ManEater

A/N: Hey guys! I couldn't wait to upload this chapter! This is a long one! It's very angsty and shocking! I expect to get a crapload of reviews for this one! So read and be stunned already!
P.S. This version on this site has a little harsh words than the other site!
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Elizabeth

I emerged from my cabin after midnight, feeling very nervous that Will wanted to meet with me at the private part of the ship. The only time we would go over there is when either one of us wanted to be alone to think or to calm down after an argument. I slowly made my way to the rail, fighting the urge to run back to my cabin, but I couldn’t. Will was depending on me to be there for him…even though I didn’t want to be bothered with him at the moment. When I’d finally reached my destination, I saw Will sitting on a platform at the rail. He had his head lowered, looking at the worn wooden floor. He then turned his head to look at the sparkling moonlit sea. He hadn’t noticed that I was standing just a few feet away from him. I was deathly afraid to approach him, for I did not know what he wanted to discuss, or if he was angry with me. I had one nerve to run away, but after I’d taken a few breaths to calm myself down, I quietly approached my fiancé.

“Hello Will.” I said in a soft, shaky voice.

When he’d turned his head to face me, I immediately noticed that his eyes were filled with sadness and anger.

“Hello Elizabeth.”

“I read your letter Will…what is it that you want to discuss?”

He was quiet for a few short moments before returning an answer. He then turned his head to look at the moonlit horizon once more. I suddenly felt an awful sense of tension between us. When he finally looked at me, his face was expressionless. His once gentle eyes bore icily into my soul, causing me to shiver in fear.

“Elizabeth there are many reasons why I wanted to meet with you tonight. I have a lot of questions I need to ask you…things I need to talk to you about. There’s also something I must do.”

I was extremely nervous at this point. My stomach was turning in knots. The sickening feeling that I had earlier was returning. I knew in my heart that he was going to mention the incident that happened back in Port Royal a few months ago. He’d probably wanted to mention catching Jack and I in a near kiss. Perhaps he wanted to discuss the fate of our ailing relationship? I didn’t want to discuss our relationship…that would be too painful. I’m also certain that he wanted to know who I wanted to be with and force me to choose between him and Jack. I didn’t want to choose…I couldn’t.

But wait…why would he ask me that? He didn’t know that I’d resumed my affair with Jack for the past few weeks. Maybe he wanted us to start planning our pending wedding? My thoughts were interrupted when he finally began to speak again.

“Elizabeth…” He began in a grave tone. “The first thing I want to ask is whether or not something I’d heard was true.”

My heart immediately stopped.

“What did you hear, Will? Was it something about me or…”

“It was about you.” He answered, slight bitterness dripping from his voice.

“What did you hear about me? Whatever it is, it’s not true.”

“A couple of days ago, I overheard two crewmen saying that they overheard Jack having sex in the wine cellar one night.”

My eyes widened in horror, rendering me speechless.

“What does that have to do with me? I don’t know nor care about what Jack does or who he has sex with…Why are we discussing Jack? I thought that we were out here to talk about you and I…not about Jack.”

Will’s eyes grew slightly angry. “We are out here to talk about our relationship, and about Jack. I think that Jack’s sexual habits have a lot to do with you.”

“What?”

“The two crewmen said that they’d heard the woman he was with scream his name countless times…”

“So you think the woman was me? You think that I was having sex with Jack in the wine cellar?”

“You’re the only woman on board, Elizabeth.” He replied sharply, his eyes narrowed in resentment.

Tears began to well up in my eyes. “It could have been that woman you and Jack rescued a month ago, or perhaps he’d brought back someone to the ship when we made port on those islands.”

Will looked at me unconvinced, for he knew that I was blatantly lying to him.

“No…this happened two days ago, and for the past few days you were the only woman on the ship. The men said that they heard Jack groaning your name.”

I wanted to collapse onto the floor, or run away…but I couldn’t. I was finally caught. Will’s eyes burned red with anger as we stared at each other in silence for a few moments.

“So you believe what two drunken crewmen say about your own fiancé? How do you know if they weren’t lying?”

He averted his eyes back to the horizon, then after a few moments looked at me.

“Because…my fiancé has done it before. So you tell me whether or not they’re lying.”

“Will that was months ago! I’ve told you countless times that I was sorry and that there is nothing going on between Jack and I!”

Will shook his head. “Don’t lie to me Elizabeth.”

“I’m not lying!”

“Yes you are! I’ve seen you sneak into his cabin on numerous occasions and not come out until hours later!”

“But that doesn’t mean that we had sex!”

“I’ve heard noises coming from his cabin while you were in there with him!”

“We were only talking, Will!”

“No you weren’t! You were fucking him! At first when I’d seen you go into his cabin, I thought that maybe you were caring for his arm or talking to him. But when I overheard those crewmen laughing and joking about how Jack was making my fiancé scream in pleasure, I knew at that moment that something was happening between you two. That’s when I started taking notice of how often you went to his cabin to “care” for his bloody injured arm, when in fact, you were satisfying his sexual appetite!”

More tears streamed down my face. I didn’t know how to reply. I couldn’t deny my affair any longer.

“Then why didn’t you confront me at that time?”

“Because I had to see for myself…I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt and not believe what those men were saying about you. When I found out the truth, I was heartbroken.”

I felt terrible…how could I have done this to him again? Why couldn’t I have been a little more careful in concealing my affair with Jack?! I took a step closer to where he sat, but he inched back and turned his head.

“So is that the reason why you haven’t been sleeping in my cabin for the past few nights?”

He looked at me, his eyes welling with angry tears. “Yes…I should have known that something was happening between you and Jack when I’d caught you almost kissing him. I was a damn fool to even convince myself that nothing was going on. I thought you loved me…”

“I do love you, Will.”

Will shook his head, and then looked into my eyes. “You don’t love me Elizabeth…if you did, you wouldn’t have betrayed me so many times.”

“I do love you! Why do you think that I wanted to reconcile with you when we fought! It was because I do love you! Why did you reconcile with me? Why did you forgive me and make love to me?”

Will’s eyes turned dark and cold. His sad frown turned into a half sarcastic smirk.

“I figured that since Jack was having his fun with you, I would too. I thought that you’d notice that fucking two men at the same time was wrong, and you’d stop and realize that you were acting like a whore…But I realize now that I was enabling you. You’re still acting like an inconsiderate whore.”

I looked at him...utterly speechless and apalled. Rage and hurt brewed inside my body. I could not believe that he’d just called me a whore! In that instant, I slapped his face. His head turned sharply to the right from the hard impact of my hand, rendering the left side of his handsome face beet red. I was startled for a moment and placed my hands over my mouth, for I thought that I’d hurt him. He placed his hand over his cheek and looked at me in disbelief. His eyes were wide with pain and shock.

“I can’t believe you did that…”

“How dare you call me a whore!”

“I didn’t mean it in those words Elizabeth. I said your actions were that of a whore. Sleeping with two men at the same time? Not once but many times afterwards! How do you think I felt when the only love of my life allowed a disgusting, nefarious pirate to take her virginity? How do you think I felt when I saw you nearly kiss him? How the hell did you think I felt when I overheard the crewmen say that they’d heard you fucking him?! I felt like a damn fool Elizabeth! A damn fool who would still die for you after all of the unnecessary shit you’ve put me through! I don’t think you even give a damn!”

“I do give a damn Will!”

“Then why did you do it again?”

I was stumped. I turned away from him, feeling too much ashamed to look into his grief-stricken eyes. I couldn’t bear to look at him anymore.

“I don’t know…”

“You do know, Elizabeth! You continue to betray me because you love Jack more than you love me!”

“No that’s not true!”

He then stood up and roughly grabbed my arms. “Then tell me right now Elizabeth that you don’t love Jack…”

His eyes bore deep into mine. When I looked into his eyes, I was afraid to answer him, for I did not know how he would react to my answer. He was right…I did love Jack more than I loved him, but I was not going to confirm that heart-wrenching fact. We looked into each other’s eyes for a few minutes more, until I turned away. He then released his grip on me and took a step back; his eyes were full of sadness and unshed tears.

“So you do love him…” He said in a soft, heartbroken whisper. “After all of this time I thought that you truly loved me and that Jack was some sort of curiosity you’ve had ever since you were a little girl.”

“Will please…”

He then held up his hands, warning me to keep back.

“I can’t believe you love that poor excuse of a man after he’d humiliated you that day when he revealed your affair in Port Royal. He said that you were nothing to him and that he didn’t love you. He called you a whore, Elizabeth…”

“And so did you…” I replied angrily.

“I love you, Elizabeth…more than any man ever has and ever will. How could you do this to me?”

I couldn’t answer him, so I turned away to look at the peaceful moonlit horizon. After a few moments, he stepped over to the rail and looked at the horizon with me. He then turned to look at me after a few long, quiet agonizing minutes. I could feel his icy glare slicing through my body.

“Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve dreamed of sharing my life with a woman who would love me unconditionally, even though I felt like I didn’t deserve it because I was the son of a pirate. I thought I’d finally met her when I was ten years old…when she saved me from an uncertain fate in the ocean.”

“Will…I…”

He held up his hand to prevent me from speaking any further.

“Please let me finish, Elizabeth…” He replied in a serious, yet gentle tone.

“Ever since we were children Elizabeth, I’ve been madly in love with you. I was too afraid to approach you or call you by your first name because I didn’t feel worthy of your love…or friendship. I thought that since I was bold enough to tell you that I loved you in front of your father and Norrington that I would win your heart. I’ve always prayed to have the chance to be with you, and love you like I’ve always dreamed. I thought that you would be mine forever…but I was wrong. When our wedding didn’t happen, I should have realized then that there was a reason why it was interrupted…it was because we were never meant to be.”

“Please Will don’t say that.” I pleaded softly.

“It’s true Elizabeth and you know it. If it weren’t for Jack interrupting our lives with his damned problems, we would still be together…married, living in Port Royal. If I wouldn’t have gone with him to go find some damn heart and get captured by Davy Jones, you would have never spent any time with him searching for me. You would have never grown closer to him, or kissed him. I believe that you were in love with him all along, even before you’d ever met him. You’ve let some fucking foolish childhood infatuation with Jack lead you into his bed and out of my arms, ruining not only your life, but mine as well.”

“I’m not infatuated with Jack, nor have I ever been!” I replied, slight anger dripping from my voice.

“Then what is it Elizabeth?” He began sarcastically. “It’s obvious to me that you do love him…no let me correct myself. You are in love with him. But if that’s true, then why bother staying in a relationship with me and not leave me for Jack? Maybe you don’t love him…”

I couldn’t look Will in the eyes. I felt trapped and slightly ridiculed by what he was saying. He was taunting me, trying to get me to confess my love for Jack. I decided at that moment to let the truth come out and sting his heart a little more because he was breaking my heart.

“You’re right Will…I do love Jack.”

His eyes widened in astonishment as my words seemed to pierce through his broken heart. He looked down at the wooden floor for a moment and nodded, as he tried to recover from the painful truth of my words. He turned away, and then averted his eyes to me, which now showed more malice than sorrow.

“I bloody knew you did, Elizabeth. So now I won’t feel guilty to do what I’ve needed to do from the first time I found out that you were an unfaithful fiancé.” He spat bitterly.

I had a gut feeling that he was referring to breaking off his relationship with me, until he reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a small box. I was now confused, for I did not know what he was going to do.

“You see this box Elizabeth?” He began as he took one step closer, making sure I could see what was in his hand. “This box held our future. Can you guess what’s inside?”

He squinted his eyes as he glared at me. “No…I don’t know Will.”

He smirked halfheartedly and shook his head. He opened the box to reveal a very beautiful ring with amethyst stones on each side of a diamond. I was very captivated by its beauty. He then removed the ring out of the box and took another step closer to me. I searched his mournful eyes, wondering what he was about to do.

“This…” He then took a breath, as if trying to hold back tears. “This was your engagement ring Elizabeth. When we were in Port Royal, I met privately with your father to officially ask for his blessing to marry you and to know your favorite gemstone. He told me it was amethyst, so I decided that I would have your engagement ring custom made with a diamond and amethyst stones. I was going to spend my entire life savings on your ring, but your father insisted that he’d pay for it. One day when you were out, your father and I secretly went to the jeweler to have your ring custom made.”

I was ridden with tears at what he’d just told me. I had no idea that he went through all of this trouble just for me. I couldn’t bear to look at him anymore or stand in his presence. I noticed that there were unshed tears welling up in his eyes as he averted his eyes from me to the ring. I felt horrible, not to mention sick. My body was trembling with guilt and sorrow, preventing me from speaking.

“Now that I look back at what’s happened between us over the last three months, I’m now asking myself if this was all worth it.”

He looked into my eyes as a tear fell down his cheek. I began to sob even more.

“Ever since I’ve had this ring, I’ve been planning on how to surprise you with it and get down on my knees to formally propose to you. Those plans were crushed the moment I found out that you had an affair with someone whom I consider to be a great friend at times, but at other times my worst enemy.”

“Will I’m sorry…” I whispered.

He nodded then wiped the tear from his cheek. “After I’d forgiven you, I thought that I could still surprise you, but my plan was thwarted once again when I’d recently found out that you were still carrying on with your affair with Jack. I was absolutely crushed, Elizabeth…disgusted…with you, Jack, even with myself.”

“Why would you be disgusted with yourself, Will?” I’d managed to ask through sobs.

His eyes pierced through mine coldly. “Because…I was foolish, Elizabeth. Foolish to even think that I could still marry you after your affair with Jack. I was holding on to the hope that you loved me more than you loved him…I tried to keep you two away from each other but now I see that I’d led you two back into each other’s arms when I insisted on going to the Leeward Isles with him. That’s why I’m disgusted with myself.”

“Will don’t blame yourself…it’s not your fault. It was mine. I should have never had relations with two men at the same time. It was pure selfishness on my part...”

“I should have done a better job protecting what’s mine…” He interrupted under his breath.

I looked into his tearful eyes, causing him to turn away. He then walked closer to the rail and looked at the horizon in an attempt to control his emotions. After a few moments he turned to look at me, his eyes were red and watery.

“Tell me something, Elizabeth…is the reason why you kept going back to Jack have something to do with him being a better lover than me?”

I did not want to answer his question, for there were other reasons besides sex that prompted me to continue my affair with the Captain. I turned away to look at the horizon, and did not answer. He nodded then began to examine the ring he still held in his hands.

“I was hoping that we would be able to resolve our issues tonight and move on together with our lives, but now I’ve realized that it’s too late. Your heart was never with me, Elizabeth, but mine has always been with you.”

“That’s not true, Will. My heart was always with you.”

“So when did you decide to share your heart with Jack? Why did you allow yourself to be vulnerable to his lies?”

“I’m not vulnerable, Will! It just happened!”

“Nothing like that just happens unless you’ve secretly wanted to love him! It would be easier for me to fully forgive you and give you this ring if it only happened once with a total stranger. But I can’t because it happened multiple times with a friend.”

I looked at him. His watery eyes were now dry and irate.

“I thought that I would never have to do this. In fact, I didn’t want to do this because I still love you.”

“Will what are you talking about?” I asked nervously.

“This was all riding on the outcome of our talk tonight, but I knew in my heart that I needed to do what’s best for me.” His eyes were starting to fill with tears once again. He looked at the ring, and then averted his eyes to me.

My heart began to pound erratically in my chest, for I knew what he was about to say.

“This ring was for a woman who I thought was as madly in love with me as I was with her. She was my fiancé…someone whom I thought I would spend the rest of my life with. But now, everything has changed. She’d betrayed me and given her heart and maidenhead to someone else besides her fiancé…”

My heart began to ache at his harsh words. I didn’t know what he’d planned on doing.

“There’s no future between us Elizabeth…all we have is the past. You see this ring? This ring signified our undying love and future together. Tell me something Elizabeth, if I was to get down on one knee and propose to you, what would be your answer?” He looked into my eyes, daring me to break his icy gaze.

I turned away for a moment and tried to hold back my tears. I did not want to answer him, but I knew I had to.

“The answer would be no, Will.”

His icy glare turned into sadness. The immense pain in his eyes indicated that his heart had crumbled into pieces. I cried even more, for I felt terrible about what I’d said, even though it was the truth.

“I was afraid you’d say that, but I knew you would. I wasn’t going to propose to you tonight, Elizabeth. I’ve come to the decision that I can’t be with you any longer. I was going to let you make the decision to choose between Jack and me, but I see that you’re incapable of making that decision…so I’ve made it for you.”

I felt taken aback for a moment. I was slightly relieved, yet upset that he’d decided not to be with me anymore. I’m glad that he didn’t have me choose between him and Jack, for that decision would have been too difficult to bear.

“I’m sorry Will, for everything. I hope that you won’t hold any ill feelings towards me.”

He looked into my eyes, tears slowly welling up in his eyes. “No Elizabeth…I could never feel anything like that towards you.”

I smiled halfheartedly, for I did not feel convinced by his answer. His response seemed insincere…his eyes still emitted the incurable pain he felt in his heart.

“Will, I know that this might sound a little off course, but I was wondering what you were planning to do now with the ring?”

He looked at me strangely, and then smirked wickedly. “I’ve been asking myself that very question ever since I came out here to meet with you. After I thought about all that we’ve been through for the past three months, I came to a very difficult decision. You see, this ring deserves to be with someone who is faithful, honest, and in love with her fiancé. That’s who I bought the ring for. I’m sorry Elizabeth, but that person isn’t you anymore. You don’t deserve the ring, or my heart, so I have to do something that needs to be done…that will help heal my broken heart.”

His words stung my heart. I watched as he dangled the ring over the rail. My eyes opened in horror, for I was afraid of what he was going to do.

“Will what are you doing?”

He looked at me, his eyes filled with tears. “This is what you’ve caused, Elizabeth. A gift as precious as this ring does not belong to someone with a duplicitous heart. Do you think that Jack would go out of his way to have a piece of jewelry custom made for you? Do you think that he loves you more than I do?”

I could not answer him, for his words pierced through my heart like a bullet.

“No Elizabeth! I was the one who went through hell just to satisfy you! All I’ve ever wanted to do was to love you and make you happy. I’ve done everything for you in vain. And what do I get in return? A broken heart.”

I immediately began to cry, for the truth of his brutal words made me feel like the lowest person on the face of the earth. At that moment, he opened his hand, allowing the ring to fall into the sea. I watched in horror as the beautiful piece of jewelry left his hand, falling in slow motion towards the unforgiving moonlit sea. Once it disappeared into the calm waves, I looked at Will, and took notice of the devastated expression etched across his face. He then turned to look at me, as tears fell down his face. I cried, too.

“Goodbye Elizabeth. I still don’t know what I did to you to deserve such treatment. I’ve been nothing but a devoted friend and lover to you. Now I know that our love was never meant to be.” He then turned around and walked away. I watched as he made his way below deck. I called his name, but he kept walking away, blatantly ignoring me.

I ran inside my cabin and lay on my bed, where I cried heavily with my face buried in the pillow. Will was no longer my fiancé. I was grieved by that fact, but I couldn’t be mad with him for not wanting to be with me. It was my fault, after all. There was a bright side to all of this… I was finally free to be with Jack. No more sneaking into his cabin after midnight to be in his arms. At that moment, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to just be with Jack. I must admit, even though this might sound inconsiderate, downright wrong, actually, but I preferred to be with both men at the same time. It was thrilling, yet dangerous at the same time. I will miss it, but it’s for the best to stay faithful to one man. I couldn’t stand to break anyone’s heart or suffer a broken heart anymore. I cried a little more for the next half hour or so until it dawned on me that I could now officially be with Jack in public, but it would have to wait since Will and I’d just broken up. It would be very rude and inconsiderate of me to be parading around in Jack’s arms right in front of my ex-fiancé.

I still could not believe that Will and I were over. It was not supposed to end this way…our relationship was not supposed to end at all. I wondered if Jack wouldn’t have interrupted our wedding, Will and I would be happily married. I would have never fallen in love with Jack or kissed him, but I guess fate had other plans for the three of us. I cried a little for the next hour or so as I thought about everything before and after this whole love triangle fiasco. I was not anticipating the future, for I knew that it would probably hold more heartbreak than happiness. After a few moments, I cried myself to sleep, in hopes of healing my broken heart…

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Later that day, mid afternoon…

I’d spent most of the day alone. I did not leave my cabin all morning, nor seen Jack or Will. I was still very heartbroken over what had happened between us a few hours ago, but at the same time I was elated to tell Jack that I no longer had a fiancé, and I was now his. I quickly left my cabin and went into town. I knew that Jack went into town because I’d overheard him and Gibbs discussing it early in the morning.

As I walked through the bustling town of Porlamar, I took notice of all the fine merchant shops and exotic goods. I stopped to look at a sideshow of dancers for a few moments until something urged me to go find Jack. I walked a few feet down the street and came upon a small pub. I smiled inwardly, for I knew Jack had to be in there. I could not wait to tell him my news. As I stepped closer to the door, I noticed something from the corner of my eye. I noticed Jack standing a few feet away from me on the other side of the pub. He was standing with his back against the wall, but he could not see me. My heart pounded erratically in my chest at the very sight of him. I began to take a few steps closer to him, but was immediately stopped in my tracks.

To my horror and immense heartbreak, there were two women surrounding Jack. They were flirting quite heavily with him, and he was doing the same! One woman had her hand on his chest, while the other was touching his hair and playing with the beads in his beard. I watched how they talked and flirted with him, as if they had no shame. I knew they were offering him sexual favors. I had one nerve to go over there and pull the women away from him by their hair, but I realized that Jack was a free man and was not obligated only to me. We were not in a committed relationship. I watched the heart-wrenching scene for another minute, until I saw one of the women trace his lips and move her face closer to his. I placed my hands over my face and ran away, for I could not stomach watching her kiss him.

I ran away as fast as I could without looking back. Tears welled up in my eyes and flowed uncontrollably down my cheeks. How could he do this to me? How could he allow those whores to flirt with him like that? Does he not love me? Oh how could I be so stupid!

I ran until I reached the beautiful white sand and sparkling blue sea. The Pearl was just twenty feet away from me. I wanted to run back to my cabin, but I might run into Will. It would be very awkward to see him. I decided to spend some time walking along the shore to clear my head and try to forget the events from last night and a few minutes ago. I immediately burst into tears. I was so overcome with grief that I thought I’d die.

I walked along the shore closer to the cool water. Thoughts of Will and Jack berated my mind. Was I the complete cause of this whole mess? Why did I let this affair get so out of hand? I’d just lost a fiancé a few hours ago because of my duplicitous ways and now I’ve just lost a man who I loved with my entire heart to two whores! How could I be so careless…so ruthless? My selfish hunger for love has left two men with broken hearts that I cannot mend. I wish I could go back and change the past to be with the one I truly love. But I can’t. Will doesn’t want me, nor does Jack. Will was right about Jack…he didn’t love me. If he did he wouldn’t be with those disgusting prostitutes right now!

Why did I let this happen! I’ve probably driven Jack away into another woman’s arms because I chose to stay with Will and only sneak around with him. I couldn’t blame him for being fed up with me. If I was in his position, I would move on. Now I’ve probably lost the only greatest love of my life…all because of my curiosity and selfishness to be with two men at the same time.

I walked along the shore for a few more moments in hopes of clearing my mind. That didn’t help. I stopped and looked down at the sea and admired its beautiful cerulean color. I noticed a few small fish swimming about and what looked to be small pointy rocks scattered around the area. I decided to walk back to the Pearl, for I could barely see it in the distance. I knew I was too far away. My sickness was beginning to stir again. I attributed it to the hot sun bearing down on me and the fact that I was completely worn out from crying. I made sure that I walked along the water; so that I could stay cool until I made it safely back onto the Pearl.

After a few minutes or so, I was about twenty feet away from the Pearl. When I took one step with my right foot, I felt a very sharp pain. I looked down at my right foot, taking immediate notice that a pool of blood was slowly coming out of the bottom of my foot, mixing with the crystal clear sea.

“What happened?” I asked myself aloud.

My vision suddenly became blurry. I thought I’d seen a sharp pointy object swim away from where I stood. I then began to take a few steps, but found that it was too hard. At that same moment, a terrible headache overcame me. I attempted to keep walking, but for some reason, my right leg, then my left leg began felt awfully heavy.

“What’s wrong with me? I must make it back to the ship.”

I struggled to walk, my vision quickly fading. I was a little closer to the ship, but not where I hoped I would be. I must make it back to the ship. I kept telling myself. I struggled a few moments more until I’d suddenly collapsed onto the cool, wet sand…complete darkness surrounding me…
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A/N: ???? The suspense continues! Happy Birthday Zyana! Lewt me know what you guys think! I'm anxious to know what you think is going to happen! Thanx for reading and reviewing!!!!!!