The Dark Side Of Fate by Karima Sa'ad Usman

121 Amanda's truth

~Tamia~

Getting Nicole and the children settled in wasn't a challenge. The children were pleasant and a joy to have around. They were eight years old, and I was a bit envious of them but glad I had my little bundle of joy growing inside me.

"Lady Tamia, I am grateful that you would welcome us into your home," Nicole said while her husband helped put their bags in the room. It was my old room.

I thought Amanda would be in it, but I was told Sylvester changed his mind about putting her there and put her in the smaller room.

"Oh, I am not Lady yet. Our wedding is in two weeks. Stephanie Volkov is still the Lady of the north; they refer to me as Luna for now, and having you in this place is a joy. It is also your home," I said, and she smiled and came to hug me.

"Thank you so much. It really means a lot. We had been running around and hiding before we had our triplets. At least now we can rest." She said, and my heart broke.

Hearing her say they have not known peace for the years they have been together was hard. It is the worst thing that can ever happen to anyone.

"Please rest," I said, and she held my hand.

"If there is anything you need me to help with, kindly let me know. I am good with house chores," She said and looked at her husband.

"We do not plan to be freeloaders here. We would like to earn our keep," she said, and my heart broke into pieces. David is a Volkov. I wonder how he grew up and how they have lived for them to be this way.

"I am sure Sylvester would find a place for his brother. As for you, you're a luna here too, so start acting like one. My friends and I are having evening tea later; I would like you to join us," I told her, and she looked at David, who nodded.

I did not know if Sylvester would want to spend time with his brother and get to know him. We were planning an operation; I could not jeopardise it and send David to where Sylvester was having his meeting. I would have to allow Sylvester to move at his own pace.

"Do you know where my older brother is?" David asked me, and I knew he was talking about Dominic.

Dominic might have changed, but he was still a douchebag.

"You mean Dominic?" I said, and he nodded.

"I am sure he will come searching for you once he is through with his engagements," I said, not wanting to get into details and start explaining things to him. I wanted to keep it simple.

"Okay, ehm, I will take the triplets to their rooms. Tanya and Liz would have a room while Justin would have a room to himself," I said, and Justin squealed.

It was clear he had to share with his sisters most of his life.

"A room would be fine. I am sure you have other guests," Nicole said, and I shook my head.

"He is a boy and deserves his own space, and the girls deserve their privacy, too," I said, winking at Liz and Tanya, who grinned at me.

"Come on," I said, and with that, I exited my former bedroom, which was now David and Nicole's bedroom.

I did not take the children too far away from their parent's room. I gave them the rooms immediately after their parents' room. Justin started jumping on the bed when we entered the space allocated to him. He looked so excited that it warmed my heart.

I gave the girls the only room left; Amanda's room was beside it. I needed to question Amanda before the tea party.

Once the girls were settled into their room, I excused myself.

I went to the door of Amanda's room, and one of the Kappas lurking about used the key to open it so I could enter the room.

I entered the room, and there she was, standing by the window with her hand on her bump, staring outside. She turned to look at me. Her eyes were swollen, and I knew she must have cried her heart out.

"Amanda," I said, and she left the window and approached me. She looked like she had aged a bit from the last time I saw her at the Arena.

"Lady Tamia," she said and bowed her head to show her respect.

"Why?" was all I could ask her.

We stood there for a few seconds, and she looked at me. I knew she was thinking of how best to start. I was all ears.

She wiped away her tears.

"I had no choice. My father already had set everything in motion. I did not know until they took you to the north. That was when he became forceful. He had set everything in motion." she said, and I sighed.

"Before then?" I asked her knowing she had visited her father too often for comfort before the north attacked. I thought she went to complain to her father about her living condition, but now I know better.

"When he asked me to lie that Leo accepted me, I went along with it because only a fool would defy my father. Everyone that defies him ends up dead," she said, and she did not need to elaborate on this. My parents paid the price for their defiance. Leo's father, their Alpha then, could not protect them. NôvelDrama.Org owns © this.

"He would invite me, and during my visits, he would ask me what was happening in our house, pretending he cared about my well-being. I did not think much of it, so I talked.

I said everything exactly how it was, and he would tell me to hang in there and that it would soon improve. It sounded generic and rehearsed, but I would excuse it since I knew he did not know how to show affection.

When you gave yourself up, and they took you away, everything changed. He began to push me to marry Leo, and he started asking me private questions about Leo's moves and what Leo was up to if he was going to avenge the attack and so on. I thought that was a bit too nosey, so I pushed back. He told me I was dispensable; if I did not do what he wanted, he would just get me out of the way and do what he liked. Knowing his brutality, I knew he could kill Leo and me, so I agreed to feed him information. After that decision, I did not know what to do, but I knew it would buy us time.

You need to understand that I was grabbing on straws. Leo hated me, so I dared not confide in him, and you were no longer with us. I was alone. Everyone looked up to me as the head Luna of the east, so I had to keep going. I performed these luna duties to the best of my abilities while I fed my father lies to satiate him.

It was getting tedious, especially when I feared my information would not check out.

One day I decided I would run away. Leo didn't love me, and he didn't want me around him, and I knew my father would soon find out that I had been lying to him. Leo had the power to push back; he had Max and Kyle, but I had no one, and I doubted he would protect me from my father since he blamed me for losing you.

Leo saw me moving out of my room with my bags the day I wanted to leave. I could not tell him the real reason, so I made it seem like it was a matter of the heart, hopeful that he would let me leave, but he pleaded with me to stay, and I was too in love to walk away.

I knew he needed help and could not be left alone, so I chose to risk it and stay. Every day I woke up fearing my father would find out I had been lying.

When Leo decided to leave for the games, I decided to visit my father's house and steal some information that I knew might keep me safe. The flash drive is currently in my bag at the hotel. It has the list of people he planned his mutiny with and how they funded themselves. Every single one of them. I made sure I took the information before joining Leo in the north," She said, and I paused.

"Where is the flash drive right now?" I asked, and she sighed.

"In our hotel suite, I put it in Leo's bag before we came here. So if they checked my things, they wouldn't find it," She said, and I was elated. That was all the information we needed to nail more people. I hid my excitement so she would finish talking and I could send people to get their stuff.

"Continue," I said, and she nodded.

"My father followed me here, and he was mad but couldn't do anything. That was why I was always in public or with Leo. I had lied to him that Leo won't come to the north. I had messed up his plans because I knew he wanted to plan an attack on your life and make it seem like it was an act of revenge by Leo. He knows Lord Volkov would lose it and attack Leo blindly. I happened on that information the last time I visited him, so I lied to him.

He also knows Leo isn't a pushover and would fight Lord Volkov. Leo and Devin are friends, so they would get into the war they have been trying to create. Leo being here spoiled the plan, and he was mad.

The night Leo caught me, I had learned that day from a friend who was in a society that my father had put a target on my head and they were going to kill me. I could not tell Leo, but I remained with him, waiting for an opportunity to run. The fact that I am almost due did not help the matter either." She said and went to sit on the foot of the bed. That was when I noticed that she had silver bracelets on.

"Who put that on you?" I asked her.

"Leo. I told him I won't run, but he wouldn't have it," she said, and I took out my hairpin to pick the lock on the bracelet.

Taking her hand, I began to pick the lock.

"You know how to do this too?" she asked me, amused while I picked the lock.

"Yes, Leo taught me when I was young. It was the only way I could get out of the house at night so we could hang out," I said, and the bracelet opened.

"I am sorry I ruined your happily ever after with Leo, Tamia. I wish I never went to that damn party," she said, sounding genuinely regretful.

"We all wished we never went to that party, but I believe it was meant to happen because I am where I was meant to be all along," I said, and she nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I am glad you got your happily ever after, Tamia; you deserve it. I was too jealous of you to be nice to you back then, and I am sorry. I wish I could take it all back. But know that I did not want to come

into your home. When my father found out we were fated, he began to scheme. I should have fought back," She said, and I pulled her close to hold her. She broke down completely.

I felt her fear and her anguish. I wished Leo would just try with her. She was a victim like all of us, caught in the web of her father's lies.

As things were, if we did not put an end to Ramsey, it is only a matter of time before he gets to Amanda and kills her. Any man that can order the assassination of his child is cold-hearted. When we catch the bastard, there is no point in being merciful. He did not deserve it at all.

I left Amanda in the room and sent Kappa Wilson to Leo's hotel to get their stuff. I also asked two female staff to cater to Amanda's needs. The woman had been through enough, and the truth was, if she had not come into our lives, I would not be with Sylvester now. I was grateful for how things turned out; it was time for peace.