An unexpected feeling

chapter 5

A few hours later, the sharp clatter of hooves pulled me to the window. Below, Lucius sat astride a powerful black horse, guiding it down the long drive at a steady canter until he disappeared beyond the gates.

Madam Maddie appeared soon after, knocking softly before slipping inside. “Are you all right, child?”

I managed a small smile. “I’m fine. He didn’t… he wasn’t harsh. He was actually… caring.”

She studied me a moment, then patted my hand. “Rest, then. Supper will be ready soon.”

That evening, restlessness drove me from my room. I wandered the hallway near the kitchen, pausing again outside the forbidden door. The house was quiet; no footsteps, no voices. I glanced left, right—empty.

My hand trembled as I turned the knob. The door opened with a faint creak. Inside, the room was swallowed in shadow. I stepped forward, crossed to the nearest window, and tugged the heavy curtains apart. The last of the day’s faded sunlight spilled across the floor in weak gold bars.

My eyes adjusted. On the wall hung a large framed portrait: a strikingly handsome man and a beautiful woman, both dressed in elegant finery.

They looked so much like Lucius—the same sharp jaw, the same piercing eyes—that my breath caught. His parents?

I moved deeper into the room. Another frame, larger, caught my attention: a full family portrait. Lucius stood among them, younger, smiling in a way I had never seen. Beside him were the same man and woman, and a small girl—no more than four or five—clinging to his leg. She had his coloring: pale skin, dark hair cut in a blunt fringe, enormous blue eyes. But her smile was wide and unguarded, bright enough to light the whole picture. I couldn’t help smiling back. Carefully, I lifted the frame from its hook to see it better.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The voice cracked like thunder. I spun around. Lucius filled the doorway, his face carved from fury.

Fear seized me. The frame slipped from my fingers. It hit the floor with a sickening crash—glass shattering into jagged pieces that glittered in the dying light.

He stepped inside, boots crunching glass. “How dare you.”

“P-please, I’m sorry—” I backed away, hands raised.

He kept coming. “Who told you you could come in here?”

My heel met a shard. Pain lanced up my leg; I gasped, stumbling. Blood welled instantly from the cut.

He stopped inches from me, towering, breathing hard. “Have you gone mad?” His hand shot out, closing around my upper arm in a bruising grip. “You spoiled child. You never learn.”

Tears spilled down my cheeks. His shout rang in my ears, so loud it drowned everything else. My vision blurred; the room tilted.

“Lucius!!”

Madam Maddie’s voice sliced through the haze. She stood in the doorway, eyes wide with shock and reproach.

For one endless second, no one moved. Then Lucius’s grip loosened—just enough for me to pull free. I pressed my back to the wall, clutching my bleeding foot, heart slamming against my ribs as the three of us stared at one another in the ruined quiet of the forbidden room.

That night, Madam Maddie led me gently to the kitchen. She cleaned the cut on my leg with trembling hands, then wrapped it in fresh bandages.

“Does it hurt, child?” Her voice cracked just a little.

I swallowed. “No… not really,” I lied, voice barely above a whisper.

She looked up at me, eyes glistening. “I’m so sorry, Rose. I swear to you—I’ll protect you. I won’t let this happen again.”

"It wasn’t your fault, Maddie.” My throat tightened as I met her gaze. After a long silence I asked, “Those pictures in the room… they were his family, weren’t they?”

She nodded slowly, pain etching deeper lines into her face. “Yes. And the little girl is Camille. His beautiful daughter .”

"Really? what really happened to them?" I asked.

"It's a long story."

"Please, Maddie, I want to hear it. I want to know why he was so angry," I insisted.

"Well, to cut the long story short, they were in an accident. His parents came for a visit, as I remember. On their way back, they took Camille with them, saying something about a new house. He came home that night, crying his eyes out.

According to him, they all fell down from the hills full of rocks. The carriage they took had faults that no one noticed—one of the wheels rolled off, and the driver couldn't hold control. God, dear, it was terrible."

"Maddie, that's so sad. No wonder he gets so angry.” I paused for a while “What about the little girl's mother?"

Maddie’s lip trembled with disgust and sorrow. “Lucius never loved her. She forced herself on him, got pregnant on purpose—thought a baby would chain her to money and status forever. When he refused to marry her, they paid her a fortune to disappear. She took the money… and left without once looking back at her own daughter. Never even said goodbye to Camille.”

"Poor family. It must have been too much for him—that's why he's been so mean to everyone."

Maddie wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist. “He always told me he’d moved on. Seven years, Rose. Seven years of pretending. I wanted to believe him… but after tonight I know it’s worse than ever. The wound never closed—it just keeps bleeding.”

I drew a shuddering breath. “I… I need to go to my room now.”

“Of course, sweetheart.” Her voice was thick with unshed tears.

I walked down the dim hallway on unsteady legs. Then I saw him—Lucius—coming toward me. He wore a thin white nightshirt that clung to his shoulders and old, worn jeans. Even now, even after everything, the sight of him stole my breath. Dangerous. Beautiful. Ruined.

Pity and fear crashed inside me at the same time. I tried to slip past, but he stepped in front of me, his body so close I could feel the heat radiating off him.

“Rose,” he said, voice low and rough.

I lifted my eyes to his. “Sir.”

He swallowed hard. “Are you… are you okay?he said. "I mean, your wound—is it...?"

"It's fine, thank you," I said.

"Look, I'm sorry for shouting at you and for..." He began scratching his head.

"It's nothing," I said. "I just want to rest." I was about to go when he held my soft arms. I turned to stare at him.

"I... I'm sorry. Sorry, I just..."

"I told you, I'm fine. Please, just stop," I said and walked away. Around the corner, I peeped at him and saw that he was going to the kitchen. I silently followed. I saw him take a deep breath as he approached Maddie, who was still angry at him.

"Maddie," he called. "Are you still angry?"

"Not really," she said, washing plates.

"If you're not, then why aren't you looking at me?" he asked.

"Because I don't know you anymore," she said and turned to look at him. "Why have you turned out this way? She's just a child—a lonely child. Why are you making life so hard for her?"

"Maddie, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. Look, I'm trying my best—believe me, I'm really trying," he said.

"Well, you should try harder, Lucius, because you're really scaring her, and I don't know how to comfort her anymore," Maddie said.

"Maddie, please don't hate me too," he said.

"I don't want to, so please don't make me," she said, turning back to the plates.

"Oh, come on, Maddie," he whispered as he took a glass of water and began to drink. He stared at the window. "The weather is changing. You should hurry up and go to bed—it looks like it's going to rain."

I slipped away, heart pounding.

Back in my room I stood trembling. This was my moment. Run. Escape. Before he decided to hurt me again. Before the next time he lost control. He might change but when.

I crept to the front door. The wind howled, rattling the windows. Rain was already spitting from the sky.

I stepped outside—and froze.

Lucius was watching me from the window. He didn’t move. Didn’t shout. Just watched.

I ran anyway.

Rain stung my face, soaked my clothes. My bandaged leg burned. And then reality crashed over me like ice water.

Where are you going, Rose?

Who’s waiting for you?

You have no one.

I collapsed to my knees in the mud, sobs tearing out of me, loud and ugly and unstoppable.

When I finally dragged myself back to the house, Lucius was standing in the open doorway, rain dripping from his hair, eyes shadowed and unreadable.

His voice was quiet, almost broken. “Why did you come back?”