Irresistible Touch

Chapter 9

Lilian:

The rain stopped an hour later. William made sure I got home safely before he left.

I could see the reluctance in his eyes and the emotions he tried so hard to keep hidden, but I pretended to see nothing.

Since I could not give him the answer he wanted, why should I keep his hopes up?

In my opinion, it would hurt a person more to be given false hope, only to be let down later. It was better to make it quick than drag out the pain.

I never told my parents about what had happened that day. They were just ordinary folk who were incapable of finding the ones responsible for what had happened, so I might as well just hide it from them to save them the worry.

After a comfortable bath, I changed my clothes and lay in bed, ruminating over what had happened.

That man had dressed up as a young lady on purpose so that he could lower my guard. After all, I was a woman. There was a great possibility that I might refuse to follow a stranger to his home so far away.

The place he chose was secluded on purpose so that nobody would find out even if something was to happen, and I would not be able to call for help.

He was a very capable fighter. Even though he did run away in the end, being able to run from William in a fight still proved that he was no ordinary person.

That man had never once said that he was after my life, he just wanted to ruin my face. From that, I could gather that the culprit was probably a woman. Only a woman would be envious of another woman's beauty.

Also, the culprit must know me very well, or at the very least, they had been investigating me for a while. Otherwise, how could they figure out where I was staying and that I provided a delivery service for my mother's pastry stand? Moreover, it was very clear that she did not want her identity known.

So, it was highly likely that the culprit was someone I knew, and they had to be a woman from a wealthy and influential family.

I sat up in bed and thought about it for a few moments, but then I fell back on my bed again.

I spent all night thinking about it but to no avail. There was simply nobody I knew that fit the bill.

Even though I had been scorned by women for my appearance, everyone I knew came from simple families like mine. There was no way that I would have any ties to a powerful or wealthy woman. It was unlikely that I would even cross paths with someone like that. Moreover, everyone I knew was from the same town. We grew up together and our parents all knew each other. I had also never done anything bad with my face before, so it was unlikely that someone would hold such a grudge against me.

I clawed at my hair irritably.

Forget it… I could just think about it the next day. I just had to make sure not to be left alone the next time I went out and to keep my guard up.

I thought that the culprit would lay low for a while since the first attempt failed and wait for me to lower my guard before trying again, but I guessed wrongly. I was attacked the very next day.

When I saw the horse carriage coming uncontrollably in my direction, I knew I would not be able to avoid it. My first instinct was to push my mother to safety before shutting my eyes in preparation for the crash.

They were targeting my face last time, but were they coming for my life this time?

The horses had suddenly gone wild, and even though there were so many people on the streets, the carriage was somehow aiming directly for me.

I refused to believe that this was just a coincidence. It had to be an attack from the same person.

Just as I was waiting in resignation for death to take me, someone suddenly pulled me away. When I reopened my eyes, I was met with my mother's teary face. The arms that she wrapped around me were trembling.

"Oh, my baby… I almost lost you! How could you push me away? How could… Thank God that you're fine, you really scared me just now, did you know that?!"

My mother was overflowing with worry at that moment.

I survived? Did I not get hit by the carriage? But I…

It took a few seconds for me to gather my bearings. Rather than reassure my mother, my focus went to the carriage first. In front of me, I saw William standing with a sword dripping blood.

His sharp gaze was cast to the front where a single horse lay on the ground with a deep cut on its neck, its blood quickly forming a puddle on the ground.

The carriage flipped over and many onlookers went forward to check on the passenger, but the carriage was empty.

See? I knew that the carriage was after me. How could the carriage be empty otherwise?

William looked over in my direction, his eyes filled with worry and concern, but I shook my head at him again to indicate that I was, once again, unharmed, and I also signaled him not to say anything. He seemed reluctant to agree but compromised in the end.

"As expected of the strongest Beta of our town! That was mighty fine swordsmanship that you displayed there, my boy!"

"Praise be to God! Thank goodness you acted quickly, otherwise, we would have a real situation on our hands!"

"Who does that carriage belong to? Why aren't they looking after their belongings?"

"I checked but there's no marking on the carriage. It was empty too. How strange…"

"Maybe it's a new carriage that someone just bought, that's why there's no insignia yet. They probably parked their carriage here to shop but did not expect their horse to be spooked."

"Who knows? Either way, thank God there were no casualties."

Everyone was discussing the matter fervently.

The simple townsmen would never know that an attempted murder had just taken place right before their very eyes.

As the target of said murder case, however, I could do no more than just hold in my anger and calm my shocked mother in as soothing a voice as possible.

Who could be behind all of this? Who could be the person aiming for my life?

I decided to stop setting up the stand for a few days. If that person were to come for me again, I was worried that my innocent mother would end up getting dragged into it too. I thought that she would not agree, but unexpectedly, she agreed almost immediately.

"Yes, you're right. A few days of rest will do us good. My poor Lilian… what happened must’ve shocked you. I feel ashamed as a mother! I wasn't able to protect you from that and had to be protected by you instead. Thank God William was there." My mother's eyes glistened with tears. I could tell just how guilty she felt over the event. I shook my head and reassured her, "Mother, you've protected me for so long. I'm a big girl now, so I should be the one protecting you instead."

I am sorry, beloved Mother. I was the one who got you involved in this mess.

I made a silent apology to my mother in my thoughts.

It was all my fault for provoking the ire of some crazy woman somewhere, trying for my life over and over again, and even putting my mother in harm's way.

I forced myself to hold back my tears and hugged my mother tight, hoping that I could hide my current feelings from her.

"Yes… Oh, how you've grown my Lilian… You've grown big enough to protect your mother! But, no matter what, you'll always be our little baby. Your father and mother will protect you always, Lilian. We'll be there for you no matter what."

My mother stroked my hair with her warm hands. Even with my face buried in her neck, I could feel her strong motherly gaze full of kindness and love.

My tears finally slipped over the edge.

I am sorry, Mother, I am sorry!