Another Chance with the Duke

Ch 4 Part 3

Evalynn stumbled across her room and flopped onto her bed with a heavy sigh. Keni's strange behavior had sapped the energy from her, leaving her exhausted and confused. So many things were changing in this life, more than she could have imagined. Her best friend had disappeared and now her past lover was a few rooms down from her own. The image of Kenni taking off his dirt-covered shirt in front of a steaming bath worked its way into the forefront of Evalynn's mind and she shoved her face into her pillow, squealing. She had never seen him shirtless, but just by the size and sculpted detail of his arms, she could imagine what was hidden underneath. She indulged her fantasy for a minute, but slowly the excitement waned, replaced with the severity of her situation.

Everything she'd planned for the past couple of months seemed meaningless and it made her stomach turn. What was the point of knowing the future if she wasn't even sure that the future she came back from was going to happen anymore? It might as well have been just a dream after all. If it weren't for Kirin's vague memories of her past life, knowing about the engagement to Edgar before her parents told her, and knowing who Kenni was when it was supposed to be her first time meeting him, she would have thought that she was crazy. But the pain of death had been real and she would never forget it.

Rubbing her temples, Evalynn struggled to undo the back of her heavy peach dress. It was difficult with everything tied in behind her, but the maid that had been attending her had scurried off with the others. It was Kenni's fault she was in this predicament. While she'd enjoyed feeling the embrace of his sturdy arm around hers, he had gotten the side of her dress dirty, and showing up to dinner with a solid dress would infuriate her mother.

After trying for several minutes, Evalynn sank to the floor, fighting back the tears welling in the corners of her eyes. If she couldn't even manage to change herself, how did she expect to accomplish anything? Even children were capable of dressing themselves, though admittedly their clothes were much simpler than hers. Being able to sit next to Kenni in comfortable clothing, without worrying about the impressions of others. That was her goal. The feeling of a light cotton shirt that matched Kenni's against her skin sounded diving compared to the massive frilly skirt of her dress.

"You're hopeless," a familiar voice said slowly and playfully condescendingly from behind Evalynn. It was followed by a pair of firm hands that deftly undid the laces on the back of her dress. "You'll definitely die without me."

The tears Evalynn had been holding back made their way slowly down her cheeks and dripped onto the pink fabric of her dress. "Then why did you disappear?"

"I needed time to prepare," Kirin replied matter-of-factly.

"Prepare for what?" Evalynn yelled, a sudden burst of anger taking her over. She spun around and grabbed Kirin by the collar of her uniform. "You left me without a word and now you try to give a half-hearted answer like that? Do you know how scared I've been?" Saliva caught in Evalynn's throat as she yelled and she coughed as more tears streamed down her face. She knew without a doubt that no matter how angry or frustrated she was she was going to forgive Kirin and it made her sick.

Gently pulling Evalynn's hands from her collar, Kirin wrapped her arms around Evalynn and held her tightly as she sobbed. Evalynn threw a few weak punches hit her thighs, but Kirin ignored them, refusing to let go until the wails of frustrated crying died down into sniffles.

"I know I've been apologizing a lot lately, but I'm sorry, Evalynn."

"Sorry doesn't cut it," Evalynn sniffled, freeing herself from Kirin's embrace. "If you ever leave me like that again, I won't forgive you."

Kirin sighed, gently prodding Evalynn to turn around so that she could finish undoing the laces of Evalynn's dress.

"Do you know that Samuel is staying in the mansion?"

"I do," Kirin said flatly. "What will you do? Do you plan to try and convince him to steal you away and marry you?"

"Is that such a horrible idea? You know that I love Samuel and even in this life I can tell he loves me."

"Love is fickle." Kirin's voice was cold. "It's not the divine force you make it out to be."

Evalynn rolled her eyes and let out a small huff. "I know that love isn't some special magic that will save me. But is it wrong for me to still want it?"

"You're right, I'm being too harsh on you. I'm just worried about you, more than ever with everything that's been going on," Kirin said while prodding Evalynn gently. "Stand up."

The tear and dirt-stained peach dress fell to the floor as Evalynn stood up. The tears would dry, but she wasn't sure that the dirt would come out. She'd leave it up to Kirin to decide. Just like she seemed to do with everything else.

"What dress did you want to wear to dinner?"

Evalynn stepped into her deep walk-in closet and scanned the line of dresses her mother had stuffed it with. She had another peach dress almost identical to the one she had been wearing, though it was a lighter shade. There was also a maroon dress that was less fluffy and more form-fitting. There was also a sky-blue dress with white ruffles and puffy sleeveless shoulders.

"Let's go with the blue one," Evalynn said confidently. "It was Kenni's favorite when we went on walks before."

"Yes, I vaguely remember. You would wear it all the time to the point one might have thought it was the only dress you owned."

Of course, she'd remember. Kirin claimed that she couldn't remember everything, yet she seemed to have memories of details Evalynn didn't even remember. Evalynn had no doubt that she'd worn the dress frequently, but it seemed like Kirin would know exactly how many times if she was asked. It was endearing but also created a tinge of hesitation that ate at the back of her mind. So what if she'd worn it habitually? Kenni had liked it then and he was sure to like it now.