“You still should have told me.” Noah looked up, his eyes filled with pain. “I trusted you. I trusted you above anyone else and now…” His voice sounded distant and raw, the fight draining out of him as he ran a hand through his hair. “Everything I thought I knew, it’s all been one big lie. My entire life has been a lie.”
The room felt oppressive suddenly, the air thick with unspoken words and raw emotions. Noah’s chest heaved with the effort to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over. He felt unsteady and as he stood up, the ground beneath him seemed to crumble away, leaving him grasping for something, anything, to hold onto.
Sensing his struggle, Riley stood and placed a hand gently on his back. “Let me take you back upstairs.” He said softly though his voice cracked with worry and fear.
“No, I need time to think,” Noah muttered as he pulled away from Riley, his shoulders hunched as if the weight of Lilian’s revelation was pressing down on him. “I need to…I need to be alone. I’m sorry.”
He didn’t wait for a response, didn’t look back as he walked out of the room, his steps heavy as they echoed lightly down the hall, fading away with a finality that echoed throughout the house. Lilian was left sitting there, her hands clasped tightly in front of her, the tears she’d been holding back finally spilling over as her composure finally shattered like glass.
As Noah disappeared from sight, his footsteps still reverberating through the mansions cold, vast halls, Riley remained frozen in the center of the room. His heart pounded like a drum, the rhythmic thud of it only fueling the storm of emotions churning within him. Anger, confusion, hurt–all tangled together in a knot he couldn’t unravel.
Lilian sat across the room from him, her hands trembled as they clutched the fabric of her dress, her tears flowing freely now. The image of her, once so composed and in control, now reduced to this vulnerable state, should have stirred some semblance of pity in Riley, but it did not. Instead, it only intensified the fire burning in his chest, a fire that demanded answers.
“You couldn’t just leave well enough alone, could you? Now look what you’ve done.”
Riley turned slowly, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. “What?” He hissed, his eyes trained on the woman sitting before him. “What did you just say to me?”
“You heard me.” Lilian sneered at him. “We were fine before you showed up, we were happy. But, then you came and you just had to kick the hornets nest. Now, everything has gone straight to hell. Why couldn’t you have just stayed away? Why did you have to come here and turn our lives upside down?”
“Don’t blame me for this mess.” Riley snapped, his voice laced with a fury that startled even him. “You did this with your lies and secrets. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself.”
“I only did what I had to do to protect my family. You know nothing of the pressure I’m under, the strain that’s been put on my shoulders to–”
“Oh, come off it!” Riley growled. “You can’t talk your way out of this. It’s too late. You’ve lied to Noah, you’ve lied to me and God only knows who else you’ve lied to. Every time you open your mouth more lies come out. I can’t trust a word you say, about anything. All you do is spew one horrible lie after another. When’s it going to end?”
“I don’t need you to lecture me.” Lilian said, rising to her feet. “You’re just like your father, you know that? He didn’t know when to keep his mouth shut either.”
“My father who you claimed you didn’t know?” Riley raised an eyebrow, expecting another denial but to his surprise, Lilian only laughed, as though her lack of concern could dispel the raw anger emanating from him.
Lilian’s laughter was cold, hollow–a sharp contrast to the barrage of emotions brewing inside Riley. Her eyes, though red and swollen from crying, held a gleam of something darker, something far more calculating.
“Oh, you poor, naive little thing. Yes, I knew your father. I knew him better than you think, better than you ever could. He was a fool, just like you–so eager to dig into things that were better left buried.”
Riley’s breath caught in his throat, a wave of nausea rolling over him. The room seemed to close in around him, the walls pressing in and the shadows deepening. He took a step back, trying to put some distance between himself and Lilian, trying to block out the venomous words she was hurling at him, but it was no use. They pierced through him like daggers, each one cutting deeper than the last.
“Is that why you lied about knowing him? Riley’s voice was thick with emotion, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. “Because you were afraid of what I might find out, of what the truth might reveal?”
Lilian’s expression didn’t change. Her gaze remained cold and penetrating, her lips curling into an ugly sneer. “I lied to protect Noah, to protect my family. Something you couldn’t possibly understand, given that you never had one.”
Her words hit Riley like a punch to the gut, knocking the breath out of his lungs. He stared at her, his eyes wide, disbelief and hurt flickered across his face. “How dare you–”
“How dare I?” Lilian interrupted, her voice rising in pitch. She stalked towards him, her swagger confident and imposing, each step closer meant to intimidate and Riley suddenly found himself backing up out of pure survival instinct. He was no longer talking to a woman, he was being cornered by a monster, a foul creature from his nightmares. She grinned wider as she sunk her claws in deeper. She was out for blood. “How dare I?” She growled again, “how dare you! You come into my home, into my life, and start unraveling everything I’ve worked so hard to protect, and then you have the audacity to question me? To question my choices?”
Riley’s anger flared, a white-hot flame that burned through the pain and confusion. “Your choices?” He spat, taking a hesitant step forward, refusing to back down. “Your choices have destroyed lives, Lilian! They’ve ruined Noah’s life. They’ve ruined mine. And for what? For some twisted sense of control?”
Lilian’s eyes flashed with anger but she held her ground. “I didn’t destroy Noah’s life.” She countered. “I saved it. Everything I’ve done has been for him, to benefit him. He is who he is today because of me!”
“And how has he benefited from your lies, Lilian? He’s lived his life as a recluse, scared to leave this house, scared to live beyond the shelter and safety of these walls. You manipulate and control him, and the moment he actually connects with someone, someone who could actually make him happy, you do everything in your power to drive us apart! Why? Why do you hate me so much? What the hell did I ever do to you? Is it because you’re scared I’ll take Noah away from you? Are you scared that he’ll abandon you? Or can you just not bear the thought that he could love someone other than you? That he could build a life with someone new?”
“This has nothing to do with you, you little worm! You’re insignificant, an insect, a pest. You’re so caught up with your own petty little problems that you fail to see the truth even when it’s right under your nose.” Lilian placed a hand on her forehead then rubbed at her temples. She was shaken, Riley could see that, but to her credit she remained in control though he could tell that her resolve was slipping as she desperately tried to maintain order and authority.