Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

N ora lay on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling while her mind drifted back to her last night with Samuel. She covered her face with her hands, hiding the blush on her cheeks, although there wasn't anyone there to witness it but her.

She was unable to stop thinking about Samuel's hands on her as he expertly caressed her body. She had dreamed of him that night, feeling and grazing before he planted his lips on hers in a bruising kiss. He'd pulled away and declared his desire for her.

"Oh God," she groaned, pulling her sheets up to her chest as she blushed once more.

"Can I really let him have me like that?" she asked no one in particular.

She wasn't so na?ve that she didn't know exactly what it was he wished to do to her. A part of her mind rebelled against the idea but the other part of her wanted it. It'd been so long since she felt any form of excitement, and yet the Duke had managed to provide that for her in the two nights that they had met up.

Nora looked forward to the next night with him. She looked forward to what else he had planned for her and how they would spend their time once more.

A large bang sounded at her door, and she sat up with such speed that her head spun. She heard her mother on the other side, pleading and crying.

She got up from the bed and rushed to the door, her heart beating fast in a panic and her mouth open wide to ask her stepfather to stop.

Please, don't hit her.

She pleaded silently over and over again as she rushed outside, following the commotion. She skidded to a stop when she saw the sight in front of her, her blood boiling in anger and hate.

"Mother," she whispered, barely able to get the words past her tight throat.

Her mother lay there on the ground, a look of fear fixed on her face, her tears streaking her cheeks, as the Viscount tried to push her away.

Nora's

Her hands balled into fists as her mother looked up at him, her hands grabbing onto his shoes as she tried to stop him from walking away from her. She hated it so much, how her mother, despite the Viscount treating her with so much hostility, continued to love him with all of her heart even amidst her fears.

Why can't you see that he's a monster and he's no good for you?

Nora

She shook where she stood as the sight kept her rooted to the spot, unable to move as she regarded her mother with pity and the Viscount with so much hate. There was no one she'd ever hated as much as she hated him.

"Please don't," her mother begged, just as the Viscount raised a hand, slapping her hard across the face.

Her mother yelped in pain but continued holding onto him, her voice still pleading.

"Let go of me, woman, or you will regret it," he threatened, raising his fist and ready to come down hard on her.

"Mother, what's wrong?" Nora asked, finally regaining her voice. She burned with shame as her mother stared at her with a look of shock and desperation while the Viscount glared in her direction.

"You," he spat, his face turning sour the moment he locked gazes with her. He pointed a finger at her as he tried to move in her direction, grunting in anger when her mother continued to hold him back.

Nora took a step back in fear as the Viscount's hate and rage hit her where she stood.

"Begin to prepare yourself. You are leaving this estate," he spat out angrily.

Nora's knees buckled as the floor fell out from underneath her feet. She held herself up, managing a small "What?"

The Viscount snarled, his face turning red with barely controlled rage. "I gave you a simple instruction and time to carry it out. All you had to do was find a husband, but you've always been so useless, and you continue to be so even after all the chances I have given you."

He advanced towards her, pulling her mother along with him. "I was generous to you, but you've spat in my face. Prepare to be out of this house as soon as possible, or I will toss you out myself. Believe me, it would be better if you do it yourself."

Fear filled Nora at the Viscount's threat. She knew well enough that he meant every word of what he was saying to her. He had never cared for her, after all.

Nora stared on helplessly at the Viscount and her mother, whose cries had grown louder with his statement. She knew her mother felt guilty, but it did not measure up to the guilt she felt herself. She had failed at the one task she should've been good at, which was protecting her mother.

"Mathilda and I have come to a decision, and you are going to leave sooner than I thought. So, prepare yourself and ensure that you're packed up and ready to go."

Nora shuddered as fear ripped through her.

I can't go now, not yet. Not after I already found a way out of this.

"Please, Timothy. Please don't send her away," her mother pleaded once again, but the Viscount only stared at her with disgust.

"I suppose I have you to blame for how she has turned out. Look how you grovel at my feet for someone so undeserving of it. Even now, she doesn't even try to plead for a few more days or promise to be better, and yet you beg for her. Pull yourself together, or else you'll have yourself to blame for whatever happens," the Viscount said angrily.

Nora's jaw ticked wildly. She hated the way he talked to her mother, as if she were a child. There was nothing worse than seeing her mother reduced to this and at the mercy of a man who was undeserving of her love and her tears.

"She has three weeks to prepare herself, and then she'll be out of here and on her way to Mathilda. I suggest you prepare her for when that time comes. I will not take kindly to her being tardy and keeping Mathilda waiting."

If she left now, she wouldn't be able to find a way out of this for her mother. Three weeks was very little time for her to prepare and carry things out accordingly. She had hoped that she would have more time than that.

"Oh, God, what am I going to do now?" she murmured to herself as she wracked her brain for a solution.

"Perhaps you should have thought of that before you deliberately flouted my order. You never even tried to put in the effort to find a husband. Did you think I wasn't watching you? Standing by the wall like a plant and gossiping with those friends of yours, who are just as worse as you are?"

Nora's face burned with shame. The last thing she ever wanted to do was to be reduced to a servant before her stepfather. Her stomach churned as she came to terms with what she was about to do, however much it hurt her. She had to think of not only herself but also her mother. Her mother would likely be unable to survive without her if she left her alone at the mercy of the Viscount.

The look of surprise on the Viscount's face was enough to fill her with even more shame. She lowered her eyes to the ground, before looking up at him as she lowered herself to the ground, ready to beg him. Her mother's cries had stopped as, much like the Viscount, she stared at Nora with shock.

In none of the times that her stepfather was merciless towards them had she been reduced to her knees before him as she begged for his mercy.

Her mother's eyes held happiness at the thought of her finally being cooperative, making it easy for her to stomach her pride as she pleaded with him.

"I will do whatever you want, just please don't send me away," Nora said, forcing the words that put her at his mercy out of her lips.

She watched as the Viscount grinned, enjoying the look of despair on her face.

"How touching that you would finally recognize your place and act right. Unfortunately, you chose to do the right thing too late. I will not be changing my mind on this, as I am not a man to go back on my word," he said, the amusement leaving his eyes as he once again stared at her with a look of hatred.

"You will go in there, and you will begin your preparation to leave this house, and that's final."

Nora remained on her knees, despondent as she watched him leave, her mother's cries drowning her thoughts as she pleaded for the Viscount to reconsider.

It's all over.