Stolen bride- Rebirth of abandoned duchess

Child

Not edited

Layla was in the middle of a hallway that seemed too familiar to be a mirage of illusion when she saw a man inside the parlor pouring himself alcohol from the exquisite glass bottle and there was not much that reflected on his face.

He wasn't sad enough to cry and didn't looked to be happy either instead there was a calm that spread throughout the place including his own demeanor, his father's funeral took a day after Layla and the person to be made the new Duke of Everdale was his brother Karl.

A month has passed since the catastrophe struck their ducal house.

Leon drank till he could not even distinguish his surroundings and had stopped attending court, the young master known to be a distinguished prodigy now was just a drunkard. Layla saw the scene and felt a little bit of sympathy for the male who was a blood relative yet there was no profound emotion for him.

For Layla and Leon have never mixed well. Layla wanted to turn away for she did not wished to know what happened to Leon but her feet were frozen in the place as if the god commanding her to watch the scene unfolding.

Marianna entered the room and passed right beside Layla, going near Leon and sitting down adjacent him. After drinking without any abandon even alcohol seemed to have lost its effect thus when Marianna smiled, Leon could not help but be dazed. She and Layla looked somewhat similar since they were twins making him burn with guilt.

"Brother Leon is not attending his official duties and is useless so Brother Karl and I are really disappointed." Marianna looked down as if deeply distressed yet Leon refused to answer her and instead took another gulp of the burning liquid.

"Since brother is useless, you must accompany me to Ardos." The cold eyes that were disinterested sparked for a moment and Leon turned his head to look at the female that smiled.

"What is the need to go to that wretched place?" Not everyone knew but the family members were aware that they had buried an empty casket of Layla six inches deep into the ground because the Emperor of Ardos took her corpse with him.

"I am going to become the concubine of their General Helios." The words were so absurd that Layla who watched the scene unfold was stumped just like Leon but instead of her who did not wished Marianna to destroy her life for herself, Leon just wanted to have Layla's corpse back.

"I will come with you to have her back-"

"Have whom back? The woman who was treated like a sex toy by her betrothed and abused to the extent that she had to run away to save her life? Oh brother! she is dead...after being raped by her betrothed daily she could not take it anymore and is dead." Layla trembled not wishing to hear those words and not recall those devastating memories at all.

"Marianna!" The male cursed so loudly that the servants stationed outside felt chills down their spine.

"What rubbish are you sprouting!? Jeremiah was her husband and she was his lawfully wedded wife, how can you be so insolent to call their relationship such disgusting names!"

Layla who listened to those words felt anger to the extent that even if she would rise from this sleep she would never forgive this brother of hers.

He was abhorrent

Being husband and wife did not meant that she was okay with the daily abuse

She wasn't fine with it

She hated it

Hated his touch

"As expected of my brother...since selling women whether its you mother, sister or in future your daughter is considered fine in this household, I just came to tell you that I had also sold myself to the General of Ardos Helios as a concubine previously so I am not going back to Ardos for taking back my sister's corpse but to serve him as his woman."

Layla gasped and before she could control herself she had flown to her sister's side trying to speak as if that would attract her attention.

"Marianna, don't destroy your life. I would never be happy to see you sad, its okay I am dead so you live well...Marianna" Layla spoke many words but Marianna heard none and kept smiling as Leon looked at her like he had seen a monster.

"What did you say?"

"I am all but a powerless pawn who is sickly and that is why I could not kill Jeremiah before he could marry my sister. Leon my dear brother...since its the last time I am watching you infront of me.." those words had unexplainable chill in them making Leon shiver.

"....I will tell you my secret. So because father was too uptight and my brothers cowardly bastards that pushed my innocent sister to that monster I could not do anything. I cannot explain brother how much hatred I felt when you announced the wedding, so I bought some servants at the Valentine manor to drug their master with slow small amounts of rotting poison and hallucinatory drugs.

I just wished to murder Jeremiah and I wish I had done it sooner but it was my incompetence to fear that you people will find a new bastard to sell my sister to so I couldn't do it." The words were scary even making Layla freeze in her spot and listen.

"It was my biggest mistake. The maid I planted soon told me that Jeremiah hated Layla but lusted after her...tell me brother how could I bear it anymore? How could I not feel so much wrath that I wished to murder you all in cold blood?

So I asked the maid to feed Jeremiah hallucinatory drug and she must instead take place of my sister everytime in her master's bed. But-But I committed a grave mistake. I did not knew that the woman I has brought was jealous of Layla and instead fed her those hallucinatory drugs too.

My sister...my poor Layla....even though she did not had sex with Jeremiah anymore but the horrific hallucinations...she must have experienced tremendous horror."

Layla stood there without even breathing.

She remembered the first few times of the terrible nights spent with Jeremiah but later she did not recalled them at all, it was just in morning that she woke up naked every time beside a cold bed with maids looking at her unkindly did she realized that the horror must have repeated.

She never questioned that maybe Jeremiah did not or could not come her anymore... It was just that the maid who could not take her place wanted her to feel miserable.

After that it became a torture which she endured without speaking.

Until she lost his child.

"I never knew all that since I was bedridden, and when I came to know...the first thing I did was to feed those same drugs to that maid and send her to a brothel.

Brother must have seen how she screamed while experiencing the same thing what my sister might have felt. Those sounds were music to my ears , those horrified cries were so beautiful so I made sure to visit once a month. It was only yesterday that she died of being used so many times that she could not recover.

Brother must know that the most precious thing for a woman is her children, after losing her child Layla had no hopes to live anymore....If only I could tell my sister that I used the forbidden arts to give life to the lump of flesh she buried."

Leon who had never truly known Layla could not hear anymore, his sister had gone through those barbaric acts, what kind of a human was he that he pushed his own blooded sister to a death so devastating.

He deserved death of the worst kind, even the king of hell would not forgive him and make him pay for his sins.

Layla stopped herself from falling down and a deafening sound echoed in her ears,

Her child?

Her child lived

"General Helios of Ardos is known to perform black arts well, so I met with him offered him my body, mind and soul and in return he promised me the life of that child. Brother after I kill you all and burn Avesta to ground for disappointing my sister I would place that child on the throne of a newly build empire."