Chapter 30: Villain's Side
Genie looked at me stupefied. Her body leant with the shock of my words as if I had knocked her sideways.
In a quick second her hands grabbed my face and forced me to look into her eyes. "How do you know that name? Do you remember everything now, my lady?"
I tried not to cringe at the unfamiliar title given to me. The way she addressed me made me feel a social status distance between us that I was unaware of.
For a minute it was tempting to pretend like I had recalled the past to see just how much of it she knew that involved me, but I was already taking advantage of her trust. I couldn't get any lower within such a small span of time. It would make her not trust me to help me with future tasks.
"No, I don't. I told you, I saw Elisabetta. I spoke with her too. She told me about him."
Genie's face became fierce with a scorn.
"I hope she told you that that man is not to be trusted."
Feeling like I was slapped in the face, I became closemouthed.
Her eyebrows arched at my silence. "I'm guessing she didn't tell you based on your reaction. Seeing as how you're asking me to take you to someone like him, I bet she told you the complete opposite. Similar to the lies she had been telling everyone all those years."
"What lies?"
She looked at me apprehensively.
I felt like I was running in circles here. I'd just like some explanation. It was like everyone had a problem with my inquiries or curiosities. I was sure it wasn't too much.
It was just a question.
I sighed, reaching out for her hands. "Genie, you have to tell me all that you remember. That's the only way I can trust your words completely."
Her throat moved as she swallowed nervously.
"Not even my lord knows that I remember these things in detail. He thinks I have forgotten most of it as I am now human, but for some reason, they all came back to me as a foggy haze of a past I don't remember living. If I were to tell you what I know and you act on impulse, he's going to know that I am at fault. He could easily make me regret doing something like that with a snap of his fingers."
Her fear for all the possibilities of what could occur after telling me what she was bound to was crystal clear.
It wasn't only that. She was also warning me about Angelo's capabilities of making her suffer because of my enlightenment. A level of revelation he could never brace himself for, not even in a million years.
I wanted to tell Genie that it was okayâthat she didn't have to put herself in danger for me. I wished to assure her that even if she did tell me that I wouldn't act on what I was told.
But I couldn't promise her any of that.
She knew it, and I did too.
So I kept quiet, only squeezing her hand as a non-verbal plea.
She looked down at our intertwined hands and made a face of absolute defeat.
There, I knew she had made up her mind.
I had said earlier that I needed the cold, hard truth.
That was exactly what I got.
"Elisabetta was very lonely when she was in heaven. I don't know the technicalities of it all, but I do know that because of this loneliness she befriended a fellow high-ranking angel like Angelo. Mikael. He was just as powerful, beautiful and deserving of praise for his talents. However, he was known for his derailing actions due to earthly temptations but would constantly beg God to forgive him each time he committed them. And God would do so because Mikael was one of his most beloved sons. 'One of' being the key phrase. Everyone with a brain knew that Angelo was really the apple of the Almighty's eyes. And because of that, Mikael was always jealous. That's how youâor should I say Elisabettaâ comes in."
My mouth worked fast. "Did he try to steal her away from him?"
"No."
I breathed a sigh of relief, however it was short lived.
"He didn't have to. She got involved with him willingly."
I almost fell off the furniture I was laying on.
"W-What?" I sputtered in shock. "Why would she do that?"
Why would Angelo's lover befriend his so-called enemy? Could it have been an act to inspire jealousy because of how bored she was?
Based on Genie's face though, I knew it was much deeper than that.
The depths of the entire story was much filthier and weaved with forbidden ties that I could not even begin to imagine. For some reason that thought made me nervous and on edge for finding out just what had gone down between them. As she looked at me, I knew she felt the same thing too. The nail biting tension. As she recognized what I was feeling, Genie released a low sigh. "You don't have to look that petrified. All of this isn't on you. You didn't do what she did. It's all her. It's just sad that technically you were her for a moment in time."
I felt solid relief hearing that. In spite of that, I knew that whatever was coming next was not going to be good.
Genie looked me dead in the eyes as she spoke again.
"Mikael became close to Elisabetta. With his charm and distracting beauty, he made it easy for her to fall for him. He offered what Angelo couldn't in the moment that she needed him the most."
I felt myself become as stiff as a board hearing my suspicions being confirmed.
She had done what I had predicted.
Out of the inherent need for someone's attention sometimes people did things that they would not normally do. Maybe that had been the case for Elisabetta as she pined for Angelo. She wanted him, but apparently he had not given her the amount of time she desired, so she drew for the biggest red flag she could to ensure he would be begging for hers. Whether that knee-jerk reaction was brought about by his fear of her being in the company of a dangerous being or just from plain jealousy, she didn't care. She just wanted him to take a look at her. To be as miserable as she was feeling all alone. And that misery came in the form of a man he obviously loathed.
"Do you know what another word for love is, Isabelle?" Genie asked without wanting an actual answer. "It's support. Mikael gave her that. And because of this, she thought he had become her one true love and Angelo had been a figment of her imagination. She thought she had made a grave mistake. Elisabetta was sure now that the life that she planned with Angelo was no longer what she desired. She wanted someone who could concede to her in times of chaos â who was on her side through thick and thin. Not someone who wanted the overall good for everyone. She didn't want someone who did not selfishly take her side."
"Don't tell me she..."
"No," Genie shot down my infidelity suspicions quickly.
Thank God.
If she had acted on her desires while still being in a relationship with Angelo, I wouldn't know what to think other than the fact that would have made her such a lousy partner. Cheating was the lowest form of disrespect. I did not see myself understanding how that would not be a choice by a person that showed their cowardice in the most unflattering way.
For some reason, that would have made sense seeing that she was quick to blame Angelo for doing the same thing.
She hinted that he was not loyal to her.
Maybe that had been in a way that I had misinterpreted.
Now I was more confused than ever because of Genie's refutation.
"She didn't cheat on him. But she did something far worse."
I waited for her to speak again, but it was like she no longer wanted to say what she had built up inside.
She hesitated, then hesitated again.
I realized only later that she had sensed something that I had failed to.
Within the next second, Angelo had returned with a smooth, almost silent blow of the wind.
Genie and I looked away from each other instantly.
It would have seemed suspicious if it weren't for the fact that a cough ensued from me because of the quick movement. I never thought I would be relieved by the symptoms of a cold the way I did right now.
The man was quick to react and air hopped to the other side of the room and back.
Angelo waited patiently on the sidelines for me to recover after my body expelled dry air. He did not bat an eyelash at how quickly my friend had removed herself from the space. He only focused on getting me water, courtesy of the glass he went for, after I had stopped shaking and semi-choking.
While I gulped it down, I couldn't help but think about all the things that were being thrown at me all at once.
Just how will I be able to have these clues fall down like pieces into place?
It seemed impossible to do that without there being a handful of regrets in hindsight.
I truly didn't know what to do.
For this reason, I decided to stick to my initial task of getting to find out the other side's telling of the story.
The villain's side.