Charlote Roy

"Don't go collapsing in that bathroom and ending up dead," I say as I leave the bathroom after washing my hands, which Baby smeared with cream, heading back to my bottle of liquor. Baby walks to the bedroom door, laughing as she heads to her room.
"If I haven’t died from all the crap in this family, three glasses of whiskey won’t make me unbalanced enough to hit the floor, freak!" I hold back a laugh, knowing she won’t even make it across the door before coming back to argue. Maybe she’ll have a few more drinks with me, and we’ll prolong the night.
I fill my glass with the golden liquid that, for many years, has been my most faithful friend, numbing my soul. I twist my neck to see why Baby is taking so long to snap back at me; she never misses a chance for a quarrel. But Baby doesn’t respond to my provocation; instead, she’s standing with her face peeking out, stretching her thin neck, looking down the hallway. I notice she’s leaning against the bedroom wall for support.
"What a bastard!" she whispers angrily.
I set the bottle down on the dresser and go to check what made Baby grumble.
"And I’m the nosy one," I mutter as I nudge the door open just enough to stick my head under her raised arm, peering into the dimly lit hallway.
"And you are, especially since you’re here now, spying," she growls through her teeth, above my head.
"I just want to know what was so important that it shut that big mouth of yours," I retort quietly, squinting to make out the shadow ahead.
"Liar! You’re just a curious mummy." I lean against the door, slowly opening it. Baby’s back hits the light switch, and the bedroom goes dark.
Both Baby and I stretch our necks further to follow Roy’s slow steps, his head down, unaware of our snooping, but I know where he’s heading.
"Where’s Jon?" I whisper to Baby. Her chin rests on top of my head, sighing in frustration. She grips my shoulder with her fingers, standing on tiptoes to get a better view of the scene.
"He’s asleep in my room. We were waiting for Gim to return from the library to continue playing chess, but he fell asleep... Have you ever seen Roy so disheveled, Aunt?"
I don’t need to look at Baby to know her eyes are as wide as mine. Not because my nephew is disheveled, wearing only his dress pants and a wrinkled button-down shirt, which is already unusual for him, but because of what he’s carrying in his arms when he turns, stopping in front of Miss Fox’s room. A warmed-up Gim, wrapped in the black blazer that’s missing from Roy’s body, rests in his arms, her head nestled against his chest, allowing him to hold her completely.
"Chá, come on..." His large hand pulls mine as soon as he parks the car on his property.
"I hate it when you call me by that annoying nickname, Reimond!" His fingers squeeze my cheeks, pulling me into his arms as he guides us through the gardens. "Don’t tell me you missed me that much. What are you up to?" His sapphire eyes hold a new sparkle, a warmth I’ve never seen in those blue spheres.
It’s been two months since I last saw my brother. Boxtom went on a trip to the East and took me with him, but when I returned, I had a ton of messages from Reimond, urging me to visit him urgently. At first, I was nervous, thinking something bad had happened, but now the gleam in his eyes tells me he’s up to something.
"I want you to meet someone..."
"Oh heavens, man! Don’t tell me you made me all nervous just because of another one of your flings?" He smiles, kissing my cheek and shaking his head.
"She’s important to me, Chá. Very important. I’ve never felt like this before. Just be kind to her, please." I smile, giving him a wink.
"I’m always kind to them, Reimond." His laughter echoes, vibrating through his chest, discrediting my kindness. They’re always important to him until he gets tired of them, discards them, and goes off in search of a new love.
"Just be kind." He lets me go, walking to the door of his house, opening it, and letting me in first.
I look around the house, searching for my brother’s new distraction, but I can’t find her. Reimond guides my shoulders as we walk to the parlor, and as we pass through the doorway, he steps aside, heading towards the armchair by the window.
"Chá, I want to introduce you to Mrs. Roy!" I freeze in place as soon as his words leave his mouth, not understanding what kind of ridiculous joke my brother just made.
"Mrs. Roy?"
Reimond got married? My brother is anything but impulsive, and this hits me like a bullet when I notice the gold band on his hand.

"Come, love, I want to introduce you to the only woman I love besides you." Reimond puffs out his chest with pride, extending his arm toward the armchair.
I see her black hair first, then her small form, elegantly dressed in a lilac dress. Her dark skin contrasts with the cream suit my brother wears. I feel it—there’s no other way to explain it—but every corner of my body shivers when I meet the emptiness in her eyes, as black as the darkest night in Alaska. Reimond's warm irises glow, revealing his soul pulsing near the small woman. My brother is in love, but something ominous within me warns that this won't end well for him.
I straighten up, only to catch the calm eyes of Roy, a sight I've never seen before. I don't think I've ever seen my nephew so at ease with someone so close to him, let alone allowing them to touch him. Her small hand caresses the side of his face, lifting his curly head until it’s locked in her gaze, looking lovingly at my nephew. Jonathan's arms hold her tightly, ensuring she doesn’t move an inch away from his chest as he opens the door.
"You were right about my suspicions, Aunt. Jonathan inherited not only our father’s Machiavellian mind but also his demons."
"This scene reminds me of Reimond," I whisper in lament before bringing the whiskey glass to my lips, downing it in one go.
"That’s where the danger lies, Aunt." Baby steps away from the door, pulling me along as the two enter the room.
She turns on the light, closes the door, and makes it clear she’s not leaving. This isn't the kind of night I imagined, dwelling on these thoughts and memories of the past.
"Now I understand Roy's strange behavior because of the detective."
"The same traits, the same trapped look..." I’ve seen that glow before, witnessed this scene many years ago, but now the roles are reversed. It’s not the blue eyes shining with pure intensity, but the black ones.
"This won’t end well, Aunt. I feel it in my bones," Baby growls with anger, looking at me and rubbing her hand over her chest. "I don’t know if he knew about the two of them."
I roll my eyes at Baby as I walk to grab my bottle, which will surely be emptied tonight.
"Stop being stupid, freak! You think I don’t know what’s happening? All I need to do is look at Miss Fox; her eyes give me the answer. I’m old, not blind!"
"Only because you’re a few years short, Aunt Charlotte." My attention shifts to the bedroom door. I grip the bottle in my fingers, feeling my heart break with each slow beat. "God, what Roy is doing is dangerous!" Baby rubs her face with distress, inhaling sharply. I fill the glass and hand it to her, which she quickly downs. "Why is he doing this, Aunt? I try to understand, but I can’t. No one in the world would want to reopen wounds after they’ve healed." She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand, handing me the glass.
I take the glass, draining the liquid inside, getting lost as I refill it and let her pace back and forth in the room. Baby doesn’t understand. Jonathan’s wounds never healed; they morphed, turning into a gangrene that eats him from the inside out.
"He’s looking for her. He always has. All this time, it’s HER that Jonathan seeks." Baby clutches her arms, anxiously rubbing her skin.
"No..." I whisper, slumping my shoulders as I set the bottle down on the dresser. "Jonathan is searching for what was taken from him."
"How can you say that?! For God's sake! You just saw the same thing I did!" She points to the door, her face flushed. "Tell me, wasn’t that exactly how Father looked? Drained, alienated, so trapped he couldn’t see the evil right in front of him?"
"God, Reimond! SHE’S LOSING IT! How can you not see it?" I walk toward him, grabbing his arms and forcing him to face me. "She has no control over her emotions! She nearly attacked me just because I walked into the room to see my nephews. If I hadn’t stepped away from Jonathan, she would have hit me. Her condition is only getting worse; you need to have her committed to a psychiatric hospital where she can get the help she needs to deal with her madness!"
"You’re exaggerating, Charlotte!" He pushes me away, breathing heavily. It’s clear how worn out my brother is. Reimond has aged twenty years in five years of marriage. The love he feels for this woman is destroying him, blinding him. "She’s just jealous of Jonathan, it’s normal."
"No! It’s not normal! There’s nothing normal about this woman! Something is happening! Something bad and evil is happening..." I want to shake him, do anything to break the cursed spell this woman has cast over him!
My brother has always been fond of broken things, but he doesn’t understand that she’s beyond saving. Her level of psychopathy is uncontrollable. She doesn’t feel genuine love for anything, only possession.