The Baroness Misbehaves
Chapter 184: Memories Of The Bridge (2)

Chapter 184: Memories Of The Bridge (2)

"Currently, there are no antipsychotic medications with me as I saw it was of no benefit to bring them, I didn’t think they’d be of any use until now, cause, with all due respect, you seem to need one." She uttered in a miff, her glares becoming evident as she watched the young lad walk nonchalantly at the top of the edge, his calm countenance unflinching, and Madeline was starting to get impatient.

"Get down from there!"

"Did you know I met a girl here once, well, not technically, I always caught her staring from the gate that led to this part of the quarters, and she’d vanish in a second."

Cassian began, surprising Madeline at the sudden light-heartedness of his tone. The cool wind rustled their outfits, and Cassian stopped walking as he stared into the distance that was stretched far and beyond, his chest heaved before relaxing as he subconsciously nibbled on his bottom lip, and then he freed it.

"You already know half the story of my childhood, but there was one time when I made the stupidest decision to end my life on a bridge that was similar to this." He looked down at the running river below.

"Even before I came of age, the loneliness I felt weighed me deeply, I caused all sorts of trouble that even the tale of my mischief shall forever remain silent. The ones that got revealed was what gave me that silly name, the Chaos Maker or something like that. Thankfully, my era as one is starting to fade."

He chuckled at the memories, but just like that the smile on his lips vanished. "Klaus and I, he was a deranged fool who wanted everything that I owned, a mindless backstabber. We stopped talking when he stole my victory as a child and labeled me the culprit, and being the insane child that I was, I refused to be blamed unjustly, so I....did the things that I got accused of, at least they were right the second time I got accused. It’s not surprising the people believed the rumors, I’ve always been known to be the bad egg, they just wear a mask to hide it since I was the Duke’s son, illegitimate, as some would say."

Madeline watched his shoulders slump, and then felt the quick pull to hug him, but she restrained herself from acting too emotional.

Maybe he didn’t realize it, but not everyone out there actually viewed him to be what he imagined. She knew this because whenever she introduced herself as Cas’s wife, there were hardly any negative comments that portrayed all he was saying, or.... Was someone making him believe these were the people’s thoughts?

From what she knew, Cassian hardly mingles with people. And to be honest, she guiltily believed the rumors until she married him and got to experience the complete opposite of those rumors.

"Cas."

"As a child I grew tired quickly." He continued, kicking off a stone that rested on the edge in front of him, and he watched the stone get swallowed by the river, followed by a ’thump’ sound.

"I wanted to end my life, to escape, and I wanted to make sure no one saw me do it, but before I could make the jump.... That’s when I saw her, the little girl who saved me from my forlorn." All the while he spoke, this was the first time his expression softened at the mention of this unknown girl.

"She had this admirable look, one I thought was too far-fetched for a commoner. She kept staring at me from the gate, trying to strike a conversation with me that I couldn’t ignore. I had a hard time mingling with girls, I never gave them an eye or associated with them. In all honesty, I never wanted to have anything to do with them, but even at that time, I knew I liked the girl I was staring at."

"I considered her brave to even talk to me, because being a bully, there was a particular trait that came with making people run away from you before having the boldness to start a conversation with you."

A smile made his lips twitch as he remembered that little girl from the gate, the expressive dark orbs, the sunny smile that gave one enough reason to keep on living.

"She wanted to play with me, she needed a friend, the same way I needed someone at that time, but she didn’t belong to the world of the highest peers. I wanted to see her again, so we made a bet to meet the next day, and we locked fingers to seal the deal.

"Oh." Madeline, who had been listening attentively, felt a sense of familiarity with the story he was telling her, but unfortunately, she couldn’t remember it no matter how hard she tried, but she could still feel a sense of deja Vu.

"Did you ever get the chance to meet her?"

"No." He shook his head, "after that day, I never saw her, but she made me promise to find her if she didn’t, and as brief as the story went, that little girl who stole my attention, ended up being my wife." He looked at Madeline whose face turned red down to her neck, and an unprepared warmth took over watching him look at her so lovingly.

"How can you tell the girl you saw was me?" No matter how hard Madeline tried to picture it, how can he jump into the conclusion that she was the girl he saw?

"First off, her name was Maddie, but let’s call it coincidence." He folded his arm, "I did my research, and I was told the girl who usually stood at the gate from time to time was the daughter of a Baron who lived in the upper West quarters, but I couldn’t confirm it since I was forced to leave Carmarthen and take studies somewhere else, but it didn’t last because I escaped and chose the military services instead."

He sighed, "when I got back, I was too engrossed in the missing people case to think about searching for you, but in the course of fate, we met again after you stole my carriage to escape from your uncle."

He shrugged, "I guess fate wasn’t a hundred percent bad."

"Why didn’t you tell me then? There’s a possibility I would have remembered at that time."

"I was being careful." He explained, "I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, so I endured."

He smiled at her disgruntled expression. "I don’t blame you for not remembering, you were still little, and let’s not begin with your voice, you had the voice of a rat." He teased her.

"A...a rat?" Madeline’s eyes widened, and noticing her opposition, he quickly tried to explain what he meant.

"You know, those tiny baby-ish voices..."

"Are you saying I’m a rat?"

"Tsk! Maddie, you misunderstand me."

Cassian knew his wife’s next move would be to hunt for a stick she would use to discipline him, and he had no strength to undergo any sort of midnight Marathon race.

"Maddie..." in an attempt to explain better, the unusual scent of blood penetrated into his nostril, making him pause against his will, and he inhaled the scent further, trying to confirm if he perceived it right.

"Cassian?"

Madeline, who wasn’t blind to Cassian’s zoned-out expression, had to call him by his name to gain back his attention, and when he looked at her, something in his eyes changed.

"Blood." He muttered and came down from the edge, hurrying to Madeline and scanning her body with his eyes.

"Is there a problem?" She asked when he turned her around, and then back again so she could look at him.

"You’re not bleeding?"

"Huh?"

"I smell blood, and it’s..." Unable to fight the temptation, his eyes switched red as they glanced around rapidly, trying to find the source of where the blood was coming from.