The Dark Rose 🌹 {18+}

༺35༻

ೋღ🌹ღೋ

My eyes open and I can feel the dried tears staining my face. I stay motionless for a minute, afraid to move as the memories of that sickening pain surfaces.

When I finally decide to move the tiniest bit by lifting my head, I find myself on clean sheets, no evidence of blood or any indications that I had been whipped apart from the sharp sting on my back as the air makes contact with my wounds when I finally attempt to sit up.

I reach my hand over my shoulder, hissing when I make contact with one of the cuts as it burns at my touch. Pulling my hand back, my fingers are coated in some kind of salve. Richard must have had someone place it on my wounds while I was sleeping.

"How are you feeling?" I snap my head to the right, my back protesting at the action, a grimace on my face as my eyes land on Lydia sitting in a chair next to Richard's bed.

"Lydia?" I glance around the room, wondering why she's the only one here.

"Richard ordered me to watch over you and dress your wounds." She explains, her eyes trailing over my back, feeling sorry for the excruciating pain I must have gone through. Her green eyes meet mine once again, reluctantly telling me, "He will only give you his blood once he knows you're going to be completely submissive to him."

"Figures," I chuckle dryly, resting my head back on the pillow.

Lydia stares at me with gentle eyes as she goes on to explain the severity of my wounds, "The cuts are quite deep, I've stitched up most of them and placed a cooling salve to help with the pain."

"Thank you," It warms my heart that she took gentle measures to help me whether it was under Richard's order or not. I go on to ask, "How long was I asleep?"

"Two days," She sighs, my eyes widening in surprise, "You needed to sleep in order to heal as well as you have."

"Then why do I feel so drained?" I mutter rhetorically.

We both remain silent for a few minutes until Lydia breaks it. "I saw the raw mark," Lydia admits cautiously and I look to see her eyes staring at my neck, where Richard's mark is hidden by my dark hair.

My anger for Richard surfaces as my features shift drastically, "He did it to remove the mark Aldéric gave me, my only and last link to him." I catch Lydia up on what my life was like with Aldéric. I explain what I really am and everything else up to now, however there is one painful detail I purposely leave out...

...Lara's death.

Lydia stares at me with many different emotions, her eyes falling to the floor as she comes to understand what I've been through and how I've changed.

How can I bring myself to tell her about her sister?

Her eyes lift when I make a move to sit up, wanting to be able to look directly at her when I'm forced to tell her the truth about my escape and how her sister paid the ultimate price. I owe it to Lara to tell her sister the truth.

"Please, let me help you." Lydia rushes to her feet, helping me to slowly sit up and avoid anything making contact with the slashes on my back.

"Thank you," I speak through the pain, blinking a few times as if that will make it go away.

It doesn't but I'm learning to ignore it as my eyes open to meet Lydia's worried gaze, "You really shouldn't move."