Scandal with the Duke

Chapter 4

|Mirrielle Elizabeth Rivantroz|

I quickly got up from bed. I was catching my breath; I could feel the drops of sweat on my forehead. My heart is hammering against my chest, yet the dream I had a while ago continued to play in my mind like a broken record.

Wait, was that a dream or a nightmare?

But everything felt so…real.

My trembling hand held the side of my head. I could still feel the pressure of the muzzle of the rifle on the spot where it was pointed. That nightmare almost made me out of breath that my heartbeat strongly overpowered my system.

Having nightmares isn’t new to me actually, but this one is the worst! I can’t imagine that it’ll be true in life, because if it is, how will I accept the fact that the only person left to be my family is the same person who will ruthlessly point the g*n at my head and will not hesitate to kill me? Anger and fear consumed me. For what? For all the assets and wealth that we have?

It was just a dream, Eli. It was just a dream…

‘Any last words, Eli?’

I shivered in the cold as I rubbed my arms up and down to get rid of the goosebumps. I can’t do anything but hug myself, the nightmare keeps on flooding my mind! At the same time, there was a resurgence of thunder and lightning that is even making me anxious. The flash of lightning that is very visible through my windows makes me flinch. Shock and fear are already consuming me!

I shouldn’t be nervous like this anymore, right? I continued asking myself… doubting if I can really have the answer that is opposite to what I am feeling right now.

I feel like I am still in a trance and I am still having that nightmare. Is time freezing? I already felt suffocated. Why does every fiber of my being still scream in horror at the thought of it?

Is it a warning? Will something happen to me?

I almost pull every strand of my hair at the thought of that dream. I was arguing with myself if those were real or not. If those were real…I should already be out of this world, right? There shouldn’t be any memory that keeps on playing in my head that’s making me crazy!

I could no longer shut my eyes from thinking too much. I am afraid that as soon as I close my eyes, that nightmare will continue to haunt me in my sleep. I am afraid that it might bury the last hope inside me that it wasn’t true. It might make me forget that it was just a ‘nightmare’. It was like… I was stuck in a long dream before something triggered me and the real world woke me up. I am torn between being thankful that I woke up or the fact that those nightmares felt so real...

It was raining heavily outside, and my room was occasionally lit up by lightning. My mind is so occupied that I don’t even know how long I have been sitting on my bed. I took a deep breath with each passing second. Something inside me rose again, as I felt something unusual. This situation seems so familiar... I am...I am sure that I have already seen this before, but I can’t tell if, when, and where it was. Fear creeps into my system. I was busy trying to remember where did this scene happened but my thoughts were interrupted when I heard a noise outside.

My forehead creased.

The mixed sound of whispers and footsteps made me look in the direction of the door despite the darkness of the room. I am very familiar with every corner of my bedroom that I can walk in the middle of darkness, even with no source of light.

But my attention was caught once more when I heard how a door was opened and closed harshly somewhere inside the house. This is no good. My eyes locked in the door's direction, trying to figure out that someone might be outside. I get out of my bed and walked through my room as I grope in the dark and my hands find the match and lamp on the table just next to my bed. When my touch found the handle of the lamp and my other hand found the match, the next thing that I did was to immediately light it. The little flame coming from the matchstick lits my room. I quickly lit the oil lamp and the darkness of my room is now filled with light. Everything inside seemed blurry, since the light coming from the lamp is not enough to see everything around me clearly. My gaze automatically landed to the clock on my table.

12:34, it says.

It’s already past midnight but I can audibly hear noise from the outside. If I heard it right, the noise was coming from the first floor of the mansion. The echoes of the whispers reached up here even though my room is located on the top floor of the mansion.

I walked barefoot toward the door once again. I reached the handle and opened it without hesitation, and immediately went out with my mind in chaos. I walked down through the long hallway as the noise coming from the mansion hall is gradually becoming clear to my hearing. I stopped when I arrived in front of the balustrade. My grip tightens on the lamp as my other hand grips the railings when I dare to look down at the open hall below. The grand stair, connecting the first floor and third, is overpowering my view, but it did not stop me from seeing the crowd in the hall. The small lamp helped me to illuminate the place where I am standing.

It wasn’t long before I noticed that the helpers and the workers of the mansion were surrounding a man who looked soaked in the rain. I was already feeling nervous a while ago, but seeing the man sitting on the floor while being surrounded by the people inside this house made my heart madly pound inside my chest! The dream I had flashed through my mind, but I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts.

Dreams are not supposed to happen in reality, that’s for sure. So it’s impossible that the dream I had earlier will really happen in the real world.

I walked toward the staircase and made my way down in silence.

As my foot touched the floor, its coldness added to the frigidness I was feeling. Walking barefoot and my lamp hardly giving off enough light, everyone seemed not to notice my presence yet. But every step I make, I remember the familiar flashes of lightning, the sound of the thunder, the creaking of opened doors, the loud sobs coming from the crowd. My mind is screaming that this scene is utterly familiar!

And never did I know…when I was finally a few steps away from the crowd, I was spewing words that were the same as what I had dreamed about.

“Where are Mamá and Papá?” I asked, breaking the deafening silence in the hall. I was horrified because I heard myself ask that, very similar to what happened in my dream.

All of the people in the hall simultaneously turned their heads in my direction. I stared at the familiar face of our couchman. Delfin. If I remember correctly, he was with my Mama and Papa when they left Lleida. Some of our personnel and soldiers also accompanied them.

I swallowed hard when I realized what was happening. The dream flashes into my mind. Then, I just saw myself finally sitting on the stairs, afraid that I might lose my balance because my body was starting to tremble in fear.

“I’m sorry, milady,” the familiar voice of Belinda, my family's head servant, filled my ears. My body continued to shake... my heart continued to hammer against my chest. If I get back to my dream, Belinda was also the one who approached me… and told me the fact that I don’t want to confirm. She...she was the one who announced to me about the death of my parents in an accident.

A tear escaped my eyes, then I saw her silhouette in front of me. She took a few steps toward where I am and squatted right in front of me to level our gaze. Her teary eyes confirmed everything that was happening.

“Count and Countess Rivantroz met an accident,” Her voice quivered, and I heard her sob.

I am so overwhelmed by the different emotions taking over my system that I unconsciously let go of the lamp I was holding. Before it finally fell down on the last step of the stairs, Belinda immediately caught it. I covered my face with my trembling hands. My shoulders started to shake, and I did not realize that my tears were now pooling in my eyes upon hearing the news.

My body continued to tremble...in fear and horror. The memory…no…nightmare, played one by one once again in my mind. How did it happen? How…how is my nightmare coming true?

I can clearly remember those dreams. How I cried when I was also informed that my parents had died in an accident. Their carriage fell on a cliff because of the heavy pour of rain. Delfin told me the reason why they had to hurry back to Barcelona. Everything in my dream is very vivid and every detail of it just plays on my mind smoothly. So hearing the same things from Delfin made me cry even more.

“Señor and Señora want to be present on your upcoming birthday, milady,” Delfin said. There was a hint of regret in his voice. “I already told them that hurrying back to Barcelona could be dangerous, especially since it looked like a strong typhoon was coming. But... your parents insisted. As much as I want to stop them, they want to be with you on your birthday and they still command us to continue our travel back to Barcelona. They know that if they won’t be back at that time and if we wait for the typhoon to pass, they won’t be able to be with you on your special day, milady. So...we continued traveling even though the rain was pouring hard. We stopped in the middle of our road because it was too dark, but I didn’t realize that some part of the road had already collapsed before we reached San Quinti. The carriage fell into the ravine before I could dodge.” He stopped as I heard him sob. “Death should be the punishment for me, Lady Elizabeth. I was the only person who survived the accident. I could not save them... I am ready to take whatever punishment you impose on me,” he continued.

Although I wanted to tell him that his death would not be the answer to everything, I was mourning too much to utter words that would solve the issue. My dream poured into my memory again.

“I killed your parents.”

Why is this happening? Why is my dream slowly coming true? My nightmare? I can’t think of any acceptable reason why these things are happening one by one.

I was taken aback when I realized something.

The nightmare I had...started to come true as of now. But why? And why did that six-month-long dream start on the day when my parents died?

Wait. What if... those dreams were not really a dream? What if...those had already happened, and when I died, I was given a chance to come back to the past? Specifically, on the day when I heard of my parents' death?

But...is it possible...that I go back to the past?

Those thoughts are nearly impossible. How could someone go back to the past?

But...what if I really did?

I suddenly remember the promise I had to myself.

If I survive this nightmare, I promise to myself that I will have my revenge to the people who played me for a fool. I will avenge my parents' death. I will have my revenge.

I swallowed hard. Was it really possible that those selfish wishes did come true?

“Bring her back to her room, Gillie. Lady—no. Countess Elizabeth needed to get some rest. I will send a letter to his uncle regarding the tragedy that happened to her family," I heard Belinda command.

The possibility that I came back to the past occupied my mind with doubt. I am not sure if I am still in a dream or not. Some of our helpers even helped me to stand up properly. My tears continued to stream down my face as they bring me upstairs.

If I really went back to the past, I should have taken the opportunity to change my decisions that would lead me into something that I don’t want to happen again. In six months, I know that I will die at the hands of my uncle. If I wanted revenge and to prevent myself from getting killed, I have to find a way to change what might happen in the future.

My uncle’s words continued to echo in my mind. About him telling me the truth about the real reason why my parents died. And as I thought about the death of my parents, anger and hatred towards my uncle started to wrap around my system.

I didn’t realize that I was already in my room. Gillie helped me to get back to my bed. She made sure that the blanket covered my body to keep me warm. She even wiped my cheek with a handkerchief. My eyes locked on her face.

Six months from now…I would die because of my uncle’s greed for my family’s fortune. I goggled at her.. the changes that I can remember in Gillie's behavior have to do with my uncle. I could still remember the horror on her face whenever she saw him. She became frantic and panicky for some unknown reason. I don’t have any idea why she acted like that, but I can surely feel that it has something to do with my uncle.

“Will you always be at my side, Gillie?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking her. Pain became clear in her eyes as she nodded immediately, seemingly unaware of what might happen in the future.

“Yes, of course, milady.”

“Will you never betray me?” I asked once again. She seemed lost but she again nodded without taking her gaze away from my eyes.

“What do you mean, milady? I... I am lost with the questions coming from you. You know that I will never betray you. I know that my life would be at stake if I ever did that to you,” she said with conviction. She even holds my hands a bit tight, seeming to show me that she is really serious about what she is saying. Her eyes screamed with confidence.

My heart calmed down for a bit, but it was not enough to completely lose the fear in my heart towards her. Her words were laced with convictions, but decisions that were set in stone sometimes change in desperation.

“Go to sleep, milady. I will be with you tonight,” Gillie said. She caressed my hair gently and made me automatically close my eyes.

If I really come back to the past, I need to ensure my people’s trust in the family. I need to ensure their faith and loyalty to me. I will talk to each one of them if I had to. My dream popped up in my mind and I could see that I saw no trace of our helpers in the mansion when my uncle’s staff took me.

There is only one reason that enters my mind why there was no one left in our mansion at that time. My uncle might have forced them to leave or they were… not really there the moment I got home that afternoon in my dream. I just didn’t notice, since many things occupied my mind that night. The change in my cousin’s attitudes has already been enough proof. The sudden change in Gillie's behavior is another piece of evidence too. I know that I should not judge them too easily, but those little things I had noticed are too hard not to consider.

Yet all of that will happen in six months. I have to be prepared. I have to remember what had happened in those six months; I had to change my decisions because if I’ll stick to the things I’ve done before, everything will end up the same. I will end up dying at the hands of my uncle. If that happens, justice for me and my parents won’t be served.

But the big question is… how will I start?