Chapter 501: Agnes and Victor. Complex feelings. One decision.
"!!!" Violet awoke from her stupor and quickly ran toward her mother.
"Hold the donkey's balls for a minute!"
"Mother, what the fuck is this about remarrying!?"
"Hmm? Was I not clear enough?"
"I'm not talking about that! Do not play with me!" Violet growled angrily.
"But I'm not kidding?" She spoke with an amused face.
"...Victor, say something." Leona's eyes gleamed faintly a light blue, and her teeth changed to sharp fangs long ago.
"...." Agnes narrowed her eyes and turned her gaze to Leona; dark thoughts ran through her head, but she quickly pushed those thoughts out. She knew it would only make Victor annoyed with her if she acted against them.
"…Eh?" Victor looked at Leona in shock.
"Wake up; why do you look like a chick that has lost its mother?" Leona's eyes gleamed with disdain.
"...." Victor's smile trembled a little, isn't this woman being more brutal than before?
"Speak, Mother. What is with this sudden decision? And Darling, don't be silent like a chicken about to be slaughtered."
"....." Since when did you become allies? Hello? Are you not rival species? Where's the rivalry?
Victor was speechless now. He was being targeted by the two white-haired girls! The two got together and started trying to whip him! Look at the audacity!
Despite hearing Violet, Agnes didn't say anything and remained silent. It wasn't until Victor looked at her and said:
"Agnes, explain to me too; I need to know what's going on."
"..." Agnes ignored Violet's questions and looked at Victor.
"I want to marry you; isn't that reason enough?"
"This bitch!" Violet stomped to the floor angrily.
"This bitch!" Leona ground her teeth.
The two spoke at the same time!
Victor's eyes glowed slightly blood red, and he looked at Violet and Leona:
"Show some respect, Girls."
"...." The two flinched a little at Victor's gaze.
"Violet, she is your mother."
"And Leona, she's my mother-in-law... My family."
"...." The two women bit their lips in frustration but realized that Victor was right; so far, the woman hadn't offended them at all.
Words were no longer needed; Victor clearly conveyed what he wanted to say.
He didn't particularly care about women's fights, because he knew the difference between 'jokes' that were a little heavy and words with hostile intent.
Violet and Leona spoke words laced in hostility, and he realized he should take control of the situation.
"Now, explain what has changed?"
"...." Agnes couldn't help but flash a small smile; she was actually pleased internally that Victor managed to handle the situation, but this and that were different things. Now she was stuck at a crossroads; what should she do?
Tell the truth?
Or lie?
When she thought of those two options, she immediately discarded the option of lying.
The one in front of her wasn't just Victor; he was also the man who inherited everything from her ex-husband, including his memories and habits.
And if there's one thing Agnes could never do in front of Adonis, it was lying and succeeding at it.
The man was frighteningly observant and knew her well enough to know when she was lying.
And since the man in front of her was superior in every way to her ex-husband, she knew it would be as easy as breathing to see when she was lying.
"…when we were at the meeting."
"...." Violet and Leona stopped staring with hostility and listened silently.
"I thought about your words... And I realized you were right."
"I needed to make a decision."
"..." Victor nodded and motioned for her to continue; Agnes had Victor's full attention.
"... It would be unfair to both you and me to continue with this marriage... After all, the man I was married to was not you but my late ex-husband; I was married to Adonis... Not... With you."
"...." Violet, at that moment, opened her eyes a little; she was very shocked when she heard her mother say the words' Ex-husband' and 'Late'.
It indicated that at some point, her mother started trying to let go of her feelings for her father.
Something that Violet would find impossible; after all, she wouldn't be able to do the same feat that her mother was doing.
'Wait, that's not my mother; she can't forget my father so fast; he was the love of her life.' Then, looking at Agnes's shaking hands, Violet understood something.
'She's been trying... But she's failing miserably...' She could now understand the feelings her mother was going through.
Has she forgotten Adonis? Impossible. There's no way she could do that; he was the love of her life.
But... She started trying to move on, hid her feelings in her heart, and tried to move on with her life.
Something all people who have lost loved ones do.
Something Violet did too.
It was impossible for her to forget her father; she couldn't do that. His legacy lived on in texts, her memories, her husband's eyes, and her own eyes.
After all, the violet eyes were Adonis' most distinguishing feature.
'Adonis? Like the literal Adonis?' Leona was shocked by something else.
"And in a way, from the way my husband died... I saw a lot of him in you..." She bit her lip, she knew her own words could cause a lot of adverse reactions from Victor, but she needed to say this...
"And in a way... I saw you as a substitute..." Agnes peeked at Victor's reaction with her gaze, but she was surprised when she saw he didn't react to it; he was just standing there with the same neutral face while looking at her with a look that told her to keep going.
"...After that conversation, and situations that I observed... I understood that I was being unfair to you..."
"I understood that I needed to be more truthful..."
"Victor, I'm not going to say I love you for the person you are." Her lips were bleeding from how hard she squeezed, but her eyes never left Victor's.
"That would be a lie and hypocrisy on my part."
"But..."
"I'm willing to try to see 'only' you. I'm willing to learn about you. I'm willing to only see the man known as 'Victor Walker'..."
"I'm betting to see if this 'something' I felt when we had that conversation is real or not."
"...." Victor continued with the same impassive gaze and just nodded for her to continue.
And Agnes' heart began to panic at Victor's unchanging expression, and without overthinking, acting only on emotions, she bit her lip a little harder. Then, when she opened her mouth, she let out the following words:
"...Please just don't leave me alone..." Then, slowly, tears began to paint Agnes's beautiful face.
In a matter of seconds, after letting a few of her true feelings leak out, she completely collapsed.
Victor felt his heart break and couldn't help but soften his gaze.
Agnes looked so…fragile, a very different sight than what he was used to…a view he'd seen in Violet when she'd learned of her father's death.
He understood that with just one word, he could completely break the woman in front of him; she was exposing her broken and bruised heart, a heart that Victor had hurt when he absorbed Adonis.
Victor clenched his fist tightly, and with that last sentence, he realized again how much damage the deed he had done to his family.
"You have to take care of everyone-" Memories of his last meeting with Adonis flashed through Victor's mind.
"I can take many things, but my husband's death hurt a lot. I was completely floored, in despair, but I managed to get up with the flame of revenge..."
"But... I don't want to be left alone... This is something I couldn't bear." Agnes lowered her head, and with her left hand, she held her right arm in a somewhat fragile gesture.
Victor walked towards Agnes and stood in front of her.
Agnes used Victor's large body as support and practically dropped all of her body weight onto Victor; she squeezed Victor's chest a little, and tears began to stain Victor's clothes.
With Agnes' final two sentences, Victor understood that this was the primary reason why Agnes asked again.
The word 'alone' had much more meaning than being alone in one place.
She didn't want to be alone without the 'husband' and 'wife' connection that all couples had.
She didn't want to be alone in the sense that she didn't want to be away from her family.
In a way, Agnes had only had one strong connection in her entire life: with Adonis.
Yes, she loved her daughter, and she got a lot closer compared to before, but her relationship with her daughter didn't compare to the relationship she had with Adonis.
This was one of the dangers of having an extremely possessive personality; when looking at just one person, you unconsciously place all your emotional burdens on that person.
Adonis wasn't just her husband; he was her pillar, her emotional support, her counselor.
The same thing Victor was now to all his wives, Adonis was to Agnes.
Because of his understanding of the danger of this addiction, Victor wanted his women to be independent and shine on their own.
This was one of the reasons why he always supported Violet, Sasha, Ruby, and Natashia and constantly communicated with them and encouraged them to treat each other as support.
A backup in case he disappeared at any time.
Not that he was planning on disappearing or anything, but he just wanted the girls not to be emotionally destabilized if, for some reason, he disappeared. They needed to be strong.
And that was the advice he always gave himself. After all, the same situation could apply to him, too; he was very dependent on his wives, both in a literal and an existential sense.
He needed the blood of all his wives if he was to keep away from his bloodlust.
It was a few words, but in those few words, Victor completely understood Agnes' thoughts; he knew the woman well.
He made a decision. He didn't care if she loved Adonis, and he wouldn't ask her to forget about Adonis either; he knew it was impossible.
Asking a person like Agnes to forget her love was just devastating.
"...You know there's no turning back, right?"
"Mmm..."
"Once you often taste my blood... Even if you want to stop, that will be impossible." Victor wasn't bluffing, he was telling the truth; his blood was like a highly addictive drug.
By the time you get used to eating 5-star food, you can't eat regular food anymore; the same reasoning applies here.
"Mmm..."
"For you to return to normal, I must affect your soul, which is extremely delicate and dangerous."
"...You won't have to."
Victor sighed lightly and patted Agnes' head.
"Are you really sure about this, Agnes?"
"...." Agnes looked up and showed her tearful face to Victor.
Victor gently touched her face and wiped away Agnes' tears.
"Yes, I am." She spoke with conviction.
"... I'm not going to be anyone's replacement, Agnes," Victor reminded.
"I'm not seeing you like that!" She roared as tears began to well up in her eyes.
"...I just want to be close to you..."
"I won't forget Adoni-."
"I know..."
"...?" She made a confused face.
"I'm not asking you to forget anyone, I'm not asking you to sacrifice anything."
Agnes' eyes softened a little; unconsciously, she felt a weight leave her body, which made her enjoy the caresses on her face a little more.
"... I'm just asking that you don't look at me as a substitute; I'm just asking that maybe in time, you can let me take care of your heart."
"But you're already taking care of-." She tried to say something, but Victor cut her off.
"Not this way. You understand what I'm trying to say."
"...." She fell silent and nodded.
Victor laughed in a jovial tone: "Who knows? The day you're ready, maybe we'll move on."
"...." Everyone in the room could understand that the last sentence had more meaning than what Victor implied.
Meanings that all the women present understood.
"For now, just focus on healing your wounds, focus on your revenge, don't think about 'this'."
Agnes's tears began to dry, and only the woman's surprised, kind eyes were to be seen.
"I will be your pillar, Agnes Snow."
'That was originally my duty.'
"All you have to do is move on, kill whoever you have to kill, deal with whatever you have to deal with."
'I will wait as long as necessary, even if it takes millennia.'
"If you are tired, I will help you to rest." He smoothed Agnes' white hair and put it behind her ear.
'Because… I know, at the end of the day.'
He smiled gently and spoke in a tone as if he was caressing Agnes' heart.
"... And... On the day you reach the end of your journey... I will hear your answer."
'I was the cause of your suffering.'
...........
