A long lingering silence prevailed inside the space after the old man fell in dead silence. Ayra was unaware about his thoughts since he appeared too lost and the corner of his eyes were still prickled in tears. She waited until it was too long and finally decided to break the silence by taking his attention back on her,
" Grandpa!"
Ayra called him from back after a long silence. The old man jerked off coming back to reality from his haunted memories. Jasmine indeed kept her promise. They met again only after she was in dead bed. The pain still broke his heart but there was nothing to do. Some people really learn their lesson only after it becomes too late.
He wiped the corner of his eyes, turning around to face Ayra who looked scared and puzzled about the state that they were facing together. Her clueless eyes laid on him, imagining a thousand things but nothing came out as final result.
The old man blew his cheeks out, calming down his panicked nerves and spoke after taking a quick glance of his surrounding,
" My child, it isn't safe for you to stay in my mansion. As much as I would like you to stay but you better hurry up with your leaving. Regarding your mother-in-law's grave, it's best to keep it secret. When knowing will only hurt everyone the more, let it remain like this. But you better careful about your own self first."
Ayra blurted narrowing her eyes in suspension,
" From whom, Grandpa? Why are you telling me to not trust Cedric? He is my husband and I should believe him."
" That's the exact reason that I am telling you to stay careful around him.", the grandpa blurted out hastily. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly as if there was something more that he wanted to talk about.
The old man exhaled appearing scared on surface,
" Trust my judgement, dear. Cedric must have his own reason to marry you. Do not trust on himself too much. You are a good girl. I can tell it by looking at your eyes. I just don't want you to become Jasmine. A demon is a cursed soul and is never blessed to have a mate. You have to know why did he marry you in first place."
The world around Ayra began to break down slowly. Cedric's sweet words, his cajoling and even those little moments that they shared together were still a part of her sweet memories. Now that all of sudden, someone was telling her to not trust him completely, how could she bear the pain so easily?
Ayra threw another question, finding hard to believe that all this time, she was living with a scheming man,
" How..how do you know so much.. about Demons, Grandpa?"
Ayra was surprised to learn everything. As per as she remembered, demon possessions or powers weren't included in their history. Hence there was zero possibility of knowing about them from books or anything else except direct contact. Ayra wandered about how did he knew so much of them.
Ayra's questioned brought another silence inside the room. The old man breathed hard after squeezing his eyes shut and muttered weakly,
" I..I wanted to mend my mistake..but it was too late..My daughter was already out of this world.."
Ayra stepped forward with her teary eyes. This secrets were hurting her more deep inside and it would become more intolerable if she didn't know about them as soon as possible. Ayra came forward to request Grandpa who was shedding silent tears in memories of Jasmine,
" How will I know about them? Tell me.. Grandpa..How will I know about Cedric and his truths? I don't even know what kind of nature a demon possesses!"
The old man shook his head in helplessness. He wished to tell her everything but he couldn't break the deal ever. Grandpa turned around to advice Ayra who was having a tough time with every information that she collected just now,
" I can't reveal that to you, my dear. You have to find it on your self. The best way to know is through Cedric. Get more closer with him and try to figure out if Jasmine has left anything as clue to know about them in the castle. I hope, it can help you."
Ayra pressed her lips together tightly. She didn't even consummate their marriage so far and it was impossible to know more of him if they didn't become one.
Ayra carefully gathered all the notes inside her thoughts. After inhaling a deep breath, she pulled her eyes up to question him again,
" Then who is the other man, grandpa? Is it Cedric or who else?"
Grandpa Atlus shook his head refusing to speak at once and began to urge her impatiently,
" Dear, you should take your leave now. Do not ask anymore! I have nothing to say. Don't push me in trouble!"
Ayra couldn't let go of this matter easily. She came all this way to search for a true but more were revealed in front of her. At that moment, she was only feeling impatient and lost with everything.
Ayra stepped forward to question him repeatedly,
" It's you who is making me confused, Grandpa. At least, tell me that who is the other person? Why does he share the same face like Cedric or is he.. Cedric? Please grandpa! I can't go back without finding anything. Tell me, who is he?"
The old man shrieked in fear and parted his lips to speak out of rage,
" He is the t..Ahhh"
He couldn't get finished with his words as he suddenly fell on his knees, clutching the right side of heart which started bleeding through the skin suddenly. Ayra's eyes widened as she gasped in shock, squatting down to ask him in concern,
" Grandpa..Grandpa... What.. What happened with you all of sudden? O my god..Why..why is your heart bleeding? What have you done??"
Grandpa Atlus stopped himself immediately from taking the name that he was going to mention to Ayra. His lips twisted in pain that was surging from his bleeding heart. His lips parted and managed to squeeze out those words breathlessly,
Check out the comment section to see the aesthetic image of Jasmine with her painful life. Those who are anticipating Smut between Ayra & Cedric, it is not too far away and couple of chapters ahead but here's an advance reminder! We will see the Dark Love of Demon in our upcoming updates~ Don't curse the author because the plot is demanding to portray my character like this way~ Lol