The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 74: Her Safe Home

Chapter 74: Her Safe Home

The dried branches and twigs cracked under her boots as Annalise walked further into the forest, not having any idea about the direction in which she was walking. All that she had in mind was to get as far away from Lord Damian as physically possible without creating any trouble for her other two husbands.

Now, she wasn’t one to throw tantrums or show attitude once being called out by someone, but her current situation was pretty different. And even though she knew that walking away won’t solve anything, she was just too emotional after the constant hits from Damian that she needed a little break to collect herself.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she completely lost track of the direction in which she was heading which resulted in her getting tripped over some kind of root that was emerging out of the ground and she ended up losing her balance.

But instead of falling to the ground on her face, Annalise found herself suddenly being pulled back into a pair of strong arms that saved her from the harsh fall. Her head came to rest against a warm and solid chest and the sound of rapid heartbeats greeted her ear.

She didn’t need to raise her head and look at the face of the person holding her in his arms to find out exactly who he was, something inside her already recognized him. What surprised her the most was the realization that he seemed worried... for her.

A few long seconds of silence passed before Lord Damian finally moved and made her step back a little so that he could look into her eyes, his fingers wrapped around her upper arms in a harsh grip. "Didn’t I just tell you to not go around creating trouble for us? Why can’t you pay attention to where you are heading? What if I wasn’t nearby and noticed you? What if you got injured?"

Though his voice was loud and sharp, his tone only carried one emotion - worry. And the look in his eyes was completely different from the one that she had been seeing for the past several days.

Annalise could hardly believe her eyes and ears. Just a few moments ago, she felt like the man hated her existence and wanted to get rid of her from his and his brothers’ lives. But now, his emotions had taken a complete turn, and now she almost mistook his reaction as if she was his most treasured possession and he was worried about losing her.

The good thing was that her misunderstanding was short-lived as his next words reminded her just how unimportant she was to him and that she would never be anything more than a burden to him.

"Don’t get killed before I prove to my brothers that you are nothing like what you are pretending to be." His expression and voice, both were back to their usual cold and indifferent form, and his words were still as sharp as a dagger that pierced through her.

"I’m not sure what kind of tricks you are trying to play now. Was this all for getting my attention? If yes, then congratulations because you succeeded this time. I almost thought that you were going to get injured..." He scoffed as if laughing at his foolishness.

"... I must have lost my mind for a minute there but I can assure you that such a thing won’t happen again. I won’t let you trick me like that and I surely won’t fall for your tactics just like my brothers did. I’ll prove to them that you are nothing but another one of those selfish people who are trying to use the three of us for their gains."

Annalise shook her head as if that could help her defend herself. His mindset about her had changed for the worse and it seemed like he completely believed that she was deceiving the three of them for some hidden agenda.

"My Lord..." She tried to speak, a futile attempt on her part to defend herself against his heartbreaking accusations, but she didn’t get the chance as Damian suddenly pushed her aside harshly and walked away, ignoring her attempt to talk to him completely.

She staggered to her feet and took the support of the nearby tree to steady herself, her eyes fixed on the departing figure of the Lord. Realizing that it was her only chance to find her way back to the others, she hurriedly followed behind him but made sure to keep some distance between them. She definitely didn’t want to anger him all over again.

It took around ten minutes or so before she found the others waiting for them. Kenric looked irritated about something as he sat on a rock with twin daggers in his hands that he was sharpening. He spared a small glance in her direction and passed her a warm smile that helped in taking away the edge and made her relax a little.

The next person on his radar was none other than Damian but unlike the soft and warm look that he passed her, the look that generic gave to his second brother was pure anger and frustration. Thankfully, he soon returned his attention to his daggers and didn’t end up fighting with Damian like he always used to do.

Her attention traveled to Valerius as the gorgeous man made his way to where she was standing next to a huge oak tree. A small smile finally broke out on her lips as his warmth cocooned her, taking away all the negativity and sadness from her.

She wasn’t sure how she did it but the next thing she knew, she was running straight into his arms that welcomed her without any hesitation. Though it was clear that her sudden action had surprised both her and Valerius, neither of them was complaining. His arms felt like home to her, a place where she would always be safe no matter what.