The Archduke's Songbird-Chapter 253: In Need of Support

Bernard’s shoulders sagged under the weight of his mother’s accusations. He looked at Isadora, tears brimming in his eyes.

"Love, what is it?" Isadora walked closer to him.

Bernard shook his head, hiding his face behind his forearms, unable to look at Isadora in the eye. He then swiftly turned to run.

"Run!" Bernard’s mother shouted. "Run, like you always do, monster!"

Her face was twisted with disgust and utter hatred looking at Bernard. Isadora looked at the face of a mother who despised her son and her heart broke to see how shriveled and hurt Bernard was as he walked away.

"Shut up, woman! Don’t you dare hurt my Bernard anymore!" Isadora shouted at Bernard’s mother.

Jessamyn was too shocked to act. Her heart pounded to see the ferociousness on Isadora’s face—the fierceness of a mother bear.

Isadora shouting at Bernard’s mother was not taken well by the onlookers. This was their area, Bernard’s mother had lived among them all her life, and they were scared of Bernard just like their mother was.

They tried to surround them and the situation turned a little intimidating with the crowd closing in on them.

Jessamyn felt a tightness in her abdomen out of stress. She placed her hand on her belly out of instinct.

And then it happened. From her lower abdomen, a sweetness spread all over her, washing over her anxiety. The intimidating crowd wasn’t intimidating anymore.

Are you helping me, son? Jessamyn’s lips curved.

Isadora didn’t care about the crowd and shouted at Bernard. "Are you going to turn your back on me, Bernard?"

With that, Bernard stopped. Fisting his hands, he looked at the ground, seriously contemplating something.

Beatrice ran through the crowd, and pushed them back. "Don’t you dare step closer to the Archduchess! She’s with child!" she shouted. "Do you all want to die?"

Hearing Beatrice’s voice, Bernard’s shame multiplied. But taking a deep breath, he turned to face Isadora.

He didn’t want to hide it anymore. Isadora was the only one who was with him through everything. She was the only one who wanted to spend time with him, found him cute, and was not afraid of him. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

He needed to be open with her.

Gathering his courage, Bernard walked to Isadora.

"We can go somewhere else, Bernard," Isadora held his hand tenderly.

Bernard’s face bloomed seeing the concern on her face. She had defended him so ferociously just earlier and now she had turned to a gentle lady. He loved her so much.

"I did what I had to do, Isadora. My father... he was a cruel man. He hurt my mother, he hurt me. One night, he went too far, and I... I couldn’t let him hurt us anymore."

"I knew you didn’t regret it, monster!" Bernard’s mother shouted with her all. The nerves on her throat protruded, her face turned almost purple, and her voice cracked with all the pressure she put.

"You were happy to kill your father!"

Beatrice stepped in. "Will you stop this, Mother? If my brother didn’t step in that night, I would be dead! You’d be dead too! Bernard saved us... He saved us that night! Your husband was the monster, not my brother!"

Beatrice’s words affected Bernard’s mother so much, she plopped on the ground. Others helped her from falling down and with tears streaming down her face, Beatrice kneeled before her mother.

Isadora’s eyes filled with tears as she processed everything. She looked at Jessamyn, seeking guidance, reassurance, anything that could make sense of the situation. Jessamyn stepped forward, placing a comforting hand on Isadora’s shoulder.

"Bernard, what happened that night?" Jessamyn asked softly, her voice steady.

Bernard took a deep breath, his voice shaking as he recounted the events. "He was drunk, as usual. He started hitting my mother. My sister..." his throat closed as he looked at his arms. "She was small and sick. She didn’t stop crying, and he tried to throw her out. When my mother tried to hold the baby, my father hit her..."

Isadora held his hand tightly, offering silent support.

Bernard continued, "That was not the first time he did that. Seeing that again and again... something inside me snapped. I grabbed the nearest thing, a fireplace poker, and I hit him. I didn’t mean to kill him, but he kept coming at us, and I couldn’t stop. I had to protect my mother and sister."

Mrs. Eisenberg’s tears flowed freely now, and she started to wail. "He saved me? I saw his smile... I saw your smile as you saw your father lying in a pool of blood, monster! You lost yourself to darkness. That darkness has followed you ever since...," she sniffed. "The one who killed his father... I see the darkness in him, and he will never be satiated. I should have killed him when he was born. That seer was right. He is a monster..."

Bernard’s mother sobbed, throwing sand on her head.

Jessamyn’s heart ached. She looked at Isadora, whose face was a mask of confusion and pain. "Bernard acted out of desperation and fear. He saved his mother and sister, but he’s been haunted by it ever since. He needs our support, not our condemnation."

It was an appeal she made to everyone standing there. She didn’t know if they would listen to her or not.

"Mrs. Eisenberg, it’s cruel to call your son a monster," Jessamyn wanted to make that point across.

Isadora wiped her tears and looked at Bernard, her eyes filled with a mixture of love and sorrow. "Bernard, I... I don’t know what to say. But I do know that I love you, and I want to help you. My feelings for you haven’t changed."

Bernard’s expression softened, and he pulled Isadora into a tight embrace. Jessamyn watched, her heart swelling with hope. Perhaps, with love and understanding, they could help Bernard find peace and overcome the darkness within him.

"I knew you’d say this, Isadora..." Bernard spoke, holding his tears. "Everyone, listen!" His booming voice turned everyone’s attention to him.

"This is the woman I am going to marry. She is the one I love the most. I am going to start a family with her. I love her!" He professed in front of everyone.

Isadora was full of smiles. With a wide grin, she looked at Bernard. Bernard swooped her up and walked away, his heart lighter with her acceptance. Jessamyn quietly followed, feeling a sense of relief and hope for the future.