Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Let go of me.”
Rachel could not see anything in the dark of the room, only the sensation of a pair of strong hands gripping her flesh so tightly that she was certain they would leave a bruise. She struggled against the force, but her delicate form was no match for the person who had grabbed hold of her.
“Stop making so much noise,” the man yelled at her. “You are going to get yourself in even more trouble.”
He cupped her mouth with one of his hands, but Rachel bit him.
“You stupid girl,” he said, pulling her hair back and jolting her. Rachel tried to claw her way out of his grasp, but he seemed to push back on her even harder. “Stop—moving—”
His warning was followed by a sharp kick against her stomach, and she fell to the ground.
The pain was enough to knock her out, but she struggled to keep herself awake.
“Rachel?”
The sound made the attacker hesitate for half a second. It was Marina.
Rachel gasped as the weight lifted, just enough for her to twist free from his grasp.
Marina was already moving, holding a small candle in front of him.
“Get away from her!” she shouted.
The man barely flinched. Instead, he turned, looming over Marina now.
“Get behind me, Rachel,” Marina instructed. Rachel made a move towards her, but the man was faster. In a swift movement, he struck Marina across the head. She fell to the floor immediately.
“Marina!”
But her sister didn’t move. Rachel tried to check if she was still breathing, but the man wasted no time in grabbing Rachel again.
This time, his grip landed on her neck. A choking sound escaped her lips as she struggled to breathe against the hold that his thick fingers had around her neck.
“Let—let,” she could not even say the words. Her head began to feel light.
Her hands grew weak, and she began to lose consciousness.
This was it, then. This was how she would go from this world. Darkness began to creep up around her vision, and just as she was about to slip into it completely, the door burst open. Immediately, the pressure on her throat disappeared, and Rachel collapsed to the ground, coughing.
Someone had come to save them.
Through the haze of her tears, she barely registered the blur of movement and began to crawl towards her sister. “Marina—Marina, please be awake.”
She pressed her shaking hands against Marina’s neck, hoping that she would still be breathing. A shuddering breath escaped her sister’s mouth, and Rachel cried with relief.
Marina was breathing. Unconscious but breathing. With tears now streaming down her face, Rachel gathered her sister into her arms.
It took her another moment to register what was happening around her.
Simon was there.
He wrestled with the man who had just tried to take her life, and the man stumbled backward with the force of Simon’s hit. The blow had knocked him into the side table.
But it was only for a moment. The man pushed off the table, and his hand darted into his coat. Rachel caught the glint of something metal.
Rachel’s breath stalled in her throat. It was a knife.
“Simon—” she warned, even though her voice was only coming out in battered breaths. More footsteps began to approach them as the house staff began to awaken.
“Stay back, or I will cut right through you,” the man warned. He sounded insane enough to go through with it.
Rachel found herself growing even more helpless, but to her relief, Simon backed away.
“Good,” the man said before turning sharply and running towards the door. A few of the house staff started to follow him out, but he had a lead on them.
Quickly, the house help began to surround them, but Simon ignored them all and knelt beside Rachel, his hand settling on her back, a tortured expression on his face.
“Rachel,” his voice came out broken as he wrapped her in his arms. Rachel rested her head against his chest, holding onto him as though she would drown if she let him go now. A sob ripped through her chest.
“Shhh,” Simon murmured. “You are safe now. It is over.”
Rachel pressed her face against his shoulder. “I thought—I thought he would kill us,” she whispered.
“He is gone now,” Simon assured, though she could hear the worry in his voice.
“I need to make sure that Marina is all right.” She tried to move back towards her sister, but Simon held her back.
“No, you are hurting.” Simon scooped her up in his arms. “The staff will see to her. I need to make sure that you are all right.”
Rachel felt the exhaustion take over her body. Even if she wanted to argue with him, she was too tired at this moment, so she trusted him to take over.
Rachel could not remember what had happened or where she was when she awoke.
Only when she saw Simon’s face hovering above her did the memories start to return to her, slowly.
An intruder, the attack, and how Simon had come to save her. She jerked up, sitting up straight.
“No, no, no.” Simon pressed a hand down her chest, softly pushing her back down. “You cannot get up yet.”
Rachel looked up at him, her questions swirling inside her head. “How did…”
“Please, Rachel,” he said, even softer now. “You were hurt, and I do not want you to be making any rash movements like this in your state.”
She could only blink back at him. She was in her own chambers, nestled in her bed with warm sheets tucked around her. Marina lay beside her, sleeping.
“Marina—” she started again, though her voice was hardly above a whisper.
“She is well. She woke briefly, long enough to be seen by the physician,” Simon answered for her, “but you need more rest.”
She swallowed hard, and her fingers curled into the blanket. It bothered her how many blanks remained in her memory. She remembered that he had come to her rescue, but nothing after that.
“How long—”
“Since last night,” he answered before she could finish. “You collapsed after everything, and I had you moved here.”
Simon’s hand settled across her shoulders again, settling her. She opened her eyes and found him still watching her. It was a mixture of concern and relief.
“You saved me,” she whispered.
“Of course, I did.” Simon’s jaw tightened slightly, but he did not look away.
“He could have killed me.”
Simon’s hand curled into a fist. “But he didn’t. It should not have ever happened, and I am sorry that it did. No one will ever touch you again.”
Rachel did not know whether it was the exhaustion or the lingering fear, but a single tear slipped down her cheek. Before she could turn away to hide it, Simon’s thumb brushed it away.
“How do you know?”
“Because I am here.” There was something so absolute in his words that for a moment, she almost believed them.
“You should eat something,” his voice grew worried. “Look at how frail you have gotten since I left you here.”
Rachel shook her head. “I cannot.”
“Rachel, you must regain your strength,” Simon frowned.
“I have lost my appetite,” she argued back. A part of her knew it was silly, but she remembered how he had left her alone in the estate. It was enough to wipe out her appetite entirely.
Simon did not argue. Instead, he reached for a bowl of soup on the bedside table that had been brought in by the staff.
He lifted the spoon, and then he brought it up to her lips.
“No, I will not—” Rachel protested.
“Just a little,” he interrupted, “For me.”
She hesitated, but there was something about the way he said it that made her open her mouth. Even when she had reason to be upset with him, she could not deny him.
The liquid warmed her throat, and she swallowed, closing her eyes for a brief moment. All the while, she could feel his eyes on her.
Simon lifted the spoon again. “Another.”
Rachel sighed, but did as he asked.
“Thank you for listening.”
“Cherish it, Your Grace, for my appetite will vanish again when you disappear once more.” She could not help herself.
“I am not leaving again.” His voice was serious.
“I still need to understand how all of this came about.”
“I was hoping you would recover a bit more before we talked,” Simon sighed. He seemed like he wished to avoid it as much as he could.
Rachel lifted a brow. “So, you did intend to explain?”
“Yes.”
“Good,” she replied. “Then start.”
“Very well.” He sounded as though he was choosing his words carefully. “I will tell you everything.”
Rachel waited for him to go, but there was more silence.
“You know it, that it is only me to whom you are speaking.” She reached out to him. “Why are you hesitant about it?”
“It is not that.” He closed his eyes briefly. “I just do not know where to even start.”
“From the beginning,” she replied, holding her breath. Simon looked pained, and she hated that she was having to put him through this anguish, but if she did not understand, then they could not move on further either.
It was a difficult milestone that needed to be crossed.
“You know that I was very young when I lost my parents,” he started, and Rachel froze. She had not expected him to broach that topic. “I had just turned ten when I watched them die in front of me.”
Rachel did not know what to say, nor did she dare interrupt him. How did something that happened years ago have anything to do with the situation that they were in now? The questions only grew in her head, but she could not bring herself to ask them.
Simon noticed the expression on her face. “I will have to apologize for this, as it’s not an easy topic to hear.”
“Don’t you apologize,” Rachel said immediately. “You are free to talk about anything with me. I…”
She paused, not knowing what the right words ought to be. “I am here, listening to whatever it is.”
He took her hand into his own then, rubbing the top of her knuckles softly. He did not meet her gaze, but Rachel knew that she would only see pain there if he did.
“It was not something a ten-year-old ever expects to see in his lifetime,” he muttered under his breath. “I remember there being a lot of blood and that my father tried to fight off the killer, but it was no use. I remember that my mother screamed and told me to save myself.”