219: Washing him away

Washing him away

Retreating to her room, Adela snapped the door shut behind her then slowly sank down on the floor. Being powerless in the midst of so many powerful figures left her feeling small and insignificant. She took deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart .2

The predictable knocks on her door came all too soon, but Adela was in no state to face anyone at that moment. She reached out and locked the door then leaned back. Feeling the cool surface against her arms, she closed her eyes.

"Adela! Please! I didn't keep it away from you intentionally. Things are much more complicated than you think they are. Please… Open the door for me!"

Larissa's soft pleas continued from behind the door, but Adela refused to listen. She had endured all the secrecy from her parents and had extended the same courtesy to both of them when it came to recent developments in her own life. However, she had never imagined that her older sister would deliver such a devastating blow.

For her mate, the man she thought she owed a debt to for all this time, to turn out to be a direct descendant of those who had slaughtered people of Emorian ethnicity and had even enslaved them for generations. It was something she believed a heartless man like him would surely hide, but for her kind sister to become an accomplice and keep it hidden as well was beyond Adela's worst imaginations.

"Adela!"

"…Leave me alone." Adela's request came out as a quiet yet high-pitched plea.

The knocking on the door ceased after that.

As more time passed in the privacy of her room, the events from the first day she had met Egon started to piece together like a puzzle. But the more she thought about it, the murkier the picture became, leaving Adela with more questions than answers.

Was Egon paying the Archduke a debt of life he owed him? Or was he using Adela as a pawn to claim back his throne?

A small, strange giggle escaped her. Am I no longer indebted to him now?

She picked herself up and ran to the window then flung it open wide, desperately seeking relief in the cold air as she took deep breaths. But even with the window open, her stress and sense of dirtiness didn't dissipate.

"Disgusting," she muttered to herself.

Her moment of solitude was interrupted by another knock on the door.

"Lady Adelaide, we were sent by His Majesty. If you would please open the door," the voices of the servants called from the other side.

With her heart racing, she moved back to the door and unlocked it, then opened it cautiously. She was met with the sight of two servants who had come to Lanark from Destan, one holding a glass full of champagne and the other carrying a bottle.

This was a typical behavior of her uncle when he arrived to celebrate something, sending his finest champagne to his nieces as a gift. He was aware that his younger brother did not wish for them to indulge in alcohol in the privacy of their rooms.

The behavior was typical, but the occasion and timing felt very off to Adela.

She gave the servants a cold nod. "Hurry and place it inside, then be on your way."

The servants did as she instructed before leaving her room and closing the door behind them.

Ignoring what her uncle had sent her, Adela hurried to the bathroom. She turned on the faucet, letting the water run to fill the tub while she undressed near the mirror, her eyes gliding over every part of her.

Could the water erase all of his traces?

Turning towards the bathtub full of cold water, Adela took determined steps towards it and went inside, gasping as the chill of the water took her by surprise. Her anger must have heated up her body temperature, and the cold spring day had already cooled down the water to a degree she had never tested before. Gritting her teeth, she sat down in it, trying to find some sense of relief. She quickly dipped her head inside the water and then brought it out, gasping as the coldness shocked her system, causing her teeth to clatter.

"Not just yet," she refused to let the cold water overpower her.

Reaching for one of the scented soaps in the basket next to her, she lathered her arm enough to create some friction, determined to take Aldric's useless bracelet off. With all the frustration and anger inside her, she yanked the bracelet off her wrist and flung it across the bathroom. It hit the wall with a resounding thud, clattering down and rotating before finally coming to a stop.

She groaned in frustration. Each time she convinced herself that she wouldn't stoop any lower, she found herself surprised with a new-found low.

Taking the soap by unnecessary force again, she rubbed her lips that kissed his neck so hungrily then washed them with a scoop of water. She washed her ears that loved the deep tone of his voice, she washed her hair that he breathed into.

What about what's inside of me?

The mate bond between Egon and her was suppressed by the bracelet, but she still loved and wanted him like never before, like always.

She pressed her thighs together. Tears streaming down her face. All she did was summon him into that bathtub with her, as if he was the one scrubbing her.

"I hate you!" She cried then let herself truly sink.

As she washed her body, she intentionally remembered the feel of his hands on her skin, his lips on hers, and the way he made her feel alive like no one else ever had. She fought the overwhelming desire to call out for him, to run into his arms and forget about everything else.

"No," she whispered to herself, trying to find strength in her own voice. "I won't let him consume me like this. I won't be his pawn any longer."

Feeling less than clean, Adela stepped out of the bathtub, her body shivering from the cold. She quickly reached for a thick, white towel hanging nearby and wrapped it around herself. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror again, she saw her red and puffy eyes, barely opening.

"He will no longer control my life," 

As Adela vowed to find her own path, she was suddenly overcome by a gut-wrenching pain that had her doubling over and clutching her stomach. 

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