Night of Eden 78

 Chapter 78

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Theodore stepped outside.

The back of his hand was dripping with blood he didn't recognize, but he didn't feel any pain.

The pain was elsewhere.

He rubbed his burning cheek with his shoulder.

His fists clenched. His body shook with the need to punch someone in the face.

But part of him was reliving the anxiety and terror of last night, when he had wandered through the woods looking for Dana.

He imagined  the tiny body that must have staggered away without a fight, her smooth face marked with handprints, the sunken eyes, and how she'd just hung her head.....

The tie tightened around his neck like a noose. Theodore tugged harshly, stumbling to his feet.

"Master!"

Tilly came running from the end of the hall, having caught up with the commotion in the chamber.

Master Marcus had fainted, and the others were scrambling to clean up.

"Master!"

Theodore stopped dead in his tracks. Blood dripped from his fingers.

Tilly nervously walked over and picked up his tie from the floor.

"Bring her in."

Tilly winced as he straightened up.

"Master, please... Just calm down a bit and......."

"Bring her."

Tilly shoved the tie into his pocket, then paused again.

"Ha, the maids are all busy working, especially this time of year... The area in charge of this... changes from time to time...."

It was no use.

"Find her."

The harsh, cold, heartless voice rang out once more.

"Find her."

***

They called it fruit wine, but it was still alcohol.

Dana put down the poker and closed her eyes for a moment. Her cheeks were hot and her head felt terribly dizzy.

"Let me go with you. Please."

Dorothy's pleading voice kept echoing in her head.

"I won't act like it was the day of the mushroom hunt. I swear."

"You won't believe it, but I... I'm good at this. I won't get in your way. I'll bathe often and wear clean clothes from now on. As long as you take me with you...."

"I don't know where you're going, but I'm sure I can help you. I, I'm from the workhouse in Lowshire... On 13th Street... I used to work as a laundress... I've been in factories... I've seen... I've... I've been on a boat alone... I've... traveled alone... I've even ridden a train alone...."

Dorothy was eager to show how much she had seen the world.

"It's...very dangerous...for a girl to go anywhere alone...it's much safer...if we go together."

Dana found herself strangely persuaded.

She didn't know life in the city. Most of the stories she'd heard were horror stories of people getting scammed or caught in crimes.

She needed to buy a ticket with the money she'd been given by the boss of the agency, but she wasn't sure how to do it.

"I won't give you any trouble. Wherever you go... I'll... I'm sure I can help you. I have some money saved up. I've got some money saved up, and I'll find my own job. So please...."

Strangely enough, the words felt very reassuring. Someone would be there for her on her lonely, lonely journey....

"Please, please."

Dorothy was on the verge of tears, and Dana couldn't say no after all.

When Dana revealed that she'd gotten the nanny job at Dodge, Dorothy gasped.

"Dodge! That's a great choice! I heard it's a factory town and there are lots of jobs there, so I'm sure I'll be able to find one soon!"

"Thank you, thank you so much!"

Dorothy almost kissed the back of Dana's hand.

"We'll leave at five, if you don't mind. I'm out of town anyway, and Mr. Tobias has arranged for a carriage to take me to the square. I have to go to the post office and buy something, and if you tell the head maid you’ll come with me, we can both get a carriage."

"Give me your bag now and I'll sneak it into the wagon. There's so much other luggage, Mr. Tobias won't even know what's what, and when we get to the square, he's always too busy drinking anyway, so he won't have any reason to suspect us, and it's a perfect opportunity to get away."

Realistically, it was better that way.

To catch the stagecoach, they'd have to walk to the wheat fields, which was a little tricky since it was in the opposite direction from the mill.

"...I'll just sneak this in and go back to the inn. I need to get my money and stuff together."

Dorothy went on to explain how to disappear without anyone noticing and what to look out for. She was quite elaborate and detailed, pointing out things Dana hadn't thought of.

"Meet me at the stables. Mr. Tobias wants me to meet him there."

Dorothy grabbed Dana's bag and hurried out the door. As if to prove her point that she'd always been sick of Belvida, she was wearing a cheerfulness she'd never seen before.

"Thank you, Dana, thank you so much!"

The door slammed shut. Dana was dazed.

Leaving with Dorothy...

She still couldn't believe she'd let her.

Dana stared out into the darkness for a long moment, then reached for another candle and lit it.

Her stomach churned as her mind grew hotter and hotter. Unsure of what to do with her anxious and disturbed mind, she looked around the room for something to distract herself.

As she turned her head, Dana's eyes caught sight of an unfamiliar shawl. Dorothy must have left it behind in her haste.

...It must be cold out, was it too late to go after her and give it to her?

Dana picked up the shawl and walked to the door.

Tap.

As if waiting for it, someone knocked on the door from outside. After being startled by the harsh sound, Dana smiled and opened the door.

"...I was going to bring it to you anyway...."

Her smile quickly faded.

Dana was frozen in place by the large man blocking the small door.

"How...."

Dana muttered in a daze. Theodore stared down at her wordlessly, his hands clenched in his pockets. Her mouth went dry under his unreadable gaze.

"...Uh, here... How... know...."

"I heard."

A low voice, crisp as a winter night.

"Liana Hastings hit you."

She didn't have to answer. In an instant, her flushed face plummeted to the floor. Theodore stormed inside.

"What can I do?"

Her head snapped back up from the ground, the thick scent of whiskey wafting through the cold air.

"I don't know what I can do."

The open door creaked in the wind. Dana hurried over and slammed it shut. She tried to walk past him to get back to her seat, but she didn't make it halfway before she was grabbed. The man's hand on her arm was hotter than ever.

"Answer me, what do you want me to do?”

Dana stared up at him, unable to twist away.

"Do you want me to go and do the same thing to her?"

"No... Please... don't... don't do that... Please...."

"You won't... Don't?"

"No..... I think you're drunk, just let go of your emotions...sit down...and think rationally...."

"Reason?"

He twisted to face her.

"Reason."

His voice rumbled low, an indescribable rage burning through his entire body.

"Just leave me alone...."

A cold gasp, whether it was a laugh or a sigh, escaped him. He stared into the void as if barely holding back something, then turned back to her.

"Shall I tell you something? You probably won't care."

There was a short, stunned silence,

"I'm breaking off the engagement."

Shock ripped through Dana's heart. Shaking violently, she tried to pull herself together. Fear snowballed in the face of a conclusion she'd never thought possible.

"...that...that...that...that... impulsively...."

"Shut up."

He lunged at her, looking like he was going to crush whatever he could get his hands on. Dana quickly stepped back.

"...Uh, just, uh, calm down... Just calm down and...."

"Shut up."

Dana's body slammed into the corner of the table as she backed away.

Searing eyes stared coldly down at her pale face.

"You don't know."

He leaned down. Dana tried to pull away.

"What a bitch she is."

Both of her forearms flared up with a random curse.

"...What...she is."

His heated upper body slowly pressed against hers.

"She’s a bitch."

He leaned down just like that. A moan was swallowed as their lips pressed together.

The united bodies of man and woman collapsed onto the table. The bottle of wine tumbled over, reeking of cranberries.

The strength of the man who had lost his senses was overwhelming.

Theodore shoved his thigh between Dana's legs, then crushed her upper body.

Her heaving breasts were crushed flat, and her mouth made a huffing, deflated sound. Pressing down on her lower belly was the hard erection of the man's penis. In an instant, the stories Leah had told Dana pounded into her head like shrapnel.

Something was definitely going to happen.

Dana had a terrifying realization that she wouldn't get off easy this time, that he wouldn't allow her to resist.

"I'm going to crush them."

He rumbled low.

"The bastards, all of them."

Dana lifted her blurry eyes to face him.

"...I'll destroy them.”

A lamp hanging from the ceiling shone like a halo over the man's head.

He was eerie, like a lion from hell, but also incredibly beautiful.

A dazzlingly beautiful man, she had always thought.

That chocolate-colored hair that flowed so sweetly, those eyes of such a strange, exotic color, like forest and sea together...

"You think I can't do it?"

He ducked his head again and swallowed her lips. Unlike the last time, this time, he was getting rough. Lips, sucked hard into his, biting lightly and grinding roughly. Like a female in the presence of an aroused male, Dana felt the fear of what was to come.

Besides, her opponent was too drunk. He'd lost his cool, and he was burning with rage.

Unable to control his rage, he bit her lip again.

"Ah!"

Dana screamed, and Theodore let go of her lips and leaned back. He gazed down at her face, his numb eyes wide with tears.

"Ah, yes, yes. You want peace."

He muttered and lowered his head again. Unlike his frown, his kiss was more tender and gentle.

His tongue glided over her lips, not pressing in the slightest. He sucked gently, then found Dana's tongue and teased it like rolling candy. He pulled his lips away for a moment to give her room to breathe.

"Shouldn't you stop me?"

Dana couldn't answer right away as she wiped her drool-covered lips.

"What? You're supposed to stop me."

Theodore grabbed her wrist and pulled it roughly away from her mouth.

"Answer me, what are you going to do?”

Dana remained silent, and he lost patience.

"What are you going to do!"

With a snap, Dana's chin was caught in a vicious grip, and she froze completely still.

Theodore stared down at her, breathing hard. She could feel him struggling to control his anger.

“I have told you over and over again what you should do.”

"..."

“Now it’s time for you to decide."

"....."

"I've held back too much, I've held back too much."

The jeweled eyes were shaking wildly. Dana's heart was pounding so hard she thought it might burst.

The silence must have been too long for Theodore.

His expression suddenly grew icy cold, and with a toss, he let go of Dana's face and jerked his upper body upright. He spun around harshly and headed for the door.

“….!”

Dana's eyes widened in surprise.

Theodore was drunk and out of it, and it looked like he was going to make good on his declaration that he was going to "destroy them”.

"Oh, okay!"

Dana urgently grabbed his shirt.

"I’ll do as you said... Ha, I'll do it, so...."

His eyes fluttered wide as he looked back. But then, just as quickly, they were back to being cold.

"As I understand it, you're a pretty good liar."

"Oh, no, no, no, no, I really, really mean it, I'll do what you say."

She whispered desperately. She was almost on her knees.

"I've been kicked out, and I have nowhere to go right now, and I... You knew that."

Dana spoke urgently , avoiding his penetrating gaze.

"...I have no one to turn to, no one to help me... I'm completely alone. The head maid... told me to stay here for a while, but... I can't. I can't. I can't... I... I can't stay anymore...."

"..."

"I need a place to stay right now, even if it's just for a little while... I have no choice but to do what you tell me. I have no one else to turn to... I have no one but you."

"...."

"I mean it, I really do."

Theodore's eyelids blinked slowly. Even in his drunkenness, he seemed to be trying to decide if she was serious or not.

Dana found herself strangely melted by the sight. The knowledge that she would be leaving in a few hours was setting her weak heart on fire.

"...I swear."

"Prove it."

"Prove...what?"

Theodore suddenly lowered his head so that his face was in hers. His lips stopped just inches from touching, then he opened his mouth again.

"You go first. Then I'll believe you."

Dana’s face burned with heat; she had never imagined such a thing.

"Why, can't you do it?"

A voice that sounded like it had swallowed sand choked Dana's throat.

"You can’t because I’m too disgusting?”

Dana's eyes widened in surprise again.

"Oh, no, it's not like that...."

She narrowed her eyes and shook her head vigorously, but his gaze remained cold, as if he'd heard an abominable lie.

"Prove it with your actions. Make me believe it."

Dana couldn't figure out why.

Whether the threatening stance and glare was because she was truly afraid, or if it was an inevitable choice to deflect her opponent's anger, or if it was just because Dana wanted to....

Dana didn't want to probe the emotion. She didn't want to fight it. She just wanted to let it flow.

She wanted to let it go.

It would be the first and last time, after all.

Dana turned her head slowly toward him, not daring to look him in the eye, her gaze fixed on the area around his jaw and neck.

The hollow of his throat was always a sight to behold, and she found herself strangely drawn to the center of his long, manly neck, where a sharp knot twitched.

His jawline, always clean-shaven, always caught her eye, too. Dana remembered the fresh scent of his cologne right after he shaved.

When he appeared through the darkness, even as she dozed in his arms, the sensation of his neck and chin soothed her. Reliving the sensation, she twisted her wrists out of his grasp. Slowly, she reached out and gently touched those fine things.

His throat twitched violently. The man's cold, hard eyes wrinkled in incomprehension.

Meanwhile, Dana's fingers slid up his chin, finally touching his dark lips.

Dana now slowly lifted her chin slightly. She carefully adjusted the angle. She would have to be careful not to touch the wrong place first, she thought.

“…”

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