The Baroness Misbehaves
Chapter 183: Memories Of The Bridge (1)

Chapter 183: Memories Of The Bridge (1)

Cassian and Madeline stopped in their tracks after making it out of the palace and into the empty street. The cool midnight air wrapped around them in a penetrating embrace, and Madeline took off the scarf she had used to hide her face and gently wrapped it like a shawl around Cassian’s shoulder. It looked big enough to the extent it hid almost half of his face, leaving only his eyes and nose visible for her to see.

He looked at her briefly, his Amber-brown eyes gleaming in the midnight darkness, and if only he knew how much she was affected by that intruding gaze, he would stop staring at her in such a titillating manner.

"It’s for disguise." Madeline quickly explained, "and it’s... it’s cold too." She added, making her intentions clear, and she heard him sigh as he averted his gaze to the street ahead.

"I’m thirsty." He whispered, almost breathlessly, and Madeline remembered bringing some water in a clean bottle she found at home.

"There’s water in the bag, let me get...."

"No." He refused before she could take the bag from him, and he sighed again, making it obvious that he wasn’t thirsty for water. "It’s not important," he discarded it from his mind and tried to control it, knowing there were more crucial matters that needed attention first.

"We need to make it out of here before dawn." He said, "Tomorrow, the news of my escape will be announced, and they’ll come looking for me. Before that happens, we need to be out of here. Let’s see if we can cover more ground on foot till we find an unused carriage."

Knowing they already spoke about this, Madeline nodded her head in understanding, and together, they walked down the empty street. The only sounds heard were their footsteps and the rustling of leaves from both corners as they set off on foot, the moon casting a faint glow over everything.

Unbeknownst to Madeline, a smile subconsciously graced her lips as she walked beside Cassian, and it felt more like she was walking on air at the feeling of having him by her side. Her eyes darted to the houses on the empty streets, but knowing everyone would have locked themselves at home, Madeline didn’t feel the need to worry about anyone spotting them on the way.

The street was lined with old buildings, some dark and foreboding while the others were beautifully lit, their windows glowing like beautiful jewels. The occasional lantern lights threw a patch of light across the pavement, and Madeline’s eyes were drawn to the intricate patterns of the cracks by the concrete.

A soft sigh escaped her nostril as she pulled at the collar of her shirt to take a look at the pinkish scar that hadn’t left yet. What happened the other day revisited her mind, and she pinned her lips together to form a thin line, the expression on her face was contoured into worry, and it was a look that didn’t miss Cassian’s gaze since he had been stealing unnoticeable glances at her.

"What?"

The tone of his voice broke Madeline from her trance, and her lashes flickered slightly before she looked up to notice Cassian’s glinting eyes on her, and she lowered her gaze again.

"I’m just thinking, why are we the ones to go through this type of test?" She sighed again and folded her arms, "I keep trying to deny it, but I can’t push away the feeling that we’re being toyed by fate. Every little attempt we make to find peace always leads to something even more dynamic, and I fear it’s going to get tougher the minute we hit rock bottom."

She held her lower lip between her teeth before letting out a frustrated hiss. She looked at Cassian who remained silent all through without giving any form of reaction to what she just said.

"Why aren’t you saying anything?"

Madeline didn’t want to believe she was the only one harboring this type of thoughts. Cas’s silence was only making it worse for her, and she wanted to hear things from his side, she wanted to know what he thought about both their unfortunate situations, and since she kept pushing, Cassian shrugged nonchalantly and said.

"This is nothing new to me," he adjusted the traveling bag on his shoulder, "I’ve always been toyed by fate since I was a child - so much that it doesn’t matter anymore what situation I end up in, cause in the end, it’s all game to me." A sadistic smile graced his lips, "there were times when people made me feel like i had gone insane, it made me mad cause I hated how right they were, but now, it’s something I chose to live with, and I just... follow where the road leads me to."

He looked at Madeline who clearly didn’t feel any better after hearing what he had to say. Obviously, they’ve both had a rough childhood, and the situation still hasn’t changed even after growing up.

If there was a better phrase to use, Madeleine was ready to admit that things are going from bad to worse.

"Hold on." Madeline’s eyes snapped wide as though she just recalled something. "Do tell if I’m wrong in this, you tried to tell me something relating to our past when we stayed at the Duke’s Mansion, you said it was our first meeting, what was it about?"

Madeline felt surprised she was able to remember they had this type of conversation when Cassian was still suffering from his blind predicament, and from his expression, Madeline could tell he knew exactly what she was hinting at.

"Cassian."

As they kept walking, they made it to the first bridge, and Cassian stopped in his tracks as his eyes settled on the edge of the bridge, unintentionally ignoring the woman by his side who kept trying to persuade him to speak.

He moved to the edge of the bridge and peered down. It wasn’t as high as the bridge he first planned on using to commit suicide back then, but this bridge was still high enough to be compared with it, and since it was late at night, the waters below looked angry as they splashed hard against the stone pillars, and a slow smile twitched Cassian’s lips as he dropped the traveling bag and suddenly climbed on to the edge.

"What tha- what are you doing?" Startled, Madeline hurried over to the edge, and as she peered down, her eyes widened horrifically at the length, most especially at the sight of the running water below that looked ready to swallow any civilian that fell in.

"How can you stand in a place like this, what if you fall? Get down!" She ordered, but Cassian turned a blind ear as he stood confidently, walking along the edge with his hands in his trouser pocket and even stealing glances at the water below, adding to Madeline’s fright.

"What are you doing??"

"I..." he began, "I want to end it here."