Lord Theodore's Favorite Ritual
Chapter 82: Lydia & Helena’s uncanny resemblance.

Chapter 82: Lydia & Helena’s uncanny resemblance.

Evening.

Conan’s Bungalow.

Critic Arley, Critic-Ishire.

***********

Helena stood for the door as she heard jiggles of keys. She swung the door open.

"Conan, you said you were coming home late now-"

Helena trailed off at the sight of Lydia.

Lydia’s eyes widened while Theodore paled.

As Lydia and Helena approached each other with measured yet curious steps, an uncanny sense of familiarity tinged the air.

In that instant that their eyes had met, a simultaneous realization swept over them.

A shared gasp escaped their lips as if a secret connection had been unveiled.

Surprised, their gazes had locked in shock before it transferred into a mutual acknowledgement of the striking resemblance they bore to each other.

The contours of their faces, the arch of their brows, and the curve of their smiles mirrored one another with an unexpected precision.

The dimple in their chin, their eye colour, and their hair all alike.

The symmetry of their features created a visual harmony that was more than mere coincidence.

This is different.

"Who are you?" Helena asked with a slight frown, her heart palpating with a rush she couldn’t define.

"You look just like me!" they breathed at the same time.

Helena reddened.

Lydia turned to her husband "Theodore do you see the resemblance?"

His jaw ticked as he asked. "Who are you?"

Helena appeared taken aback.

Is this Lord Theodore? The witch’s end? Helena thought her heart hammering.

"How do you exist?" he added, his frown deepening.

He is shocked to his core.

This has never happened he thought.

They were never two Lydia’s. It had always been just her.

Theodore is man born with memories, he grew up knowing that had existed before.

He had fallen in love and had died for love.

He had woken up a night and was flooded with memories of a face.

A beautiful face.

A haunting face.

One he had loved and loved again.

He had known that he had reincarnated.

He had grown to be the man he is as well as he had waited for her to come.

He had once been free and an average human but suddenly he carried a heavy burden from his past life.

Lydia was the woman he had loved in the lives he had lived thrice before.

Who then is this, he thought with shock

It had never been like this, it was always only Lydia, he feared he would have taken Helena in if he had met her first.

She smiled and he blinked.

What if she was his Lydia?

He gulped as he took Lydia’s palm.

"This is Conan’s house who are you people and why are you in his house?"

Helena’s voice met them.

Lydia smiled warmly her palm meeting her husband’s arm. "Oh, this is Theodore, Conan’s friend we were going to stay here before our carriage that broke down gets fixed, Theodore"

Lydia called her husband again now through gritted teeth.

Why is he simply standing there and squeezing her palm? She wondered.

"How are you in his bungalow?" Theodore asked curious, his frown lessened.

Helena shrugged, hoping this once she looked good. "He let me, I am too his friend," she said.

Theodore nodded. "I see" he stepped inside pulling Lydia along

She gave Helena a weary smile because Theodore was making Helena uncomfortable without even trying.

They sat along with Helena, and a silence pregnant with curiosity filled the air. Helena wanted to ask questions but she felt she needed to stay alert too.

Lydia felt it’d be intrusive to ask questions but she dying to ask.

So at once they squealed. "Do you read the muckrake?"

And just like that they didn’t need an answer to know that they both did.

Helena then slowly asked. "Are you allergic to cats?"

"I would feel horrible for you if you are" Lydia confessed with a pout.

"I am not!" Helena confessed in a squeal.

"Theodore!"

The whole room stills.

Helena’s smile dropped while Lydia pressed her lips together, embarrassed and beet red.

Lydia had exclaimed Theodore out of shock and excitement while Helena had felt her fear for the man creeping back to the surface.

She was a witch and could be amongst the powerful ones when pushed but she did not want to go against Theodore. He was ruthless.

Theodore merely stood up, it appeared the ladies were having a conversation. He felt like a third unwanted wheel whose name had become an exclamation thanks to his direct request.

Lydia and Helena watched him leave in unison and soon their whispers of astonishment escaped as they simultaneously voiced their disbelief at the uncanny resemblance they carried.

"How long does your hair grow?"

Helena asked in a whisper, her eyes curious.

"To my waist" Lydia replied.

"Oh mine grows past it" Helena shrugged with a sigh.

"That would be hard to take care of, I hate combing my hair" Lydia added.

"So do I" Helena replied to Lydia’s confession "We’re so alike" she added.

Seeming to recall something, Lydia’s eyes lit up as she said. "I like rum"

Helena made a face. "Uhhh I hate those" she relayed.

"What do you like?"

At Lydia’s question Helena replied "I like being in charge of my emotions and wording" She nodded, looking past Lydia as her mind drifted to Theodore.

Where has he gone off to, she mused.

Lydia looked proud. "You sound responsible" she commented on Helena’s character.

"You look responsible" she replied refusing to tell her if she slipped and got drunk someday she might say things she would regret. Hence the responsibility to take care of herself.

"I have a cat, a white one" Lydia said as she felt a small change in the atmosphere, perhaps a lighter topic she thought.

"I have one too"

Helena answered, she was letting the slight bad air go because she and Lydia looked so alike she felt like she could finally have a sister and she wouldn’t let her fear for Theodore ruin that.

"I had, a black one, Ebony" she corrected herself giving the name of the cat that now lives with an old lady.

Lydia’s face developed a small frown as she asked. "What happened to it"

Helena looked around and as though she needed to tell a secret she gestured for Lydia to get closer as she whispered."Move closer"

Lydia smiled, loving the mystery as she shifted on her couch to get closer to her new friend. "Conan hates anything inhuman," Helena said finally into Lydia’s ears.

Lydia frowned, her brows tight. "He does?"

Helena finally sat straight with a sad face she said. "Yes, I had to save it somewhere" she shrugged but it wasn’t light.

"My white cat is called Red," Lydia told.

Silence ensured.

And then abruptly yet in unison, they both laughed, Helena wiping tears away from the side of her eye.

"That is a funny name" Helena smiled.

Their shared recognition sparked a fear, a nervousness in Lydia, now she felt effervescent energy between them, a contagious joy that manifested in spontaneous laughter and wide-eyed expressions of wonder.

"Are we perhaps twins?" Helena asked suddenly, suspiciously.

Lydia waved it off. "No silly, I’m illegitimate" she said easily.

Helena smiled as she told Lydia. "I ran around the empire with my mother"

Lydia understood they had talked about so much in such a short time that they now felt even closer than they had in the beginning.

"I am Lydia" she mumbled.

Helena smiled warmly as she answered back. "I’m Helena of Critic Ishelm"

"Lady Lydia Theodore of the former house Statham?" Lydia completed her sentence with a question and they both broke into a fit of giggles.

"I am sorry we only have water" Helena confided.

Lydia, remembering her early days in the mansion said. "That is fine, the mansion was like that when I first arrived, it’s becoming different now"

"Your presence was the medicine it needed," Helena said with a grin.

"We could ask a lot of other questions," Lydia said and so they continued.

Their astonishment gave way to a camaraderie of shared amusement, it was as if fate had orchestrated this unexpected encounter to weave the threads of their lives together, if only for a fleeting moment.

The surprise and elation lingered, creating an indelible memory of a chance meeting that left them both with a sense of connection and the intrigue of discovering a kindred spirit in a face so unexpectedly mirrored.

Helena appreciated the fact that Lydia didn’t ask her what she was doing in Conan’s house.

If Lydia had asked she would have answered her as honestly as possible but perhaps Lydia wasn’t curious, she thought.

However, Lydia was very curious but had been keeping it under. Helena must have her reasons, she thought.

The evening grew longer but too soon it felt, Blanc arrived.

"I am inviting you to my mansion, please" Lydia declared before she stepped into the carriage.

Helena bowed slightly. "I am elated that you deem me worthy of your invitation," she said.

"You shall come?" Lydia asked her eyes bright.

Helena nodded frantically, wondering why she wouldn’t go.

Lydia might be Theodore’s wife but Theodore was a man in love.

"Yes, I shall come, Lady Lydia" she vowed.

Lydia giggled. "Oh, it’s Lydia, Helena, just Lydia," she said to Helena.

Helena bowed again. "Thank you" she muttered before she faced Theodore who stood watching their conversation in amazement.

He had come to join them when the carriage had arrived, so she got comfortable and had almost forgotten he was married to Lydia.

"Lord Theodore" Helena acknowledged with a bow.

She hated herself for not being hospitable but Conan is to blame.

Theodore nodded refusing to stare at her longer than necessary.

He needed to get Gooseberry away from here, he thought.

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