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?

wanted was an answer, but even that

Frederick finished his final cigarette and turned back to the dimly lit bedroom. His eyes were inscrutable pools of shadow, and Marguerite could not discern

the passion that had just consumed them. It was as if their intense encounter had been nothing but a figment

that figment felt so palpably real to her, the emotions and sensations still

he dozed off on the couch, never uttering

body and her tumultuous

at the

room, her canvas poised before a photograph

vast canvas remained bare, save for a scattering of

Anticipating her mother's return,

guilty conscience, she was instead greeted by Hayes, donning blue pajamas and dashing

you asleep yet?" Teresa

woke up to pee... saw your light on... just came to... check on you..." Hayes seemed wide awake after his

to