Chapter 12
In a mansion that could only be called a palace, there sat a man beside the fireplace. With a glass of whiskey in his hand, he swirled around the content of the glass as the ice in the glass clattered signaling that his glass was empty. The man looked at the flames burning with deep intensity. He sighed deeply as he leaned back on his seat and called out, "Ophelia" Immediately a dark blonde haired middle-aged woman with hazel eyes appeared and refilled his glass. She had a weak smile on her face and when the man gestured for her to take the seat across her, her smile completely disappeared as she sat there straight with a calm expression. Time had not taken away too much from this once great beauty.
"Are you sure that you have told me all that you know?" the man asked with a serious face.
"She was your aunt, Fred" The woman by the name of Ophelia stated with a frown on her face. This was not the first time she was being questioned as such by her husband on this matter.
The man rubbed his temple to ease his nerves and sighing deeply once more, said, "With her gone, surely she is no more either. I'm sure aunt would have taken care of her. She, after all, knew of her own condition. Am I not right?" The man awaited the response of her wife, but all he got was a small smile.
She had always been like this. She didn't take his side but also didn't go against him either. When he had first married her, he had thought that she would eventually come to be on his side. A support to him in all matters. How wrong he was. Even after three kids, she remained to be neutral. The man who looked to be in his early 50s got up from his seat and patted his wife's hand before stating, "It is late. Let us go to bed, Ophelia." The woman grasped the hand of her husband as they walked hand in hand to their bedroom.
That night, despite laying down in bed and trying his utmost to welcome sleep, it escaped him every time. Fredrick Mallory could not help the unease he felt towards the matter of his aunt's death. As a youngster, he had noticed what was deemed taboo in their family being present and taking shape. However, he had thought that the two were experiencing nothing more than a mutual feeling of pity for each other and that it would eventually pass. He turned in his bed to face his wife's sleeping face. He softly smiled seeing her so calmly asleep. This woman had never loved him, this he knew. Despite all things or her own thoughts, however, she had remained to be by his side. He didn't know why, but for the past few months, he had started to appreciate her presence more than he ever had. He really was getting old was his thought as he internally laughed at himself. Time not stopping for him was exactly the reason that he was in a state of unease. If she were to appear during his time then his family would be in the disadvantage. He wished for her to be either dead and to never appear before him or the Mallory family at all, or that if she does appear it will be at a time when he had the means to take the necessary measures. A trace of cold hatred flashed in Fredrick's eyes as he had these final thoughts as the sun started to appear in the morning sky.