How To End This Marriage-Chapter 40: Gods and Secrets

"Duchess, I’ve brought all the files you requested," Grant informed me as he placed the files neatly on the study table. It was then that I realized I hadn’t inquired about Grant’s whereabouts the previous night.

"So, Grant!" I called to him.

"Yes, Duchess!" he turned to face me.

"Where were you last night?" I asked. He froze, avoiding eye contact with me, making it difficult for me to gauge his expression.

"I..." he stammered.

"Yes, you! I saw you returning around the same time as the Duke, but I know you weren’t with him. So, where were you?" I calmly inquired while organizing the files. His demeanor didn’t strike me as that of a conspirator.

"I went to my home," he replied.

"Oh, is it far? Couldn’t you bring your family here? You have your own quarters here, right?" I inquired.

"Ah, yes, but they are safer there," he explained.

"Safer? What do you mean? What happened last night?" I pressed.

"Well, something quite serious occurred last night. I didn’t want my siblings and their child to witness it," he clarified. I couldn’t help but realize that not everyone was suited to confront the darker aspects of this world.

"Alright, you may go now. However, when you return, please inform the attorney that I wish to meet with him," I instructed.

"Yes, Duchess," he replied and exited the room.

But Alex’s words lingered in my mind. Why had he referred to me as ’my duchess’? He typically didn’t speak in such a manner. He always considered me the promise he had made and the responsibility entrusted to him by my father. So, why this sudden shift to ’my duchess’? Was I overthinking things, or was it merely because I now held the title of Duchess in this state, which was in some way connected to him?

"Ahh, I’m losing my mind!" I exclaimed, sinking into the chair.

"Bernice, focus! You have to focus on solving this. You don’t want to die again, right? Then find the killer. Find out why you’re caught in this trap, or else..."

My vision blurred once more, thrusting me into the realm of the god, a place where I had no control.

"So, you’ve reaped the consequences of your choices?" the god remarked, just as I had anticipated. I had known that even if I survived, the god would continue to taunt me.

"Is this what you desired, Bernice Balliol Agnes?" he questioned. I turned my gaze away.

"You know, I have better things to do than argue with you like a child," I retorted.

"I’m not asking you to argue. You simply need to heed my advice if you wish to survive once more because this is not the end. There will be more attacks on you because the world you’re striving to fit into isn’t yours," he warned me, his words a chilling reminder.

"It’s not mine? Then what am I? Who am I? If this world isn’t mine, then how was I even born into it?" I asked, anxiety welling up inside me, making it increasingly difficult to breathe.

"Bernice, there are many things hidden from humans. This is one of them. You’re not someone who can know everything. That’s the rule of this world. It’s the rule of the world’s creator," he explained.

"No! I will know everything. This is about my existence. How can you deny my existence so casually? I’m human. I’m a human created by you gods. But you’re saying I shouldn’t exist?" I protested, frustration bubbling inside me.

"That is the rule prescribed for you," he reiterated.

"No! I reject that rule. I’m not a puppet. I won’t dance to your whims. I’m a human being. I have every right to live. Why should I die to further someone else’s agenda? Is this all a setup to let another climb the ladder using my life? I won’t allow it," I declared as I tried to leave the space he had created.

"Going? Where to? To the husband who has another woman? Who only took you in out of desperation? Is that the life you desire?" he questioned, causing me to halt in my tracks.

"Do you want your life to be like that? Choose carefully, Bernice!" he urged.

"I don’t need to consult you on my life. I can shape my own destiny," I retorted, a hint of defiance in my tone.

"And the next time you bind Erios without my permission, I won’t hold back," I warned.

"Erios? I bound him? What makes you think that? Did he tell you that?" he inquired.

"No."

"Then why do you assume I restrained him?" he pressed.

"Then why wasn’t he with me when he usually appears whenever I need him? Where was he? If it wasn’t you, who did it? Who prevented him from coming to his master?" I demanded, my frustration mounting. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Bernice, do you believe I’m the only god in this universe? No, right? Use your intellect. Who could it be? I can’t disclose everything. Some things are even beyond the reach of gods, and this includes me," he explained before vanishing, leaving me to awaken from my sleep.

"There are other gods. Are they after me as well? Do they not want me to live? Are they willing to do anything to end my life? Why? Was Erios with them? Did they prevent him from coming to me? Is this what god Lunar is trying to convey to me?" I muttered.

"Erios!!!!" I shouted his name, fixating on the ceiling.

"Yes, master, you called?" he instantly appeared.

"Was it your creator?" I inquired.

"What?" he asked, bewildered.

"Did your creator stop you from coming to me? Was it him who kept you away from me? Is he displeased with you being by my side?" I bombarded him with questions, my desperation evident.

"Did he tell you to stop coming to me? Is he preventing you from being with me? Is he the one you mentioned?" I continued to bombard him with questions, my desperation growing by the moment.

Erios remained silent for a brief moment, and then he spoke, his voice filled with an unusual seriousness, "Master, I cannot disclose all that transpires in the realm of the gods. But I am bound to protect you, and nothing, not even the gods, can change that."

His words left me with a sense of unease. There was much I didn’t understand, and the answers seemed to slip further away with each question.