Chapter 28

"Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt?" Bel stopped short when she saw Hazel's parents exit Annalise Sept's hospital room. Reese was walking Cerberus, and her sisters were at lunch, so she'd seized the first private moments since arriving at the hospital to search out the woman the world believed was Anne Blaubart.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she rolled her IV to the couple.

"We heard you found Annalise alive," Mrs. Wyatt said. "As Hazel's friend, she almost felt like another daughter to me. Life will be difficult for her after she's discharged, so we came to offer our support. She has no family, and we have no daughter. I think Hazel would want us to take care of her friend."

"She would." Bel took the woman's hand. "When I thought we wouldn't get off that mountain, I prayed my dad would take care of the people I loved for me. I'm sure Hazel would want the same."

"Thank you." Mrs. Wyatt pulled her into a hug, and when they finally parted, she wiped the tears from her cheeks before taking her husband's hand. "We're going to lunch, but we'll be back. Make sure Annalise knows we're coming back."

"I will." Bel watched the grieving parents disappear into the elevator, and then she stepped into the hospital room. "Annalise?" She rolled her IV to the bed, and without adrenaline, it felt weird to call the woman who looked like Anne Blaubart by another name. "Are you up for a visit?"

"I don't know," Annalise said.

"That's okay," Bel said. "I can come back."

"I don't want to talk to you."

Bel blinked at Annalise's hostility. She didn't expect them to become friends, but she hadn'texpectedbitterness from the woman after she'd dragged her through the snow to safety.

"Okay." Bel nodded. She'd done her part. She'd saved a life, and she wouldn't remain where she wasn't welcome. "I just wanted to check on you. I saw the Wyatts. It's great they want to help. I'm happy for you." She aimed for the door.

"He was obsessed with you," Annalise whispered, freezing Bel in her tracks. "My husband.Ever sincewe met you at Wendy Darling's wedding, he couldn't stop thinking about you. At first, he just wanted to fix your scars, but when he learned of your personality, he became obsessive. You reminded him of the first Anne, the only one heeverloved, and I tried to make him happy. I was hopelessly in love with him, but after Frost took Hazel, I had no choice. I played by his rules because I loved him. Plus, I didn't know about the other women or that basement surgery. I only knew about the first Anne, and I trusted him when he promised the surgeries and his dead wife's identity would hide me from that madman. I spent three years at his side, but then you came along with your scars and your ‘ screw you' attitude and your confidence, and my three years of sacrifice meant nothing. He knew you for two weeks, and he wanted you so badly that he decided to kill me. Because of you, I was going to be murdered."

"I'm sorry." Bel couldn't face her, but she suddenly understood Anne's hatred for her on the island. She wasn't afraid Bel would uncover her truth. She was a woman named Annalise who was terrified her husband would murder her so he could replace her with a newer, shinier toy.

"I'm sure you are. Everyone thinks you're perfect," Annalise spat. "I gave up everything. I gave up my face, my life, and my dreams to love him, and you came along to steal him."

"You didn't sacrifice everything." Bel whirled on the woman. "He stole everything. He manipulated you, and I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve that." She unconsciously stepped forward before catching herself. Instinct urged her to comfort Annalise, to remind her that none of this was on her shoulders, but she forced herself to hang back and use her voice instead.

"I didn't want him," she continued. "I never wanted him, but I did want your safety. What he did to you was unforgivable, the way he lied and manipulated and stole, but you survived. You made it out, and there's a beautiful family who wants to help you live the life their daughter can't. You get to see the future, and for that, I'm glad. And I am not perfect. Charles would've hated me one day, too. He was cursed. He was the problem. Not me. Not you. Him."

"But what am I supposed to do without him?" Annalise whispered. "I can never undo what he did. He remade everything about me and left me with nothing. No job, no money. I don't even have my real ID anymore. I no longerknow who I am, so how can I move on? How am I supposed to live without him?"

"But you are still you." Bel reached into her pocket and pulled out a package of gum. It wasn't the same brand Annalise chewed. The hospital vending machines didn't sell it, but they had gum with a blue wrapper, and Bel had managed to fold a rough origami butterfly. "He may have changed you, but no amount of surgery can steal your truth. It was screaming to get out." She placed the butterfly on Annalise's chest. "I'm sorry I didn't put the puzzle pieces together sooner. I'm sorry my presence endangered your life, but this is who you are. No one can rob you of who you are on the inside. That's yours and yours alone. Annalise Sept is still in there."

"Pretty words from a pretty girl, but I can'tgo backto her. I can't be Annalise. Not when I look like six other dead women. Not when I don't see myself in the mirror anymore."

"About that." Bel hesitantly took Annalise's hand, and to her relief, the woman didn't pull away. "I have an idea."

"So while I won't be able to undoeverything,if we follow my treatment plan, I can recreate some of your old features," Dr. Frank Victors said. Bel had called the plastic surgeon with a request, and he agreed to conduct a video consultation. The discussion had been emotional, but Annalise weathered it well, thanks to Bel's dog. Bel had held her hand during the entire call, and Reese had dropped Cerberus off as an emotional support buddy.Annalise took an instant liking to the pitbull, the hospitalallowinghis presence because of the police and FBI involvement,andthepupcurrentlyslepton her legs while they talked.

"I don't have the money for surgeries this extensive," Annalise said. Dr. Victors had outlined a multistep planto safely alter her features. The procedures would erase Anne Blaubart's appearance, but because of Charles' curse scalpel, he couldn't return her to her original face.Frankdidn't know about the magic, nor did Bel tell him, but everyone understood nothing could undo the drastic changes to Sept's body. The most he could promise was a cross between her old self and a new woman. But most importantly, she would no longer wear a dead woman's face.

"Money isn't an issue," Dr. Victors said. "I knew Blaubart for years and had no idea what hewas capable ofbehind closed doors. You needed help, but I didn't see it then, so let me help now. If you want this, and it'll give you confidence, my skills are yours."

"What do you think?" Annalise asked Bel, a completely different woman than she'd been an hour ago. "Should I do this?"

"It'll be painful and slow going," Bel said. "But if it were me, I'd do it. I'd want to be myself again. You'll have the Wyatts' support during surgery, soyou won't be alone. And Dr.Victorsis the best." She tilted her head so her scars flashed on the screen. "I wouldn't trust any other doctor to touch my skin."

"Okay." Annalise reached out and rubbed Cerberus' cropped ears with her bandaged fingers. "I'll do it. I'll become Annalise Sept again.

Bel's eyes fluttered open, and even without looking around the room, she knew. She could feel it. He was here.

"Eamon?" she whispered as she hugged Cerberus tight. She'd been in the hospital for days, but he'd yet to visit her. Griffin had also been suspiciously absent, but when Agent Barry called to say Charles Blaubart had been discovered in Venezuela under the alias Charlie Bleu, she understood. It seemed her beast and her boss did what the official investigation couldn't, and while she was thankful Blaubart was in custody, she'd wished Eamon had been there when she was rescued. Every part of her ached for him, and the longer he stayed away, the greater her anxiety grew. She could barely sleep without him, which explained why her family had suddenly vanished from her room despite the afternoon hour. She'd finally fallen asleep.

"You're here." Tears slipped down her cheeks as she met his gaze. She'd feared she would never see his black eyes again, and she wanted to drown in them until she registered the conflict in their darkness.

"Are you okay?" she asked, shifting Cerberus off her chest so she could sit up. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He shook his head, and she almost broke at the pain in his voice.

"Don't lie to me."

He wasn't touching her. Why wasn't he touching her? He always found a way to connect them, yet he sat on the chair feet from her bed with his hands in his lap.

"It's nothing," he repeated.

"Eamon." She reached out her hand. "I know you. What's wrong?"

"Now isn't the time." He stared at her hand for so long she thought hewas going torefuse her, but then he finally took it and wrapped her fingers in his fist.

"Eamon, you're scaring me."

"I'm sorry." He stood up and leaned over her bed, pressing his forehead to hers, and as he exhaled, she breathed in to feel him inside her. "I'm not trying to freak you out."

"I can't imagine what you've been through, but please don't hide things from me." She pressed her palm to his cheek, crying at how beautiful he was, at how happy she was to have him in her arms again. "What's bothering you? Please tell me."

"You know I love you, right?" he asked, pulling back to cup her face.

"Yes."

"I don't think you do," he said. "Because I don't just love you. You are my obsession, my only reason for breathing. I don't exist without you. That kind of love… it's all-consuming. You are everything, Isobel. I love you with every fiber of my being, and I would do anything to keep you safe, and I mean anything."

"I know." She trapped his hand against her cheek, nervous about where this conversation was headed.

"Good." He sat down without kissing her, and her heart rate spiked. "I need you to understand that everything I do is because I love you. Everything I do is to protect you."

"What's going on?"

"Tell me you understand. Tell me you know how deeply I love you."

"I do, Eamon."

"Good. Please don't forget it."

"I won't, so please tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong." He leaned back in his chair, but he thankfully didn't release her hand. "I just think we need to talk."

Thank you for reading Criminology of a Character. Bel, Eamon, & Cerberus will return for another fairytale inspire crime in Evidence of a Folktale . if you enjoyed this book and feel comfortable leaving a review, I would greatly appreciate it. Reviews go a long way in helping authors like me.