future dreams will be unlocked every tuesday, thursday, sunday
divorce chapter 15
by duckLennard struggled to pull his hand from mine. He looked quite angry. But was this really the time for such concerns? I firmly held on.
“So, what do I need to do?” I looked at Benedict. He hesitated for a moment before explaining.
“First, close your eyes.” As I closed my eyes, the heat radiating from Lennard’s hand felt even more intense. “Imagine you’re absorbing the heat emanating from Lennard’s body.” Still clutching his hand, I imagined the heat flowing into me. “Then, imagine you’re transforming that heat into coolness and sending it back to him.”
wasn’t sure how to transform heat into coolness. I gripped his hand tightly with both of mine, struggling to concentrate. “Match your breathing to mine. Hee hee, hoo. Hee hee, hoo.”
“….”
The awkward, familiar breathing technique was distracting. When Lennard groaned in pain, I glared at Benedict. “Enough. Be quiet. I’ll handle this.”
The silence was a small improvement. Absorb the heat, convert it to coolness, and send it back to Lennard. Slowly, I felt the heat traveling up my arm from his hand. The heat lingered near my heart before quickly turning cold. I pushed it back towards Lennard. He flinched and gripped my hand tightly. Lennard clung to me as if he’d forgotten his earlier, irritable refusal.
“Whoa!” His strength knocked me backward, but I couldn’t push him away. The desperation in his clinging was heartbreaking. I felt like his only savior.
“Huu…” His large, tear-filled eyes and ragged breaths were overwhelmingly sensual. I remembered his face from the fragmented memory. No. Stay calm. I silently called upon the name of the divine and wrapped my arms around Lennard’s back. Once I got the hang of it, stopping his runaway magic wasn’t that difficult.
“Uh, ugh.” I could clearly hear him stifling pained groans. Was it normally this agonizing? I patted his back, waiting for the pain to subside. How much time had passed? Lennard’s eyes returned to their normal, ocean-blue color as his senses returned. The area around my embraced shoulder felt slightly damp, but I decided to feign ignorance for the sake of his pride.
“I am in your debt.” He pulled away slightly, his expression awkward. Well, it was understandable he’d be embarrassed. I gave him a bright, unconcerned smile.
“I’m glad I could help, Duke Verhagen.”
“Your dress is torn.” Lennard’s gaze fell on my sleeve. The fabric connecting the sleeve to the bodice was ripped, a testament to how desperately he had clung to me.
“Oh. It’s fine, it’s nothing.” Lennard took off his jacket and came around behind me. I assumed he was going to drape it over me, but his silence was strange. “Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing.” He placed the jacket over my shoulders and stepped back. “Then, I’ll have a servant return the jacket later. Thank you for saving my life today.” His crisp, concluding remarks were a relief. I vowed never to attend another event where Duke Verhagen might be present. I left the cathedral, clutching the jacket that held the lingering scent of him.
***
A few days later, the Verhagen dukedom sent a gift of reasonable value as a token of their gratitude. I returned his jacket, including a few sprigs of our family’s signature flowers. It was a business decision, figuring it would be good publicity for our family’s flowers if he were to marry Lady Sierra soon. But I never imagined that gesture would cause such a misunderstanding.
“Miss, look at this!” Nina rushed in and handed me a newspaper.
“Wh-what is this?!” On the front page was a picture of Lennard and me embracing. I couldn’t believe someone had the presence of mind to take a picture in such a dire situation. Moreover, they’d cleverly cropped out Benedict, who had been standing right there. Below the picture, a fabricated story about Duke Verhagen and an unidentified woman was presented as fact.
“This is you, isn’t it?!”
“Wh-what are you talking about? It’s not me.” Secrets were best kept to oneself. I boldly denied it to Nina.
“Don’t lie. This is the dress you wore that day!”
“I’m telling you it’s not me! Someone else was wearing the same dress.” Nina scoffed and pointed at the picture.
“Here, the butterfly-shaped birthmark peeking through the tear in the dress.”
“Huh?” I narrowed my eyes and looked where Nina was pointing. It was so small it could have been mistaken for a smudge. It was frightening how observant Nina was. “What are the odds that someone wearing the same dress as you would also have the exact same butterfly-shaped birthmark on their shoulder?”
“….” I couldn’t keep up the charade under Nina’s questioning. Finally, I confessed.
“Okay, fine. I met Duke Verhagen.”
“Eeeeeeek!” Nina squealed with excitement. She knelt beside me, her eyes sparkling.
“Miss, is the Duke really that handsome?”
0 Comments