Velika: The story of a lover

As they were walking down the hall, Velika O'Sullivan heard Daniel Heinrich was talking to Landon Hetherington in German. She couldn't understand every word but she understood that her partner was asking Landon Hetherington how exactly did he become involved with her and Landon Hetherington told him mindlessly that he met her in a bar when they were in Germany.

"Why would you marry her?" Asked Daniel Heinrich, who couldn't hide his curiosity any longer. Even under a stressful and dangerous situation like they were in right now, he was still desperately wanting to know the reason this man decided to be involved with Velika O'Sullivan, and had a child together. Daniel Heinrich was already in slight anger, and he couldn't imagine what Dean O'Sullivan would react if he found out his wife had a child with another man.

"You ask too much," Answered Landon Hetherington with a frown, "We got married because we love each other, and that's all it takes."

"Stop being pathetic," She said, glanced at Daniel Heinrich, who looked surprised, "Didn't you assume that I don't understand? I do speak a little German, remember?"

Daniel Heinrich rolled up his eyes.

When they passed by a cross section, they ran into another doctor. A blonde, middle aged man with an worrisome expression on his face.

"Good morning, Dr. Henderson." Said Aaron Carling, the smiling psychiatrist, "You seem to have a busy day already."

"Not as busy as yours, Dr. Carling." Said the younger psychologist of the two, who stopped his sight on Daniel Heinrich for two seconds, then looked away, "I see you have guests here."

"Oh, indeed." His colleague smiled again, "We are on our way to see the newest development."

"Then I won't hold you any longer." Kyle Henderson smiled back and walked away. When he passed by Daniel Heinrich, he gave him a serious stare, and Daniel Heinrich nodded.

After they passed another several long, dark hallways, they reached to their destination. The corridors here reminded Velika O'Sullivan of the corridors in Aaron Carling's mansion. When the sun went down, and the lights weren't turned on, those halls gave her a depressive and sorrow feeling, like they were so lonely, just like when she thought of Aaron Carling had to come back to an empty house every single day after work. Then all she wanted was to hug him, kissed him on the cheek and told him that she loved him dearly.

There was a huge glass window in front of them. Inside was so called researchers sitting at the table, monitoring their subject over computer screens. Their subject, of course, was locked up in another room with glass window.

It was a woman with long messy brown hair and skinny to the point that Velika O'Sullivan thought that they were purposely starving her. The woman apparently sensed there were people looking at her, so she looked at. And that was when Velika O'Sullivan's heart stopped beating for a second.

It was Clarabelle Lewis; how could she ever doubt that she would find Daniel Heinrich's former lover here?

"You are planning something," Said Velika O'Sullivan, who was sitting next to Aaron Carling, "What do you want to do with Juliette Leveque?"

"That woman knows too much," The doctor said slowly, turned to her with a frown, "How about we use her as an excuse to get you out?"

She tilted her head a little, that was what she thought as well. Indeed, she felt bad for the woman who locked herself up in an insane asylum, hoping this would be a safer place for her to spend the rest of her life because she knew that her previous social circle was dangerous, and she was far too deep in the web.

"How?" She asked, with a flat tone. Using Juliette Leveque as a shield was never in her plan, all she could blame was herself, who fell in love with the man whom she should never be attached with.

However, what he told her started to make her think that there was nothing wrong to love him. He deserved to be loved, and she was the lucky person that he allowed to love him.

"You see, dear," Aaron Carling said slowly in a quiet voice, like he was afraid that their conversation would be overheard by others, despite the fact there was no one else in the house, "Leveque has been suffering from minor depression for most of her lifetime, and it starts getting worse recently. She claims that there is a shadow figure follows her around and it threatens to kill her."

"Are you thinking about to give her drugs to make her believe that she is possessed?" She said half serious, half as a joke, "Then we can start a show of 'helping the poor Juliette back to normal'?"

"I know you think it's a joke," Aaron Carling smiled, "But that's what I'm thinking. Not only give her substance, but also hypnosis."

"This is cruel and unfair to that poor soul," Said Velika O'Sullivan emotionlessly, ran her cold fingers down his cheek to his chin, "But I would do anything to be with you, as ridiculous as it sounds. I love you too much."

"I love you too," Said her gentle psychiatrist, "And believe me, one day, you'll come back to me."

She smiled. At that time, she firmly thought that after she left Valentine, she would never see him again, and that thought hurt her. The reality was, four years later, she came back to him.

What belongs will never pass, she thought, tried her best to hold her smile back.

###

Clarabelle Lewis was sitting there, staring directly at the people who were looking at her. There was something in her eyes, anger, rage and something else that evoked fear in the people who were examine her, including Velika O'Sullivan.

Velika O'Sullivan used her peripheral vison to check on Daniel Heinrich. She couldn't tell what was on his mind but she knew he was furious to a certain level, even though he didn't show anything on his face. He just stood there, stared at the only woman he ever truly loved, like all the other bystanders.

He didn't know if he all the feelings he had towards his partner was love, but he knew perfectly that he loved Clarabelle Lewis, who was in the situation because of him. He directly looked into her eyes, and sensed that she didn't seem like the same person as she was. There was something off, something odd but he couldn't explain. He just knew that this woman who looked exactly the same as Clarabelle Lewis, might not be her.

"Let's go inside, shall we?" Said Aaron Carling, who broke the silence and opened the glass door, let everyone in, "Now we can take a look at our results clearly."

"What does that even mean?" Said one of the men in the group, "What did you give her?"

"XYZ-2421-ERA." Said the psychiatrist, "You see, the human mind is a miracle, a complicated system with endless possibilities. How can we express all those possibilities? What if, we give a person another identity so that he or she can be another self and accomplish different things?"

"Are you saying," Said a woman with rage, "That you are creating dissociated personalities? Do you know how many psychologists in the world are trying to bring people with DID back into one?"

"Yes, and no." Said Aaron Carling in a gentle voice, he quickly looked at Velika O'Sullivan, who had a frown, "We are experimenting to let all the personalities communicating with each other, so they can decide which one to come into the light in response to the situation. And the subject, or the host, is able to control it."

"That's not possible." Said the woman with a sneer, "You are just making beautiful lies up for your inhumane research."

He then looked at Velika O'Sullivan, who still had her frown on.

"Then what's the story of Astoria?" Asked Velika O'Sullivan, sitting near the window in Aaron Carling's study. It was gloomy outside, with cold, sharp wind that made trees whistle every time it passed by the branches.

"Well," Said Aaron Carling, closed the window and sat right beside her, "She had an even rougher childhood."