AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Lil?”
Her sister’s voice coming from downstairs broke the magic of the moment, and we immediately pulled apart. Still, we remained locked in a gaze that held unspoken promises, which we dared not say out loud. I nodded, and she smiled.
“We’re up here!” she shouted, her voice reverberating throughout the attic, when the door opened, releasing a stream of light, and the ladder slid downward.
“I couldn’t resist coming up here with you,” Cassandra said as soon as she climbed up. She looked at us both, then wondered aloud. “Am I interrupting something?”
Chapter Fifteen
Lilith
“So, I did interrupt something!” Cass exclaimed loudly that evening, when we were getting ready for bed. I was combing her hair, as she was seated at our mother’s vanity table, our eyes locked from the reflection in the mirror.
Father had instructed us both to sleep together, for safety, with Adrian still sleeping in the room next door. He was not supposed to leave my side during the day, but it would be highly inappropriate for him to sleep in the same room as us, so the second-best option was for him to sleep in the same room as before, with his door open, so he could hear us calling for help if need be.
“Well, yeah,” I said, not sure whether I should tell her, but I couldn’t keep this to myself, especially after I’d already told her about us having slept together. “We just kissed. But…”
“But?” Cass’ eyes gleamed.
“But it was different somehow,” I admitted, my heart fluttering with uncertainty. This kiss had left me in a whirlwind of emotions, and I needed to tell her everything. “It stirred something within me, something that I can’t ignore. I… I think I’m falling for him, and I don’t know what to do.”
Cass listened intently, her eyes shining with understanding and curiosity. She reached out to hold my hand, offering her support, just like I knew she would.
“I know you must feel very conflicted,” she said tenderly, seemingly pondering about the whole thing. “I know you wouldn’t say this unless this truly meant something for you. Honestly, I thought you slept with him just because you wanted to experience something adventurous, which I completelyunderstand. You are to get married very soon, and this must feel strange and frightening. But now, it seems to me that it isn’t just a fling, and that maybe, just maybe you two are both developing emotions for each other.”
I inhaled deeply, raking my fingers through my hair nervously. “I never expected to feel this way. I know what my obligations are to Father, to Luke, to the kingdom, but—”
“What about your obligations to yourself?” Cass interrupted me exactly with the question that had been giving me such a headache all this time.
“Father expects me to go through with this marriage, although I’ve told him that I will never be able to look at Luke as anything other than a friend,” I explained.
Cass thought about it for a moment, then continued. “Honestly, I always thought that as the older sister, I would bear that burden. But it seemed that you and Luke were… well, a better suited couple?”
She said it in a way that left me wondering how she truly felt about all this. But I didn’t want to question her about anything, unless she herself was willing to start talking.
“Do you want to marry Luke?” she asked me directly.
Immediately, I felt the weight of all the choices that were laid out before me. I could see the long-term consequences that were bound to follow. I could see everything that could go wrong, all the people that would be hurt, directly or indirectly by my refusal to go along with this marriage. On the other hand, there was me and Adrian. And I wasn’t even sure how he felt about me. Maybe this was just a bit of an amusement to him. He never struck me as that sort of a person, but sometimes, your impressions of someone were not true.
“No,” I finally told her how I truly felt.
To my surprise, she smiled at this. “That is great news!”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
She cleared her throat a little before continuing. “Well, I meant it is great that you know how you feel. Because… well, what you’re going through is confusing, and I’m glad to hear that you don’t want to marry him.”
“Now, it is me who’s confused,” I admitted. “Why would that be great news when there’s nothing I can do to change it?”
“You could talk to Luke about it, and—”
“I’ve already tried speaking to him, telling him that maybe this wasn’t a good idea. I didn’t mention Adrian, of course.”
Cass’ eyes widened in shock at hearing this. “What did he say to that?”
“He tried to convince me to keep things as they are,” I told her. “I agreed, but… I’m still thinking, trying to decide what to do.”
“I’m sure he is doing the same thing,” she assured me. “Ending things so abruptly would probably be a shock to everyone, especially Father. It could be that Luke feels the same way but is trying to find the right way to end everything.”
