Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 126: Karma’s Gift

Chapter 126: Karma’s Gift

"Are you going to just stand here and let him take her away?" Afraid of raising her voice, Claire whispered harshly to her brother who only watched his step-brother’s figure retreat without stopping him, but that wasn’t what bothered Eamon in the slightest. The reaction he got wasn’t the reaction he expected.

He personally had no intention of hurting the maiden, rather he had developed a certain fondness for her and wanted to make the order that they release her, but when his Mother told him she was Ivan’s woman– his bride-to-be, he got furious at the news. Since having her wasn’t going to be possible unless he became King, he decided to punish her further in an attempt to aggravate Ivan into showing some violence before the crowd, but in the end, all he did was take the servant away without any exchange of words.

Eamon saw absolutely nothing good in his silence.

Claire silently gritted her teeth as she watched Ivan’s figure fade before her very eyes, unable to do a thing in order to stop him from leaving. Closing her palms and turning them into fist, she looked away from the sight and to the crowds that had long gone due to Ivan’s interference. They were this close to finally getting rid of that burdensome maid but then that brother of hers.... If he’s aware of her identity and who she truly is, why is he still saving her???

—--

Returning to the Palace, the main doors flung open, revealing the vampire Lord who stepped in with Samantha in his arms, and the servants, who were working within that particular area had stopped in what they were doing to see the unlikely couple walk in. Ignoring everything and everyone he saw along the way, Ivan carried Samantha straight up to his room so he could lay her down and have a quick look at wounds. He had used his speed to get her back on time as he couldn’t delay with her treatment, rather he was worried that he could feel his own heartbeat beating uncannily along with hers.

Opening the door, Ivan walked in and carefully laid her on her front on his own mattress. Gently sweeping her hair that was now tainted with the stain of blood away from her face, he took it into notice that she had passed out. For the first time, Ivan could feel his hands tremble as he reached to take off his coat that presently covered her wound, and when he finally found the courage to observe it, his pupils flared at the sight of thin red welts that painfully decorated her small back, along with the stain of blood.

His gaze hardened, and his jaws tightened in fury. He had thought about it, long and hard before he decided to do nothing. If he had retaliated and done exactly what he had in mind in front of those people and everyone, it would pose more harm to his little lamb than it would to him. For her sake, he was forced to walk away without doing anything whereas the whispers in his head returned... the whispers that told him to avenge her, but if he had done it, his little lamb would have to suffer more since the attention would be remarkably centered on her.

He was to blame for everything.

If he hadn’t brought her here in the first place, if he hadn’t tried to figure out why he couldn’t forget her despite their one encounter five years ago, if he hadn’t let his mixture of hate and possession cloud his mind and his way of thinking, just maybe, maybe she would have been better. As much as he wanted to deny it, it didn’t change the actual truth, and the truth was that he ruined her life during their first encounter that night, and there was absolutely nothing that has changed after that.

"Can you ever forgive me?" He whispered as though she could hear it. He wanted to hold her, he craved it, but this sudden guilt made him feel that he was undeserving of standing in the same space as her. Maybe this was his karma coming back to repay him for his own wrongdoings in the past, and he was going to accept his mistakes.

A gentle knock on the door had Ivan regaining his composure. Opening the door to see who had disturbed him, the sight of a worried Lucy holding a bowl of water with a towel in her hand, stood right in front of him. She dipped her head in a bow and hesitated.

"I... I saw you bring.... I was wondering if you’ll need help in–"

"She’ll be fine." He assured Lucy whose glazed eyes reluctantly lifted to meet Ivan’s crimson eyes. He knew her reasons for coming, but he couldn’t let her see the condition that her friend was in, whilst he stretched his hand forward to receive the bowl and towel. "Give them to me, I’ll tend to her myself."

Bobbing her head, Lucy handed him the bowl of warm water including the towel.

She had been restless all day, but even after knowing the truth and knowing Sam’s true identity, there was nothing about their friendship that had changed. She kept hoping that nothing terrible happened to her friend at the capital’s main Town square, yet it sounded impossible as Lord Ivan was hardly around to do that, but like a miracle, he showed up with her friend who had, sadly, lost consciousness in his arms. The traces of blood she had seen made her develop a quick thinking, from experience, that the water and towels would be needed, which was why she hurriedly went to prepare them, but after confirming her friend was back in the Lord’s chamber, and that she’ll be fine, Lucy knew she had the chance to breathe properly again.

Although she really wanted to see her, Lucy knew she had to give the two of them space, so she left to quickly go tell the head maid and butler who were also genuinely worried about her.

Closing the door, Ivan returned to where he had laid his little lamb to rest. Pulling out a chair from a corner, he took his seat and proceeded to begin her wash-up. Dipping the towel into the bowl of water, Ivan wrung it out before carefully using it to wipe off the bloody-stain on her bare back, and his actions he made sure to monitor them to avoid hurting her more. When he was done, he took the lavender oil mixed with carrier oil and applied it conscientiously on every red line on her back.

Changing her clothes wasn’t an action he felt he had the right to do as of now, but at the same time, he didn’t want to bother her. When he was finally done tending to her wounds, he got rid of the bowl and towel before proceeding to stay by her side till she woke up, he didn’t want to leave her for another second and stayed till the day turned into dusk. As the hours felt like long eternities of waiting, Ivan couldn’t help but wonder how to begin his apology. If she eventually wakes up, what will he say? Can he look into those bright green eyes without hating himself? If she hated him even more now he understood, he deserved it, but he didn’t wish for that to be the case, he might not be able to handle her hatred.

Silently pondering on his worries, that was when a knock on the door jolted him from his deep thinking.

In the drawing room, the whole Chevalier family had gathered concerning the stunt Ivan had pulled on the capital’s main Town square. Carina stood up from where she was sitting to look at Lady Agathe with an accusing glare. "This is all your fault Agathe, the royal family was finally claiming the years of justice that needs to be rectified, but you and your sons are supporting a maiden instead of the royal family?"

"I support what I think is right, Queen Carina." Lady Agathe quipped with a serious countenance. "What you are doing is detrimental to the innocent woman and I cannot stand for what I believe is wrong. Don’t play the rule cards on me cause the rules won’t change the way I feel about all of this."

"You’re only saying this because it wasn’t your husband who died." Claire arrogantly joined in, her expression warped into one of disdain. "That low-life servant deserves the punishment she’s getting, and we’re only fulfilling duties."

"You didn’t place her on a proper trial, what dumb duty are you talking about?" Alistair, who was starting to get irritated by both Mother and daughter, voiced his own opinion. "Accept it, what you did was merely harassing the innocent woman till she could no longer take it, and I am pretty sure half of that reason was because even as a servant, she was able to charm...the most potential men you couldn’t."

"Watch your mouth!" Aggrieved, Claire silenced him, her cheeks already tinted red with rage.

"If you don’t want trouble, I’d advise you not to bring my sister into this." Eamon strictly intoned, his crimson eyes glinting with a visible threat that only amused Tobias.

"Trouble as in throwing star-blades to mentally frighten someone, how boring." He hummed with no humor. It was pretty clear everyone had picked sides, and before the matter escalated, the doors to the drawing room opened.

Ivan stepped inside with a mysteriously calm air that surrounded him. The arguments that were about to take place ceased in his presence, as though everyone had gotten tongue-tied, and it didn’t take too long for Tobias to figure out that their silence was really Ivan’s doing. Unbeknownst to everyone, Samantha, who was still lying unconscious on the bed, was visited by the strange crawling sights of green tendrils that slithered in through the window.

Not one, or two, but more than hundreds of those stem-looking vines snaked their way to the mattress where she was laid, as though they were being called by her.