Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 180: Death wish (3)

"I see that you’re stubborn too, Lord Hastings. I also see that you care about her, which is good for me. I can stop worrying about Ophelia being all alone. I do hope to enjoy the next few days with you," said Theo.

"You will. Ophelia has plenty planned for you. I won’t keep you up any longer. Rest," Dante urged Theo. "You may also refer to me as Dante when we are alone. We are family."

"Very well," Theo agreed. "If my sister asks, tell her that I am well and won’t need her company. Her maid helped me to bathe and get dressed."

"I shall let her know. Good night, Theo," Dante bid goodbye.

Dante walked out of Theo’s bedchamber with a heavy heart.

No matter how or who told Ophelia the news of Theo wanting to die, she wasn’t going to take it well. Dante didn’t want to think of the thoughts Ophelia would have afterwards, or the despair she would feel.

With the matter of his curse almost dealt with, Dante looked forward to a bit of peace in the castle, especially with Ophlie having Theo back at her side, only for him to be dealt this card.

"He needs a good doctor," Dante said, thinking out loud about ways to help Theo. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Dante understood Theo’s feelings of not wanting to be in pain any longer or constantly stuck to a bed, but he couldn’t stop being selfish by thinking of Ophelia when she was not the one sick.

Dante tried to put the problem with Theo’s wish to the side for now as he came to a stop before Ophelia’s bedchamber. He knocked on the door and waited for her response, but it didn’t come.

In a panic, Dante opened the door without waiting and entered the chamber. His eyes went to the empty bed.

"Ophelia?" Dante yelled, afraid she had been taken again. "Ophelia!"

Dante searched every corner of the chamber, but didn’t find Ophelia. He ran out of the chamber to alert the guards to find her, but stumbled upon Thomas walking with pastries and fruit in a bowl.

"Where is my wife?" Dante demanded to know.

"She is in your chamber. She asked me to help move her, and since Alice was with her brother, she asked me to get her a light meal. I’m told Alice returned to be with Lady Hastings," Thomas said, realising no one told Dante about the switch.

Dante raked his fingers through his hair and calmed himself. "It would be good to have someone waiting outside the door to tell me where my wife is. It is not long since you lost sight of her. I don’t care if Alice is at her side. You must remain at her side to guard her and send a maid to get what she wants."

"Yes, Lord Hastings," Thomas said, handing the bowl over to Dante. "I am sorry for not being careful. It was my mistake that she got taken. It won’t happen again."

"She is safe now, so I won’t be so hard on you. No matter what Ophelia tells you, do not leave her side. This castle isn’t short on servants for you to find someone to get her food. I know you aren’t used to guarding someone, so I try to be easy on you, but this is my wife," Dante said, needing Thomas to grasp what he could lose.

"I understand, and I will do better," Thomas promised.

"I take into account that it might not be all easy for you when my wife is a bit stubborn and wanders off alone. We shall speak in the morning about ways you and Alice can do better. I am here so you can go rest now," said Dante.

Dante opened the door, and this time, he found Ophelia inside his bedchamber.

Alice abruptly stood up from the chair she sat in beside the bed. She bowed her head and quickly made her way out of the chamber, closing the door behind her.

"You gave me a little scare there by switching chambers," Dante said, walking to the bed to give Ophelia her bowl.

"I thought you would be happy to find me here. I heard you found Eliza, but I didn’t get the time to visit the dungeon. How did it go with your mother?" Ophelia asked, trying to sit up carefully without hurting her arm.

"She’s in the dungeon. Once the tiredness from her walk here wears off, you might hear her voice as she screams to be released. She threatened to have her followers go against me," Dante revealed.

"I wish I could have told you this would go differently, but it is as I expected. How long will you keep her there for?" Ophelia asked, expecting Dante to go easy on Cecilia.

"A year," Dante replied.

"A year?!" Ophelia exclaimed, surprised by the revelation.

Dante winced and turned away from Ophelia. "My ears are still sensitive."

"I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting you to imprison her for so long since she’s your mother," Ophelia explained.

"She tried to kill you," Dante reminded Ophelia. "It was either a lengthy imprisonment or death. Even then, you thought I would be easy on her?"

"I did. Your love for your mother is different from what I think about my mother. I would have been disappointed but moved on."

"This is not a matter where I could simply move on. It has to be shown that even my mother isn’t exempt from consequences. I have to show everyone on my land that no matter the title, they can all face punishment. It will help her servants rethink their choices," said Dante.

"Well, I support you, and it’s not just because she tried to kill me. Your mother was going to ruin your plans one way or the other. The dungeon is the best place for her to be until the war is over," Ophelia said, relieved she no longer had to hear of Cecilia. "Also, I know Victoria is here. Alice told me."

"My mother imprisoned her in the mansion to stop her from searching for a husband. Victoria plans to leave in the morning to stay with a friend. I will let her do as she wants. There is nothing more to it," Dante promised.

"I know there were no feelings behind bringing her here. Alice was worrying for my sake. My hand is going to be fine as long as I don’t use it too much," Ophelia said, switching the conversation. "I can still walk around, so don’t think of saying I must be in bed."

"I have much to plan in the morning for my brother, and I still have to keep Lady Valthorn distracted so she doesn’t have time to snoop around. I must introduce you in the morning," Ophelia said, wanting the two men to meet soon.

The heaviness in Dante’s chest returned at the mention of Theo.