Page 22 of Reine's Salvation

Chapter Ten

Mystique squeezed Reine’s hand. He stared at their entwined fingers as if lost in thought. She wasn’t surprised. Her story was not easy to digest. She had only ever told one other person and she was gone. In that hospital room she had confessed everything to her mother. Her mother had told her to let go of her anger, to be so aware of it she could directly stare it in the face and fight.

Scream at it, stab it in the heart, hate it with all your heart and soul, and then, only when you’re aware that you’re angry will you be able to let it go.

When she’d stood in front of that mirror in the hotel she’d been shocked by what she’d seen. She didn’t recognize herself. She didn’t know who this woman with a haughty expression was. She didn’t know who the sunken cheekbones and sad eyes belonged to. There was no happiness on her face. Her jaw had been clenched, her nostrils flaring. She was seething, furious at herself.

Her life so far had been unfair. She had had to deal with a mother with deep psychological issues as well as a father who had abandoned her at birth. The first man she had loved had also left her. She had gone on a wild goose chase to hurt everyone, but she had ended up hurting herself the most.

I hate you.

Again and again, she told her reflection in the mirror what she felt.

I hate you for being weak. I hate you for ignoring your gut feeling. I hate you for blinding yourself to the pain, for blocking it, for pushing it aside.

All night long she fought against the feelings of hatred and wrath. Little by little, with every vile comment, she’d introduce something positive about her. She attempted to find that which would keep her going instead of her rage.

She woke up the next morning on the bathroom floor, more determined than ever to change her life. For days she didn’t look at herself in the mirror. She was afraid of what she’d seen.

Step by step, she got her affairs in order. She returned to Lance. She found a job. Occasionally, she’d felt an outburst of anger, but she’d squash it. It hadn’t been easy. Only when she had her own place did she buy a mirror. When she looked at her face again, it had changed. Gone were the sad lines and the bags under her eyes. Her lips curled upward into a smile. She was succeeding.

That had been eight years ago.

Mystique glanced at Reine. He was just as angry as she had been back then, but he directed his fury at himself.

“Why are you still sitting?” She laughed, trying to break the somber mood that had taken over them. “Lie down, look up at the clouds. I’ve brought you here to relax, not to tell you about my sob story.”

“I’m glad you did,” he said as he lay at her side. “Thank you for sharing it with me. You didn’t have to.”

“I know.”

She felt goosebumps race up her arm as his thumb made soothing circles on her hand. All the time she’d been talking he’d held her hand. Her heart hammered in her chest.

“I was married once,” Reine said.

Mystique turned her head to look at him, surprised.

“What happened?”

“She died,” he said. His voice cracked slightly, but she pretended not to notice.

“I’m sorry.”

“It was over two years ago,” Reine said quietly. “I wasn’t there.”

“Why?”

“I was working.”

Mystique remained quiet, unsure of what to say.

“I worked too much back then. I was out doing missions day and night, fighting for what was right. I became increasingly proud of my work and forgot there are other things more important.”

“Is that why you said pride is a sin when I spoke about having confidence?”

“Yes. Pride is a Sin, a deadly one. It makes you lose sight of who you are, of what is right and what is wrong.”

“All the sins do that. It’s why they’re called the seven deadly sins.”

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