Snippet #2566767

(Posting in sections)

Selene couldn’t speak. It seemed like a month had come and gone and still, she couldn’t force words out. She just sat there, staring at the boy she had watched turn into a man. Aubrey. Her first time, first love, first huge mistake. The one she had loved and hurt the most. Aubrey. The face she saw when she closed her eyes.

“You have no idea how good it feels to hear you say that” Selene finally managed, pale hands hovering at her mouth. “All of that - everything - that’s exactly how I’d been feeling. I’ve always loved you Aubrey, loved you sincerely - even when that love was kind of fucked up it was always sincere.”

“But .... There’s something I have to confess” she forced herself to go on. She wanted to keep on living this fairy tale - the one where Aubrey didn’t remember all the pain Selene had caused him. But fairy tales had gotten Selene in enough trouble already. “There’s .... a lot you don’t remember.”

“I cheated on you. Not ... intentionally. Not at first. I was kidnapped - by this werewolf warlord, down in Mexico - one of the old tribes. He forced me to marry him ... Forced me to do a lot of things. But there came a point when I wasn’t a prisoner anymore - at least not in my heart. I loved my husband, I loved being queen. I never stopped loving you - not for a second - but ... it felt nice, being with Akili - my husband. What we had was .... it was simple - pure. I was his wife, he worshipped me, indulged me - and I did the same for him. There was nothing complex about it. Not like what we have.”

“But after I found out I was pregnant ... after I came back North .... Well I realized that I like complex. What we have hasn’t always been perfect, but it’s what I want. If you still want me, that is.”

Selene wanted to end it there. It had already taken so much out of her to say those words, to admit her mistakes. But no, she owed it to Aubrey to tell him everything. “There’s one other thing you should know. When we were broken up - that’s right, you should know we broke up. You didn’t know the baby was yours - so you left and you found someone else. She’s here - if you want to see her. I don’t know if you even remember her .... I just thought you deserved to know about her. I don’t know if you loved her - or if this changes anything ... I just ... I thought you should know.”

“I’ll understand if you want to take some time to reconsider ... everything” she said, staring at her belly. Inside, the babies were twitching about. “I really want you to be a part of the twins’ lives ... But I don’t want you to be with me because you feel obligated.”

She put up a hand before he could say anything. “Don’t. Don’t say anything. Just think - please. I want to be with you, yes. But it’s more important to me that you be happy. I don’t want you doing anything you regret.”