15 - WHEN I GIVE UP, PLEASE DON’T

Song for the Chapter: Yet, by the KING will come (yes, this song again)

‼Trigger Alert!‼

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Quote for this Chapter: "...HIS Wonders to perform..."

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THIRD PERSON POV

Returning from the trip, activities in the Ferraris Villa were in full swing, and preparations for the upcoming wedding were being made.

A new maid had been hired, relieving Violet from her duties of serving Vincenzo. But she was not altogether free—both within and without.

Some part of her thought that it was good he avoided her, for she felt so filthy and could barely face anyone—not even Clarice as they all joined to make the preparations. She tried her possible best to distance herself from the rest of the family as much as she was able—especially, Alessandro.

"Violet, dear," Clarice met her in the corridors and called her name as Violet tried to walk faster and pass her by. "Have you checked with the Royal Bakery about the cake for the wedding?"

Violet forced a smile, something which had become habitual since that night in Luxembourg.

"Yes, I went to check on them myself. Everything is in order."

Clarice looked her in the eyes and seemed to notice something was off, but she let it go and hastened to check on the other things needed for the D-day.

The preparations helped her take her mind off the incident—at least when she was busily working.

But, she could not deny the pain and the ache that tortured her wounded body and soul. Of how she had been defiled.

Gone were the nights of prayer too, and her hunger for THE WORD had dribbled to a halt. She could feel the darkness enveloping her every second.

The Light that had seemed to turn things around in the gloomy household had faded away. Her vision of the supernatural had also grown dim as she drifted from her SAVIOUR.

Nevertheless, she could still feel the powers of evil and their demonic throng cavorting around the premises in their numbers.

But, she felt too numb to even care.

~~~

"What do you think, Bella?"

Ginevra's voice caused Isabella to snap back to reality. They had both gone with their mother, Queen Giulia, to find an appropriate gown for the wedding.

Isabella had felt on top of the world during their trip. She thought she had been happier with her new friends. But, deep down inside, she realised being around them only made the void within her dilate.

Oh, how I miss Violet! She moaned within. Being around her had been like a balm to her soul.

Why did I even distance myself from her in the first place? She wondered.

She had also noticed a different Violet since the trip. Gone was that glow she seemed to emit whenever she was around.

And, it seemed to Isabella that she was distancing herself from the family—from her. And that pained her deeply.

"Earth to Bella! Dio mio! Where is your mind wandering off to this time?" Ginevra sounded agitated and rightly so. Isabella could barely muster the enthusiastic energy she once had.

"I think..." Isabella tried to look interested. "It is just lovely!" She finished to a satisfied smile on her sister's face.

But deep within, Isabella knew exactly what she was going to do when she returned home. Meet Violet and maybe... give her life to CHRIST.

~~~

Vincenzo could not face himself nor that girl, so he found every opportunity to be away from her presence—and it seemed she was doing the same. He could not fault her.

The haze had cleared after a moment that night, he thought he could feel her cry for help—something strange to him. And when he heeded the call and raced to the doorstep of her hotel room, he found the door ajar—and a barely clothed Violet on the ground sobbing violently.

He had been too late.

And the guilt he felt was palpable. He did not know what to do or who to turn to.

Thus was his mind preoccupied when he heard his phone ring. It was the phone he used for his duties as a King Maker.

"Ciao (Hello)?"

He had to settle into his office seat for the news he received.

~~~

Heading towards her room that night, Violet knew she was at the end of herself.

She had no one to talk to. Dare she talk to her HEAVENLY FATHER who seemed to have abandoned her?

No, her heart protested.

Entering her room on the last floor, she threw off her shoes and sat on the bed, melancholy filling every space where The Light had once been.

She glanced around and saw her frame in the mirror on the dresser. She could not recognise herself. Gone were the smiles, gone was the Light.

Filthy, you are so filthy and defiled, a voice screeched into her ears.

Reaching for the nearest object, she smashed the image she saw in the mirror, leaving cracks in it with a few shards on the floor.

There, broken—just as I am.

~~~

"I never knew they were siblings," Queen Giulia said in a hushed and distressed tone.

The entire family had gathered around when Vincenzo had summoned them to give them the news.

"Neither did I," Vincenzo's voice was grave, trying to hide his real emotions about the loss of Violet's brother, Prince Tal.

"So, who is going to give her the news?" Ginevra questioned. "And of all the times to receive this information, it had to be just before my wedding. How fitting!"

"Shut it, Ginevra," Alessandro injected. Vincenzo had noticed the grief and guilt on his brother's face as well—since that day. And the news made his youthful glow fade all the more—it was hard to watch.

Yet, Vincenzo wished he could plummet him into a tree and give him the beating of his life.

"Excuse me?" Ginevra sounded perturbed. "Don't forget I'm your elder sister—"

"Enough!" Vincenzo quieted their bickering with an authoritative tone. He was done with their bickering. He glanced around.

Isabella just sat there, stunned, with tears rolling down her eyes.

"I will be the one to tell her," Vincenzo concluded, bringing the meeting to a close as he stood up and walked away.

~~~

Could I sink any lower than this, LORD? Violet finally spoke to HIM for the first time in days.

She had no tears left after receiving the news about the death of her brother and crying her heart out—he was the only family member she had left, but not anymore.

Her heart felt numb as she stood at the edge of the cliff. She had left the house quietly when she knew every member of the family had retired to their quarters.

"I gave YOU all I had... and... and... YOU have taken away more than I can bear. Now, I don't have Tal, and I don't even have YOU anymore," her soft voice broke as she spoke.

Tears trickled down her face and she angrily wiped them off. She thought she could cry no more, but, it seemed her torrents were yet to dry up.

Strangely, a memorised Psalm came to mind as she was about to take the final leap. She could not recall all of it but the part she remembered tore at her heart all the more.

"In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: My sore ran in the night, and ceased not: My soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed..." she whispered them softly to herself.

"Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak. Will the Lord cast off for ever?" Her whole body convulsed with the sorrow of her sobs.

"And will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? Doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?..."

Looking into the sky for the last time, she allowed herself to slide down the cliff with a big leap.

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A painful chapter to write; yet again.

GOD bless you all for making it this far.

Psalm 77:2-4, 7-9, were the recited verses, please. Hopefully, a new chapter will be added soon by HIS Mercies, GOD willing.

Shalom, Shalom,

Happy Passover!

Phela