Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 85: Haunting memory (2)

Ophelia glanced at the rope around her hands again and said, "I no longer need to find a hiding place or lean over a balcony wall, so you can release me now. I won’t keep you from your chamber."

"This is my chamber," Dante corrected Ophelia.

Ophelia took another glance around the chamber and only now realised it didn’t belong to her. "So, not only did I have you chasing me all night and saving my life, but I took your bed while you had to sleep on the floor. I am sorry."

"It was a tiring night, but still exciting. I got to see a side to you which I am quite certain you will try to hide from me now. I won’t speak of what I saw and heard last night. Your secrets are safe with me," Dante promised.

"Is that all that happened?"

"You wish for more to happen after I spent the night watching you?" Dante asked.

"No," Ophelia chuckled. "I just don’t want more of the night coming to me later on, and then I am unable to face you. I should be unable to face you now for what I shared and did."

Ophelia worried about what she said about Nigel and Joel. There wasn’t anything to be ashamed of, but Ophelia didn’t want Dante knowing all that she endured in their hands.

"Nothing happened. Believe it or not, but you are not the kind to want others around you when you are drunk. You kicked me off the bed, which belongs to me. Nothing you would think was inappropriate occurred. You just cried and spoke of your life," said Dante.

Dante sat up and removed the rope from around his hand. "If you need, you can rest here. I must prepare for our trip to the market."

Ophelia sat up. "Thank you for listening and not prying. I’ve been keeping this all to myself for years, so it does feel wonderful to get some of it off my chest. I should do it again, but without the attempts to fly and the crying."

Ophelia held out her hand to Dante so he could remove the rope since the knot was too tight.

"You can do it however you please. I have a lot of rope and chains back at the castle. My mistake was not tying your feet and hands."

"Well, then, I would have panicked when I woke up and thought I was truly kidnapped. I should apologise to Alice as well and decide on what I will wear to the market. I heard from Victoria that you will need to sit with her when she meets her uncle," said Ophelia.

"That will be at the end of our time in the market, once you are back home and safe. I have come to realise you always have someone waiting to speak to you, so I cannot keep my eyes off you."

"At least you understand that I do not go searching for trouble. It comes to me," Ophelia said as her feet touched the ground. "Well, have a good day."

"Please don’t let it be that you will be unable to meet my eyes, and you shall act shy. I prefer you, who was bold and cared about nothing," Dante requested.

"And that is the me whom you will get today, but I am starting to get memories of what occurred last night, and it is not you whom I am embarrassed to face. It is your knight. I’ve never had an interest in flying, so why did I last night?" Ophelia wondered, touching her face.

"I wanted to know as well. Don’t go to any high places to find out," Dante teased Ophelia.

Dante got up from the floor and pulled his shirt over his head. "Thanks to a certain someone, I am almost certain I have new scars on my body from her trying to get out of my hold. How will you ever repay me?"

"I shall repay you by leaving. Good day," Ophelia said, standing up to curtsy.

Dante smiled as Ophelia walked toward the door. He expected Ophelia to avoid his gaze for most of the day, but he would do everything he could to stay in her line of sight.

Dante’s smile fell into a frown when Ophelia was no longer in the chamber. Everything she shared last night plagued his mind.

The more he learned about Ophelia’s past, the more he pitied her. The more he understood why she wasn’t trusting anyone, no matter how kind they were to her.

After being burned by her mother and others who claimed to be her family, it was understandable why she wouldn’t trust a stranger.

Without Ophelia needing to share it, Dante guessed what about Nigel and Joel scared her. Joel was the one to raise his hand to Ophelia. It was evident from the look Joel always gave Ophelia, but it was upsetting to hear how Nigel spoke of Ophelia.

Nigel spoke of Ophelia not as a sister, but as a woman he held some interest in. Since there wasn’t anyone at Ophelia’s side to protect her, Dante thought of what Nigel could get away with.

All that spared Dante from those thoughts was that he was certain he was Ophelia’s first because of their wedding night, but even then, he felt guilty because it wasn’t what she wanted. She was forced into an arranged marriage to save her brother.

Dante walked toward the door, and on his way out, he picked up a sword. Before he started his day, he needed to let go of some of his anger before it spoiled his time with Ophelia.

When Dante opened the door, Ophelia was still on the other side.

"Why haven’t you entered your chamber?" Dante asked, worried she wasn’t feeling well.

"I had a feeling there was something I meant to say to you, but I cannot think of it. I feel I must rest a little bit more before I start my day, but while you are here, I should return your shirt," Ophelia said, going toward her chamber.

Dante waited by the door for Ophelia to return.

"I meant to send it to be washed first, but I will show it to you first. See, it is like new," Ophelia said, proud of her hard work.

Dante took the shirt from Ophelia’s hands and ran his thumb alongside where there was once a hole. "It is. Now, when my clothes have tears in them, I know where to send them. I shall train hard today and give you more to do."

"What?" Ophelia frowned.

This wasn’t what she wanted.