Bride Behind The Mask (Frederick and Marguerite)

Chapter 624

In the stillness of the night, Frederick's mind snapped into harsh clarity.

Marguerite's probing question had sent him spiraling into a labyrinth of self- reflection and doubt.

Had his fervent kisses and possessive embrace been acts of love or spiteful revenge?

His thoughts, a tangled web of unrest, spurred him to dress with hurried motions, a desperate urge to flee not just the room but also Marguerite's unsettling inquiry.

Yet as he tugged at the stubborn door handle, which refused to yield, he was faced with the stark reality that there was no escape.

Resigned, Frederick returned to the room without approaching Marguerite. He drew back the curtains and stood on the balcony to smoke, his silhouette bathed in the lunar glow, majestic yet tinged with an air of melancholy.

Marguerite's heart ached more deeply than the sorrowful scene before her. Watching him smoke, one cigarette after another, she felt an overwhelming sense of loss.

Was it so hard for him to distinguish love from hate?

an answer, but even that seemed a luxury beyond her

his final cigarette and turned back to the dimly lit bedroom. His eyes were inscrutable pools of shadow, and

You should get some rest," he said, his voice void of the passion that had just consumed them. It was as if

to her,

to the living room, where he dozed off on the couch, never

body and her tumultuous feelings to the enveloping darkness, as

at the

her room, her canvas poised before a photograph of Frederick and Marguerite, unsure where

a scattering of facial

the door startled her from her thoughts. Anticipating her mother's return, she quickly swapped Frederick's photograph with one of

with a guilty conscience, she was instead greeted by Hayes, donning blue pajamas and dashing into the

asleep yet?" Teresa asked

just came to... check on you..." Hayes seemed wide awake after

canvas, pointing to the disjointed features,