Chapter 94
Chapter 94
Chapter 94 Rage
ADALYN
When I awoke, my vision was blurred, and I couldn’t make sense of my surroundings, but I could hear the sound of someone softly crying. Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.
I blinked a few times until finally, the shapes around me came into focus. My mother sat beside me, and the moment she realized I was awake, she grew
overjoyed.
“Oh, Adalyn!” she cried, and she threw her arms around me. “Oh, my sweet. darling girl, you’re awake!”
My voice caught in my throat, and her grip around me made me wince a little. My hand threw to my throat. Why did it ache?
I looked around, and much to my surprise, I realized I was lying in a bed in the medical ward. I’d only ever been here a handful of times in my life, but I recognized the cold, sterile atmosphere right away. All of the furnishings were a mixture of soft white and stark metal, and no matter how many flowers they placed on the bedside. tables, the ward was a far cry from homey.
What was I doing all the way down here?
My mother pulled away, and suddenly, it all began to hit me. My memories surged back in droves and my head began to hurt.
I’d been held hostage by that terrible man. He’d hurt me quite terribly with his sharp claws.
There was no blood on my fingers when I removed it from my throat, so clearly I was no longer in danger. I healed fast, always had.
My mother pulled away, and when she did, I noticed Marco was seated in the chair beside the bed. His face lit up immediately, and he rushed over to hug me.
“Mommy!” he cried as he squeezed my middle section. “Oh, Mommy! I was so worried. Do you feel okay?”
I squeezed him back and nodded.
“Yes,” I managed, and then I turned to Mother. Her expression was joyful as she studied us, and for a moment, I felt like things were going to be alright.
Then, another thought crossed my mind.
Asher. He’d been the one to save me from that malicious man.
I wanted to give Marco more attention, but I needed answers first.
“Where is Asher?” I asked.
Mother seemed surprised by my question, and then she frowned.
“I… I don’t know, Adalyn,” she admitted.
“Well, where did he go after he left here?” I wondered, and for a brief second, Mother looked confused, and then she nodded.
“Uh… well, I’m not sure,” she said, and then she glanced at the door. “He… he didn’t say where he was going… You just missed him, though. He must be interrogating the man that held you hostage, dear.”
I knew immediately that she was lying. Mother always trailed off when she was lying.
I moved Marco aside and then started to climb out of bed.
“I’ll go find him myself,” I decided, but Mother reached out and grabbed my arm gently.
“Adalyn, you need to get some rest,” she said calmly. “It’s been a long day, and you lost quite a bit of blood. It would be best for you to lay back down and relax. Asher will come back soon enough.”
My frustration grew with every passing second. Where was my husband? Why wasn’t he here at my side?
Why was I always so alone?
“What about Father?” I wondered as I searched the room. “Where is he?”
“Your father had to leave, sweetheart,” Mother said calmly. “He was here for a while, waiting for you to awaken, and then he got a call from the border about twenty minutes ago. Silas is going to be returning to Anemond. Your father ist arranging the plans for his arrival.”
My frustration shifted to anger at once.
Silas.
Silas.
It was always my little brother, Silas.
No matter what I was going through, he was always the priority, the apple of my father’s eye. I knew he loved Silas more than he loved me, and I couldn’t understand why. My brother wasn’t the incredible person that everyone thought he was. He was spoiled and arrogant, and his every move was always revered so
highly.
Here I was, recovering from an attack, and my father was off worrying about a visit from Silas!
And Asher… where was he? How could he leave me here? Why did no one care that I’d been injured, that I’d endured such a terrible situation? How could the man who was supposed to be my husband tear himself away from me for even just one. moment? He couldn’t be supportive of me? He couldn’t be here for Marco?
As my hands shook with rage, I thought then of the healer. Ca ssandra Keller. When she’d proposed to take my place as the evil man’s hostage, I’d felt an ounce of relief, but Asher had arrived right away and stopped her.
What had taken him so long to get there? And why had he looked so worried
about her?
I didn’t believe Ca ssandra had offered to take my place out of sincerity. Surely, she was just trying to appear like a good person in front of the audience in the corridor, and furthermore Asher.
And my fool of a husband had clearly fallen for her game.
“Mommy, are you alright?” Marco asked. His cherubic face was clearly worried.
I shoved my anger down for a second and then swept him back into my arms.
“I’m okay, baby,” I whispered as I held him close. Even if everything else was falling to ruin, at least I still had Marco.
Pitiful as it was, my son was useful. Asher would never want to leave his son. Ast long as I was still Marco’s mother, nothing would change.
I needed to exploit that as much as I could. But before then… I needed to teach that wretched healer some discipline.
“Marco, honey, how long has it been since you’ve visited Grandma Margaret?” I asked him in a soft, honeyed voice.
“Hmm, quite a while,” he remarked, and his eyebrows crinkled as he tilted his
head to the side.
“I think we’ll visit her tomorrow,” I decided.
Marco nodded, but he looked confused.”Why?”
“Don’t ask questions,” I said firmly, and I ran my hand through his soft curls. “If you don’t want to keep sharing your daddy with others, you’ll listen to what Mommy says. Okay?”
Marco nodded again, only this time, his expression was serious.
Mother studied me closely,
to explain myself or my plan to her.
At the end of the day, at least I knew I had Margaret on my side. I didn’t have the power to deal with Ca ssandra Keller directly, especially since she was so well-protected these days. But surely, if Margaret and I put our heads together, we could come up with a solution to get around that. We could find a way to destroy those around her and inflict some real damage once and for all.
My lips curled into a smile. I would take great pleasure in taking Ca ssandra
Keller down.
Asher Collins was mine.
I was about to make that abundantly clear.