Clovis sighed deeply, looking up at the sky for a long moment. The odd swirling of shadows and dark, cool colors were intriguing as he gathered his thoughts. Keenan could sense his uncertainty, and his apprehension. Realizing both were most likely related to the past that he was so hesitant to share.He waited patiently, letting his brother in law gather his thoughts, while keeping his eyes and ears focused on the world around them and any potential dangers."To start off, I was engaged to a woman that I cared for, deeply. I know now I didn"t love her, not in the way I love Kyera and Raina. We got married a decade ago. I was sixteen. She was perfect. I adored her. About two months into our marriage she fell ill. For several months I sought out healers, I watched over her and did all I could to take care of her. She pa.s.sed into a deep sleep. She couldn"t be reawoken and her father… Her father freed me of my obligations to her, but I didn"t leave her. I diligently saw to her for several years." He replied remembering her expression, those long nights when she would shiver or whimper in pain. Other nights she slept peacefully, but even those were filled with fretting.
"That"s when her hand maid, a woman she had introduced me to long ago, began getting close to me. We bonded over caring for my wife. I was being pressured to remarry. I didn"t have an heir and the heir games would get messy if I didn"t handle that soon. My brothers were getting older and already seeking their own brides. I wanted to hold out for her, I believed she would wake up. In the end I ended up in a bit of a romance with the maid. I thought I loved her, and she told me she loved me. She was fine being a second wife, promising me she would never try to take the place of my first wife and help me care for her. Being as they were all but sisters, I believed her. I told her I needed time to think it over. Then my wife pa.s.sed away and I was devastated, in a moment of weakness I drank too much, I felt lonely and lost. Like I had killed her myself. In a drunken haze I found myself in need of comfort. We laid together. There was no other way to put it. I remember nothing of the actual act, but I remember waking up next to her and realizing what we had done. I told her I would take care of her." He took a deep breath and slowly pumped his fingers in and out of the fist shape. What happened next would make most men"s blood run cold, or commit murder. Keenan frowned, reaching out and firmly patting his brother in law on the shoulder.
"Sounds like you had a really rough time." Keenan spoke with a bit of a sad sigh. "I am sorry for your loss."
"You don"t even know the half of it." He replied with a self hating laugh. Keenan frowned and looked over to him a bit curiously, a hint of disbelief in his eyes. "We wanted to wait till her father returned from the war to announce our engagement. We figured out she was pregnant during the same time and I managed to hide her away in a small palace that I kept in the forest. No one was allowed near except for servants that I had serving her every whim. I stayed with her at night, and she was allowed to do whatever she wished. Then, I was pulled away for a while, my father sent me to tend to the supply distribution in the affected lands. By the time I returned she had borne our child, and I hurried to see her as soon as I arrived home. However, the palace was empty. There was nothing to suggest she had been there in a few days at least. I later found that she had not been there in nearly two months." Clovis trailed off taking a deep breath.
"She ran off with the baby?" Keenan asked honestly kinda shocked at this point. He couldn"t think of a single reason a woman would do something like that.
"I wish. I found her and I was so glad to see she was okay. As I went to hug her and she informed me that I should keep my distance. Since she was my sister in law." Clovis replied and Keenan"s eyes widened in shock. "Oh and our daughter, come to find out she abandoned in a tiny border town with a huge poor family. Her intention was for our daughter to starve because the family couldn"t" afford to feed her."
"How the h.e.l.l did a woman ABANDON her child? Let"s ignore the fact that she cheated on you and married your brother but the child? She was innocent." The anger in his eyes was clear. Keenan"s voice shook as Clovis shook his head slowly.
"You should have been there when I found Raina…" He whispered looking away.