Chapter 80
BRIANNA’S POV
More than two hours have passed now and Amelia hadn’t come. Darkness had fallen outside, and I couldn’t help but wonder what was keeping her. Restless and anxious, I needed to see her.
My heart raced in my chest, and my breaths were heavy and prickly against my nostrils. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead and brows, despite the chilly night.
What if they caught her? Maybe the guard that stood outside the door or the maid that came in overheard us when we were talking about the plan and told Sebastian about it… maybe he had fired her or worse, was punishing her.
“No…no…no,” I mumbled, wiping the sweat on my forehead and brows with the back of my hands as I paced the cell, worry wrapping me in its thick coat. “Please let it not be what I’m thinking.”
I didn’t want Amelia to suffer because of me. I didn’t want anyone to suffer again because they were trying to help me. I didn’t want what happened to Lily – the maid who tried to help me escape Hermes’s castle to happen to her. Sebastian wouldn’t hurt her. Would he?
After thinking it over, I agreed with Amelia. It was safest to leave before Catherine harmed me. Amelia said her cousin would look after me, and I trusted her. There, I could hide and start fresh. Hermes or any Alpha Kings from the auction hall wouldn’t find me. I planned to find a basic job and help her cousin with the house and kids if they had any. I didn’t want to be a burden to anyone. Plus, maybe I could find a good man like Sebastian who would marry me there if everything worked out well.
Tears I couldn’t hold back made my eyelids tremble. I wiped them with my fingers. But the more I wiped, the more it accumulated and flowed down effortlessly as if a floodgate had opened in my eyes. Making this choice was incredibly tough for me.
I loved Sebastian, even though I found it hard to admit. Even though I didn’t show him. He made me feel things I had never felt before. He made me believe all Alpha Kings weren’t the hungry devils in angel’s clothing I thought they were. He cared for me like no one had, treated me like I wasn’t a sex slave and even went as far as teaching me to read even though I insisted. He never tried to force himself on me like Hermes did all the time. He made me feel safe and protected. He made me love him. But that love was a mirage. I could only think about it, feel it but can’t show it. I can never let it come to reality. The love was a death trap. And I didn’t want to fall into it. I didn’t want to destroy his marriage, destroy what he and Catherine had built over these past years. I needed to keep Catherine’s claws off my neck. I didn’t want to hurt her and make her continue to feel angry and insecure like I was the biggest threat in her life. This was the best decision and I’ll go on with it without holding back.
I didn’t worry about Sebastian losing his Alpha King position since Amelia said he’d figure something out. So I had nothing to lose.
I sat down close to the bars and rested my head on it. I tried to calm my breathing. I shouldn’t be afraid and nervous. I needed to be optimistic and patient. Amelia will make it. And everything will work out just fine.
As I was practising my controlled breathing, a bang on the door snapped me out of it, causing me to rise at once. My brows furrowed deeply and my heart was hammering in my chest. Who could be banging like that on the door?
The bang continued, each bang louder than the one before on the iron door. Someone was kicking hard on it from the outside.
The door was locked from outside, and I didn’t know why. Maybe Sebastian’s guard that stood guard there forgot I was inside and accidentally locked it and misplaced the key. Now, he might be frantically trying to open it, realizing his mistake.
“Who’s that?” I tried to make my voice audible even though it turned out to be shaky. “Amelia, is that you…Sebastian’s guard is that you…Did you misplace the key?”
I heard a loud bang, like a muted gunshot, from the lock. My heart raced, and I jumped in fright. I pressed against the wall, searching for an escape, even though there was no way out.
I felt an intense fear like never before, my entire body shaking uncontrollably. I couldn’t catch my breath, and my mind raced. That was a gunshot! Someone outside there had a gun and was trying to break in, possibly to kill me. Armed robbers had gotten into the castle. Maybe they had killed everyone. Sebastian, Catherine, the maids… Amelia. That’s why she hadn’t come. Sebastian usually came around this time to read to me and spend the night here. But he hadn’t come. They killed him! They’d killed them!
My tears felt like hot water on my eyes and cheeks. I swallowed hard and my mouth and lips suddenly felt like the Sahara desert as I struggled to catch my breath. My heart had already split into two and sank deep into my stomach. They can’t be dead. No! No!! Amelia can’t be dead… all those innocent maids. Sebastian can’t be dead.
Whoever that was out there kept banging against the door. But didn’t shoot again. A few minutes later, the banging stopped and I didn’t hear it or the gunshot again.
I collapsed in despair, hugging my knees tightly to my chest and burying my face in them. My tears soaked my gown, and my sharp breaths echoed in the empty room. Everyone was probably dead and I was alone and locked up in here with no way out.