Lured into Lies by Melanie Martins
Chapter 31
Margaret Van Dieren
Thank God this day has been filled with so much joy and without any red flags. As I look around the ballroom, I feel impatient while waiting for my son and his bride to cut their wedding cake because I know it will only bring forth more emotions. Everyone is surrounding them cheerfully, some with their smartphones pointing at them, others without as they stand beside the structure of the cake. To my surprise, a waiter hands a microphone to my son, who seems to be ready to share a few words with us. “Before Petra and I cut the cake, we’d like to take this moment to thank everyone for being here today as we start this new chapter in our lives.” I was so looking forward for my son to do his speech, and I’m glad he’s finally doing it now. He then looks at Roy and says, “Thank you Roy for giving me your blessing when I approached you last year and for trusting me like you did.” Roy puts a hand on his heart, closing his eyes for an instant as he bows his head slightly. “I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been for you to accept us as a couple and for supporting our choice to be with each other. We both know that not every parent would’ve been so tolerant and kind, so thank you from the bottom of my heart, from both of our hearts, for that.” He then looks at Emma and proceeds, “Emma, thank you for being my wife’s loyal confidante and for uplifting her when she needs it most. I might not have liked you much in the beginning, but now I understand what Petra sees in you. I know you'd cross oceans for her, and I’m glad I can count on you for whatever the future holds for us.” His gaze finally lands on me, and as we look at each other, I give him a big smile, concealing as much as I can the overflow of emotions I am feeling. “To my dear mother, who taught me that one should only marry once, which is what makes marriage so sacred. Thank you for always sticking by my side, especially when I knew I didn’t exactly deserve it.” I can’t help but smile tenderly at his words. He knows I’ll always do everything in my power to protect him, no matter what and no matter his age. He blows me a slight kiss before moving on. “To Sebastian, my best man and the first man I called brother, and who also truly became one by marrying my oldest sister. I hope one day you’ll forgive me for not letting you hunt that bear in Hudson Valley.” The guests erupt in laugher, as do I, because I recall how sad Sebastian was coming back home empty handed after that trip. “And of course, to my wife, the woman who makes my world go round, words aren’t enough to describe the honor and privilege that it is to be your husband. As Emma said, I’m definitely the luckiest guy alive to be married to you. You are my everything and I love you.” He pulls her closer to him and presses his lips on hers for a long kiss, while everyone swoons and claps at them.
I remain standing a bit on the back as I watch my dear son and his wife finally making the first cut on their wedding cake. He’s always been terrible at cutting cakes, so I’m glad Petra has her hand on the knife to finish off the slice. To my surprise, I have never seen him so happy. Maybe when I gave him his first horse, or when he won his first polo game, he was just as joyful, but his eyes weren’t gleaming like they are now. There’s a genuine exhilaration that radiates from them, which might be the reason why I wouldn’t have tolerated him marrying someone he wasn’t in love with. You can’t fake such happiness, no matter how much you try to.
“Marriage suits him,” Julia says as she stands right behind me.
“It does…” I nod. I can only hope it will continue to be that way. I sense Julia is about to say something else, so I turn to look at her, but she seems quite apprehensive to do so. “Are you okay?”
She rolls her lips between her teeth and bites down. She still has this bad habit, and I know perfectly well why she does it.
“What’s going on?” I ask, leaning toward her. “Is it Tess?”
Julia shakes her head, her eyes on mine. And that was enough to read the answer in her gaze. “Don’t tell me it’s who I am thinking…”
“He slept here to bypass security,” Julia explains. “He’s upstairs in his room watching the wedding from his phone.” I snicker at the amateur game Hendrik is up to. “We have two agents guarding his door so he can’t leave.”
“Good,” I utter, wondering if it’s Alex who let him in. Of course it was him, how else would he know about the details of his son’s wedding if not through him?
“I’ll be right back.” Before I can pass through her though, Julia halts me.
“Don’t ruin the wedding, please,” she says in a low voice, holding me by the arm. “We can take care of him later.”
I smile at her in understanding; I obviously have no intentions to draw attention to myself and that despicable man. I nod at her and head upstairs, smiling and greeting a few guests as I walk by. As I arrive on the first floor, I cross the hallway and see, just as Julia mentioned, two security agents standing still in front of the door.
“You may follow me,” I tell them as I grab the handle and twist it to enter into the room.
My eyes instantly stop on him as he sits on an armchair quietly watching the wedding from his iPhone. “What a crazy fool you are to come here and think I won’t know about you.”
Hendrik doesn’t act startled and doesn’t even move, his eyes simply drift up to me. “Actually, I was just wondering when you’d pay me a visit.” He puts his iPhone back into his pocket, and his unpredictable moves make my agents take their guns and point them at him. “I’m here in peace,” he says, nearly jokingly, his hands raising up to the air. “I promise I’ll leave after the wedding.”
“Oh, you aren’t going back to Bermuda, no…” He creases his brows in confusion. “If I were you, I’d call Mona and tell her goodbye.”
His expression switches, the gravity of the situation finally sinking into him. “What do you mean?”
“Our terms were very simple: you leave the Netherlands and never come back or you’ll get a bullet in the head.”
“You aren’t serious, right? That was ages ago!”
“Our agreement is for as long as we both shall live,” I remind him, keeping my temper in check. Then I look at my security agents and add, “Make sure he doesn’t leave this room. And once the guests are gone, kindly drag him far into the woods to take care of him.” Hendrik becomes livid, his jaw drops just like his arms, but he remains paralyzed, fixated on me. “Goodbye, Hendrik.” I give him a small wave and a mischievous grin.
“You are a fucking monster,” he chides as I’m about to leave the room. “How can you be so evil?”
I stand still, turning again to face him. “Me? Oh, I think you are very misleading.”
A gush of air rushes from him as he looks me in the eye. “You’re still holding a grudge against me because of the affair, huh?”
I can’t help but snicker in his face. “And after all these years, you still believe it’s because of that?” I ask, leaving him even more confused. “No, Hendrik. It was because of everything that came from that; your lies, your lack of loyalty and commitment toward me, and the worst of it all…a bastard that you named after our stillborn.” An acute pain strikes my heart as I recall such memories. Despite being a long time ago, one doesn’t forget giving birth to a baby that was already dead. “You are the real monster here.” I shake my head, tears resting on my eyes as I remember the day I learned he had a bastard named after my little Jimmy. That day, Hendrik was dead to me. I met with my kids and told them everything about their dad and what he had done. My little Yara wanted to shoot him, and while Maud suggested poisoning his food, Alex suggested to simply divorce him, ask for an annulment of my Catholic wedding from the bishop, and send him far away in exile. Despite my anger, I agreed to my son’s terms. And Hendrik promised he’d never come back. But here he is back in the Netherlands like I wouldn’t know. After all, a liar can’t keep his promises for too long.
“Tomorrow at sunrise,” I tell them. “And take away his phone.”
One of the agents walks toward Hendrik, his gun still pointing in his direction. Yet, Hendrik isn’t complying. The agent stands inches from him, the gun now pointing at his temple.
“Throw the phone away, Hendrik.”
He stuffs his hand into his pocket and finally pulls the phone out, giving it to the agent.
He draws out a breath, his glare now on me, but he doesn’t say a word. I imagine the reality of his mistake has rendered him speechless.