Chapter Text
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A house;
The house of one of the most popular families in the city, a house always full of sadness.
a family;
The Charming family.. A kind father, a proud mother and 3 enchantingly beautiful children..
A click;
That crack that generated a silence that seemed like a war, only those inside the residence could hear it.
Darling Charming's cheek seemed to burn, it was so painful and hot at that moment. She brought her hands to massage her. She had felt submissive, she couldn't even look at the man who helped give birth to her. The heavy sigh of Dexter, her twin brother. His mother's low cry. The anger she could feel building in her older brother, Daring's chest.
The hair stood up;
the lips trembled;
the silent complaints of pain;
— HOW DARE YOU TOUCH HER?!? — Daring's scream echoed throughout the room. His heavy steps quickly approaching his father. Darling heard her mother softly whisper a "stop it."
— Daring calms down-
— I RULE THIS HOUSE. SHUT YOUR MOUTH. — Dominic Charming shouted louder. Marylin Charming could be heard whimpering. Darling was irritated.
- STOP CRYING. Half of this is your fault.. — Everyone looked at the platinum blonde in a scared way. She had never screamed before.
—...
— Why do you let him do this to us?? You say you love us, but you always tried to change each one of us. YOU NEVER ACCEPTED THAT I AM LIKE THIS.
— I really should have aborted you. There was a role to fulfill. And you didn't even do that. — His father's voice echoes in his ears again. The words didn't hurt anymore, what hurt was seeing him try to redeem himself later. — I should disinherit you from this family.
— Then disinherit me. I never asked to be born into this shitty family. I feel disgusted knowing that I carry your blood in my body. I hate that last name. I despise this fucking legacy. And I don't give a fuck about how much money you're going to lose. — That was the last sentence to leave his lips, the snap again. A taste of blood taking over.
Darling didn't have time to process anything at that moment. She saw Daring jump at the family Patriarch. Dexter tried to hold him back. Her mother pulled her husband to one side. Her father was strong, that was to be expected; she saw him hit Daring.
Since she was little, Darling was never one to express fear, no matter how much she felt. She grew up with an uncontrolled and self-centered father. Her father was loving, but when she lost her temper, she became someone completely different. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, something he didn't believe in. She never saw him hit her mother, but when she ended up getting stressed, she would do things without thinking.
It was clear that Darling and her father had something in common, they both had anger issues, but she controlled them. But at that moment, she didn't touch it, only hearing the noise of the glass of whiskey breaking upon contact with her father's back. He had already done that with Dexter.
Once. He was only 10 years old. She remembers her brother's crying.
A scream of pain reached Darling's ear, but what brought her to real life was her hair being pulled hard. The pain leaving her lips. She noticed that he was tense. Before Daring approached.. Darling pushed his father to the ground, falling on top of him.
She got up and walked away in a hurry. Scared, she ran her hand over her head, where it hurt. A silence that didn't last long. She stared at the man in front of her. The hand on her chest; he tried to breathe and ask for help. Marylin threw herself on the ground to try to help him. Daring did the same, dropped to his knees on the floor. Dexter left the room looking for help.
Darling was scared and frozen in place. She remembered the day Daring was beaten by her father, her fair skin turned purple. Her mother was yelling at her to get ice.. And she was still there, standing there trying to process; Just like she was now.
Darling saw her father stop moving; She saw Dexter enter the house with the security guards; She saw them carry him to the car; She saw her mother look for her bag in the living room; She saw Dexter and Daring argue about that situation... she saw everything, but she still looked like a scared child.
[...]
The clock showed 01:20 in the morning. The hospital waiting room was silent. Daring was the eldest son. He was always dedicated to protecting his brothers, even though he sometimes couldn't. He felt his cell phone vibrate. He left the scene to have a private conversation.
"Giving any news??"
Rosabella's muffled voice betrayed her sleep. Daring ended up telling her, and now she didn't want to go to sleep.
"None yet...no one has left that room."
"And your mother?? Is she okay??
"A little scared...Darling said some things to her. Knowing her better, she's mulling it over."
"Oh..Really?? She must be irritated. By the way, how are they??"
Daring understood the "They." She talked about the twins. The blonde turned to see his brothers. Darling played with the rings on her own fingers. And Dexter had his head resting on his twin sister's shoulders, he seemed to be trying to calm her down.
"I can't say they're okay. Darling has been scared about everything since we arrived. And Dexter is helping me with Mom."
"Try to help Darling too, Daring. She may have dealt with this many times, but she's still weak with things like that."
"And I will. Thank you very much Rosabella.."
"You're welcome Daring..I'm always here."
The call was ended by Rosabella, as she knew Daring wouldn't do it.
Rosabella and Daring dated for a few months. They were the best months for the blue-eyed boy. Which ended when her father ordered him to break up with her, as he would have to marry Apple White. He tried his best to hold Rosa's hand at that moment. He knew that not even White seemed happy with such a situation. And in the end, Rosabella decided to break up with him.
"We can't. If your father decides to harm my family, he will. Daring, I love you. But you and Apple now. And don't blame her for this."
Thoughts and memories flew from his head as he heard his mother cough dryly. Daring approached again. He saw Dexter get up and go to the small water fountain and fill a plastic cup.
— Mom stay hydrated. Drink water, it will help. — The brunette smiled at his mother, who ended up smiling back. She drank the water and asked him to sit next to her.
Daring looked at his sister across the room. The sweatpants...she hadn't changed out of her pajamas, just grabbed a coat. He approached the blonde, making a certain noise on purpose to say that she was approaching her.
Darling's gaze located Daring's sneakers. Her gaze turned to her older brother's face, Daring's simple and friendly smile. He noticed that her cheek was purple. Her skin color was a little darker, while her brothers' skin was lighter. But still, it seemed to hurt a lot.
She smiled back, a smile that eventually died as she looked at the floor.
The older man sat next to his younger sister, he automatically noticed that Darling looked stressed and scared.
— I talked to Rosa. She asked about you. — He tried to start a conversation with the youngest. They weren't close, it seemed strange.
— Rosa is like that. But I'm fine, I hope you told her that. — She was short, her voice sounded like a tantrum child.
— Did you answer Apple's call?
— She is her fiancee. Who should talk to her and you — The poison spread like dust, Darling soon regretted it.
— Darling, you know I don't like her. You treated her super badly at dinner last night.
— It doesn't change anything about the fact that you're going to marry her. And now with that, I might not be her bridesmaid. — He noticed the nervousness coming from your lips.
Daring knew that his younger sister was in love with Apple White. They already had a thing even before him with Rosabella. The girls never dated, but they acted like a couple. They went out together, always holding hands, they had already slept together and even had their plans.
But when Darling found out that Apple and Daring were in a marriage contract, she freaked out. She ended up opening the game in the middle of a random family dinner. Her father and she argued all night, as well as breaking half of her mother's expensive dishes. And in the end, with blackmail from the eldest, Darling went up to her room. It was possible to hear her crying from the stair hall.
Darling argued with Daring for letting her father do that to them. The fight was ugly, and once again they walked away. Darling put an end to everything she had with Apple, even treating White as if it were nothing, she didn't answer her calls or send her messages. But only Dexter and Daring knew how much she hated doing that.
He took her hand and squeezed, massaging her palm.
— It's not your fault... You know that.
— I know... but I was the last person to be close to him before everything happened. And distressing. — The blonde sighed weakly. — It was to be expected that this would happen at some point. He never cared about his own health.
— It's going to be okay, he's going to be okay.
— He... I don't think he will.
Daring stared at his younger sister in confusion. He was going to interrogate her about it, but the door opening caught the family's attention.
He saw his mother get up hurriedly with Dexter behind her. Daring looked at the doctor and his face gave it all away, his younger brother looked at him, they both had already understood..
[...]
Hearing that was like a snap in Dexter Charming's head. Her mother was shaking with tears, he held her from behind and hugged her. He knew he would never cry about it, but seeing his mother shaken ended up making him cry as she tried to calm her down.
Darling bit her lip so hard she could taste iron in her mouth again. Heavy breathing. She wasn't going to cry, not for his death.
— Could someone come with me? — The doctor spoke again. Daring hugged Darling, got up and followed the doctor. As the eldest son, following family principles, he was responsible for the family together with his mother.
Darling's cell phone rang. It was a call from Dexter's girlfriend Raven. She answered.
"Darling are you guys still in the hospital?? I'm calling Dexter and he - who's crying?? Darling, did something happen??"
"He died.."
Silence on the other end of the line...
"Raven is everything okay? What did she say??"
Darling recognized that voice. She loved that voice.
"I'm so sorry Darling..."
Nothing came out of the platinum artist's lips, she just turned off her cell phone. She looked at Dexter who was now sitting with her mother trying to calm her down.
—Dexter. Raven is calling you. — Darling approached as he stood up. — Come on, let me stay here. — Her brother nodded, kissed his mother on the forehead before getting up.
Darling sat next to the woman. Her mother was quite pretty, her blonde hair was tied up in hairpins, with just a bit of messy bangs. It was incredible that even in the midst of grief, her mother was still perfect. She hugged the eldest, who started crying again. It was difficult for both sides.
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