Edelweiss

CHAPTER FIVE

What do I do?

What did I do?

Why me?

"Here. Give me your other leg," he said. Obeying, I lowered the leg, which he finished tying. I silently raised the other leg as he started to tie the other shoe.

What if he saw this? He will beat me again.

Am scared.

Am scared.

"Am...scared"

His gaze rose to me. Finishing without looking down as his fingers tied the shoe knot, he stood towering over me, his hand placed on the table I was sitting on, trapping me. His eyes directly focused on my miserable state. My petty eyes held nothing but humiliation.

"I am scared"

"But I am here with you"

"What...what if he saw this? He will be outraged and frustrated, and then...", I held my hands together, attempting to stop the trembling that was occurring in my flesh.

"He's not here to harm you", he closed the distance, embracing me in his arms. His manly body cramped mine. I hated it.

"Do you want to hit me?" he asked softly. Shifting uncomfortably in his embrace, I slowly nod my head.

"I do".

He simply went quiet for a few moments before asking again. "Do you want to harm me?"

"I do", I answered without hesitation. He gripped tightly around my stiff figure, making me even more uncomfortable. I was at this point trying to push him off me.

"But I will get hurt?" his voice dripped softly with a small trace of pain heard in his vocals. "So? My husband hurt me, why did I have to get hurt? It's only fair that I hurt someone else. Why did I have to go through this? I was hurt, too!"I tried to nudge him off me, but he held me so tightly into him, his chin resting on my shoulder for a few seconds before letting go.

Pulling back, his eyes met mine again, an unusual look surfacing on his face. He looked hurt...

Did I make him mad?

Will he hurt me, too?

But I...I thought... But I tried...

I lowered my gaze, no longer able to bear the weight of his stare.

"Good job", he raised his hand to stroke my hair and slowly removed the strands behind my ear, pulling with his left hand a bun and taking a few steps beside me to style it in the only style he was currently capable of.

"I'm proud of you. Just tell me whenever you're having similar thoughts, okay? Don't bottle it up", he said gently, so nicely as if he was talking to a child. I slowly nod before meeting his pretty eyes after he finishes. He did my hair in a ponytail. Unlike my mean husband, this man is really kind to me. Why wasn't my husband as nice? Or as compassionate?

I could see him raising his hand for me to take and help me get down, I accepted it like I always do.

He saved me. The familiar man. Rafayel

Although a man was the one who ruined my life and took my son away from me, my dear adopted son, it was also a man who was trying to fix it and bring meaning to my life again.

He was at it again, staring at me as I munched the tender strawberry cake he ordered. He's smiling like a complete fool, watching me without even touching his own cake.