Greed: Part 2

Chapter Two: Shadows of Desire

The halls were bright, the bells would sing,

Yet love still bowed to crown and ring.

A wedding loomed, a fate was spun,

But hearts would break ere vows were done.

Lucian stood in chambers vast,

His soul ensnared by present, past.

The lover lost, the bride unknown—

A king of wealth, yet love disowned.

Through silken drapes and candle’s gleam,

He traced the edge of fading dream.

For though his mind denied its sway,

His heart still called where shadows lay.

Selene had gone, yet not too far,

A ghost beneath the evening star.

And though he swore to let her be,

The past still clung—a raging sea.

Through hidden doors and secret halls,

Where moonlight brushed the garden walls,

A whisper called—a voice so sweet,

A shadowed form with hurried feet.

“Lucian.” Soft, yet edged with fire,

A lover’s name, a lost desire.

He turned, though knowing it unwise,

To meet the storm within her eyes.

“Selene, you should not linger near,

The walls have ears, the night can hear.”

Yet in his voice, no scorn was found,

Just longing lost, both deep and bound.

She closed the space, her breath was warm,

A fleeting touch before the storm.

“My love, though fate may tear apart,

Do you not feel it?—Heart to heart?”

He wished to speak, to pull away,

Yet silence let his hands betray.

One final kiss—a sin, a crime,

A fleeting taste of stolen time.

But love is cruel and fate unkind,

For in the dark, another spied.

A figure still—a silent wraith,

With pain disguised beneath her grace.

Beyond the hedge, where night stood tall,

Eleanor watched, but did not call.

Her heart did quake, yet lips stayed closed,

For love once known, she never chose.

She was no fool, no meekened bride,

No docile soul to stand aside.

And yet, the truth—a dagger deep,

Had found her chest but let her weep.

For all the wealth her father spun,

For all the wars her house had won,

She knew too well—a vow untrue

Would bleed and rot, then split in two.

She turned away, her step was light,

A shadow lost within the night.

Yet in her hands, her fingers curled,

For fire burned beneath her world.

“If love be lost and vows be lies,

Then let him know where duty dies.”

Her words were low, a whispered fate,

A bride now bound, but not by hate.

The wedding came, the sun stood tall,

A kingdom vast within the hall.

Yet love was but a ghostly thing,

A vow of ice, a hollow ring.

Lucian stood with eyes like stone,

A man of fate, yet still alone.

Eleanor too, though lips were tight,

Bore not a look of grief nor fright.

No whispered plea, no tearful vow,

She met his gaze and spoke aloud:

“I do not ask for love untamed,

Nor seek to set your heart aflame.

But let us stand, not bound in woe,

And walk as one, though love is slow.”

Her words did strike, a strange reprieve,

A lesson taught he’d not believe.

For in her strength, in all her grace,

A warmth had formed, a tender space.

Yet love once lost will haunt the soul,

For hearts still ache where shadows pull.

And Selene, far beyond the light,

Still cursed his name beneath the night.

A tale of fire, of hearts at war,

Where love may shift, yet wounds still score.

For though one falls, another grows,

And fate decides how passion flows.

But love is cruel and greed is blind,

And loss may teach where hearts must find.

To be Continued

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***