Her Guardians Lost(84)

Rising up from my bed, Simeon scowled. “You see, dear Cassie, that’s where you’re wrong. If I had taken you tonight, you would have been tainted. I would have taken your virginity from you, never to return again. You would have been marked for life. That is never something you can get back!”

I couldn’t believe the difference in this man. I had been wary of him, but I thought it was because he looked and sounded so much like Stephen. Now I knew my instincts were telling me a very different story. After all this time, people thought Stephen was the evil one.

The sounds of children laughing erupted in the air. I gripped my head, willing it to stop, willing the pain in my gut to cease knowing that Stephen had been wronged all along.

But why did he do it? Why did he take the blame for Simeon? It didn’t make any sense. Michael blamed Stephen all these years for his indiscretion and Stephen just took it. He took all the abuse, all the criticism, and all the disappointment from everyone when it was never him who slept with Elizabeth.

“What do you have over him?”

Simeon looked dumfounded. “What?”

“What could you possibly have over Stephen that would make him take the blame for what you did? What could he have possibly done that was so bad, he was willing to shoulder all the abandonment people dished out when everyone thought he had slept with Elizabeth?”

Simeon threw his head back and cackled an evil laugh, making me shudder. I was suddenly scared of what he was capable. If he was capable of acting like he was Stephen twice, of what else was he capable?

“You really have no clue, do you? It’s funny, really. Earlier, I panicked a little, thinking it was all coming back to you. I can’t have Stephen getting his happily ever after.”

His words hit me in the gut with such force, it knocked the wind out of me. “Your own brother, Simeon. Your own brother,” I whispered.

I hung my head, feeling shame for this man in front of me. He went through life pretending to be someone else, riding on the back of his brother. It sickened me to think I had fed his persona. I kept hoping he was Stephen so much, my mind created him.

“How will you ever forgive me?” I whispered into the dark.

The tingles caressed me and I knew he was around. Stephen was always there for me, no matter what. I could tell he thought there was nothing to forgive.

“What?” his evil voice snapped, causing me to jump.

Knowing Stephen was with me gave me a new sense of purpose. I had come this far. “Do you know what Elizabeth called me before she died?”

Simeon snorted and waved his hand. “Enlighten me again. It’s been thrilling so far.”

Ignoring him, I said, “She called me an abomination. I don’t much care for what she thought about me now. Not after she did what she did to my parents. All I know is it was an apt word, but for the wrong person. You’re supposed to be an angel, Simeon. Instead, you’ve turned into this deceitful man—someone who uses trickery to get what he wants. An angel doesn’t act like that.”

Shaking his head, Simeon hissed, “And you would know all about that wouldn’t you, Archangel—”

I hissed in a breath, waiting for it. Waiting for him to say my name. My blood pumped through my veins. My head grew heavy and my heart beat like never before. I suddenly felt like I was on fire. I had energy coursing through me. I could breathe with a new sense of life. I felt like I was being reborn into the world. I felt different. I felt alive.

But the word never came. Simeon snapped his mouth shut and continued to stare. His eyes were filled with rage and resentment. He had carried with him this deep-seated hatred for his brother. I could feel it in him. I could feel the desire to hurt Stephen and I couldn’t possibly understand why.

“Why do you hate him so much? What is it he has done to you to cause so much resentment towards him?”

I watched in horror as he scooted off my bed, naked, and strolled towards me. “He took what was mine, Cassie. Now it’s time for me to take it back.”

Backing away, I tried to turn and run, but there was nowhere for me to go. I screamed as he hurled himself toward me in a ferocious pounce. I gripped the sheet as tight as I could as he gripped my shoulders with such force, it made a new pain course through my wound.

“Why can’t you ever do as you’re told?” he asked, shaking me back and forth.

“I don’t understand. I want you to leave.” I tried in vain to back away, but he just gripped tighter. “Simeon, you’re hurting me.”

Roaring, he spun me around and shoved me onto the bed. I landed with a thump as I looked up in horror. I was struggling to fathom how he could be two completely different people. He was once kind and nice to me. Now all I saw was his rage, his anger, his ugliness. It oozed out of every pore of him, spilling into my room. He was a man possessed—a man who nurtured evil and carried secrets. Horrible, sickening secrets. How could I have not seen this side of him before? How could I have been so blinded by his sweet words, his tender touch, his caring caress?