toward him with a hand that trembled slightly. When she finally met his eyes, her expression was one he had never seen before—detached, almost businesslike.

“I need you to sign these,” she said, her voice flat.

Elijah took the papers from her, a wave of confusion washing over him as he scanned the heading: Divorce Agreement. The words seemed foreign, surreal, meaning slipping through his mind like water. He blinked, struggling to understand what he was seeing, what it meant.

“Lina…” He looked up, searching her face, but she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “What… what is this? Divorce?”

“It’s exactly what it looks like,” she replied, her tone icy. “I want you to sign it, Elijah. I want you to let me go.”

Her words struck him like a blow, leaving him momentarily breathless. He searched her face, hoping for some sign of hesitation, of doubt, but found only cold determination. The woman before him was a stranger, her expression as unyielding as stone. He struggled to find his voice, to make sense of the betrayal staring him in the face.

“Why?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper. “We’re bound by more than just… marriage, Lina. You know that. You know why I’m here.”

A bitter laugh escaped her, sharp and jarring. “The reason you’re here?” She shook her head, her lips twisted into a mocking smile. “You’re here because my grandfather wanted you here, not because you wanted to be. I was just an obligation to you, Elijah. A duty. Nothing more.”

“That’s not true,” he murmured, his voice thick with the weight of his own words. But she cut him off with a glare, her face hardening.

“It is true,” she shot back. “And I’ve spent the last three years trapped in a life I never wanted because of your ‘duty.’” Her voice softened, turning almost pitying. “You don’t even see me, Elijah. Not really. You see a responsibility, a task to be carried out. But now… things have changed.”

Something in her voice sent a shiver through him, a sense of finality that chilled him to the bone. “Changed?” he repeated, his heart pounding with dread. “What do you mean?”

She held his gaze, her eyes sharp, unflinching. “I’m pregnant, Elijah,” she said, her voice steady, almost defiant. “But the child isn’t yours. It’s Charles’s.”

The world seemed to tilt beneath him, his mind struggling to comprehend the words she had just spoken. He felt as though he’d been struck, the ground yanked from beneath his feet, leaving him adrift in a void of betrayal and disbelief.

“You… you’re carrying Charles’s child?” he asked, his voice faint, choked with the weight of her confession.

“Yes,” she replied without a hint of hesitation, her expression as cold as ever. “And I want to be with him. He’s offered me a life that I could never have with you—a life of freedom, of wealth, of everything you could never give me.”

Elijah’s fists clenched at his sides, anger and heartbreak roiling within him. “I’ve given you everything I could, Lina,” he said, his voice raw. “I gave up my life for you. I took vows to protect you, to keep you safe. Do you think that was easy?”

“Keep me safe?” she echoed, her eyes narrowing. “Safe from what, Elijah? Shadows? Superstitions? I’ve seen no monsters, no threats, only your endless rituals, your secrets, your… silence.” Her voice rose, trembling with frustration. “I want more than a life of whispers and empty promises. I want something real.”

“Real?” he repeated, struggling to keep his voice steady. “And you think Charles will give you that? You think he understands anything about what I’ve done—what I’ve sacrificed—for you?”

Lina’s gaze was unwavering, her lips pressing into a thin line. “Yes, I do,” she said, her voice soft but unyielding. “Charles has offered me freedom, Elijah. The chance to live without fear, without hiding. And now, I’m carrying his child. I want a life where I don’t have to look over my shoulder, wondering what dark secrets you’re hiding.”

Elijah stared at her, feeling his heart fracture under the weight of her words. He had bound himself to her out of love, out of a promise to her grandfather, and yet, standing before him now was a woman who saw him as little more than a cage.

“And what of my promise, Lina?” he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper. “What of the life I gave up, the duty I’ve carried all these years? Was that nothing to you?”

For the briefest moment, her expression softened, and he thought he saw a flicker of guilt in her eyes. But it vanished, replaced by a cold resolve. “I never asked for this life, Elijah. I never asked for you. I was young, grieving, confused. And you… you made me feel trapped. Charles has shown me that there’s more to life than fear.”

He shook his head, struggling to reconcile the woman before him with the one he had vowed to protect. “And what will you tell your child, Lina?” he asked, his voice thick with sorrow. “Will you tell him his mother abandoned her vows? That she left behind the one man who would have given everything to keep her safe?”

Her gaze flickered, and for the first time, she looked away, her expression faltering. “Don’t… don’t make this harder than it has to be, Elijah,” she murmured, her voice tinged with something almost like regret. “Just… sign the papers. Let me go.”

He looked down at the papers in his hand, feeling the weight of her request settle over him like a shroud. The life he had sacrificed, the vows he had taken—it had all come to this. A hollow promise to a woman who wanted nothing from him.

Slowly, he placed the papers on the desk, his hand hovering over them as though they might burn him. Every instinct, every fiber of his being urged him to refuse, to fight for her, to remind her of the darkness that lay beyond the safety he’d fought to provide.

“Very well,” he said, his voice low, resigned. “If this is what you truly want… I’ll sign.”

A faint smile crossed her lips, a flicker of relief softening her features. “Thank you, Elijah,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “It’s for the best. For both of us.”

She turned, walking to the door, but as she reached it, she paused, glancing back at him. “For what it’s worth… I hope you find peace. I truly do.”

And with that, she was gone, leaving him alone with the papers, the silence, and the bitter remnants of a life he had tried so hard to hold together.

Elijah sank into his chair, the divorce agreement heavy in his hands. He traced the bold words with his finger, the ink cold, impersonal, yet final. He had lost her—to a man who could give her everything he could not. A man who offered her wealth, freedom, and a life without the shadows of his own devotion.

In the quiet of the study, he looked down at Matthias’s journal, feeling the weight of his mentor’s last words settle over him: “Protect her, Elijah. No matter the cost.” But now, that cost felt hollow, as though his sacrifice had been in vain.

Setting the papers aside, Elijah rose, feeling a cold resolve harden within him. If Lina no longer wanted his protection, he would let her go. But he would not abandon his duty—not to the town, Matthias’s memory, and certainly not to the darkness that lay beyond.