Villains also get Second chance

Was he angry because I said that Damien would have helped me better? My eyes widened as reality endowed me.

"Was he feeling jealous of Damien?" I wanted to chuckle at the absurdity of the thought. It was like being jealous of Killian or James. But then he was jealous of them too. 

Instead of sitting here and assuming it was better that i asked him and clear if there was any confusion.

"Cassius, Cassius' 'I called many times but the man did not reply. 

I sat up properly to call him again but his breathing was steady and his eyes were closed, so I let the matter go. But I would make sure to ask him in the morning before he left the chamber, or else this matter would be added to the unresolved matter piled up eating dust.

I closed my eyes feeling a bit peaceful as I finally got the letters and the conversation also cleared my mind. However, as the night became deeper, my peaceful sleep started to be disrupted.

It was pitch black all around me but I saw myself, dressed in white, as I stood by the door. This was the door to Cassius's room, and then, everything turned black again. I crawled in the dark for a long while until my throat ran so dry it was getting hard to breathe.

I panted and gasped but I continued crawling until I saw a small little light ahead of me. I chased it, reaching out my hand to grab at it but I fell. It was a seemingly endless abyss, swallowing me up. Suddenly I saw blood all over me. There was blood in my hands and I was holding a knife. 

I started to tremble and I wanted to scream but I couldn't. I couldn't move no matter how I struggled. I wanted to throw away the knife that was stained with blood but it was stuck on my palm. 

Then, I looked up and saw Cassius. He was smiling but there was blood flowing from his mouth which flowed down over his clothes, staining them red. His eyes filled with unbearable pain and regret and sadness as he reached out his hand to touch me.

"Ahh!" I woke up panting. I was sweating hard and slightly trembling. I hugged myself as I tried to calm my racing heart. It was that dream again. Why? Why was I having such a dream? Last night, my dream stopped when I saw Cassius's face. But this time, it went on for a little bit longer.

I looked around and shivered, remembering those bloody images. I felt the moment beside me but I was still trying to calm down, I needed a few more minutes to be normal again.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Cassius's brows creased as he held my shoulders. 

He could see my wet face and my hand shivering uncontrollably.

"Did you… did you have any nightmares?" he asked gently and I nodded.

He wrapped his hands around my waist and pulled me gently into his arms.

I found myself hugging him back until I had fully calmed down.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally let me go.

"What was the nightmare about?" he asked hesitantly and I bit my lip. I looked at my hands and my body as if i was trying to find the left traces of blood on them,

He looked at me quizzically but stayed silent as if he was giving me time to contemplate and tell him. But no matter how much time he would give, there was no way that I would be able to tell him what I had seen. So I stayed silent.

The silence was turning awkward as I sat under his intense gaze when suddenly I heard the growling of his stomach.

I looked at him surprised and he coughed. 

"It was nothing," he said, and I could only nod. But then the sound came again and this time it was not his stomach that was rumbling.

He looked at me and I repeated what he said. "It was nothing" and just like me he also nodded.

We both once again turned silent and the room turned more awkward when our stomach protested again, and this time they did not wait for their turn but growled together as if telling that they would not keep silent until they were fed.

I looked at the stubborn man who was still trying to maintain his pride and chuckled. He looked at me surprised but soon joined me in the peals of laughter. This was the first freely unbridled laughter we had shared in two lifetimes, like we were young again,

"I guess we both are hungry.'' I said and he nodded.

"Why, was the dinner not tasty enough, or James flared you so much that you were not able to eat?" I asked , finally controlling my laughter when he looked at me stunned.

"Why are you so surprised?" I asked with a knowing face, "don't tell me that was really the case?"

"Marianne, do not tell me that you have been so busy in enjoying the jokes of the family that you didn't even notice my absence on the meals. I did not have any meal today" he said with a grumbling look and I blinked.

He looked at my face and his face turned surprised again, "did you miss your meals too?" he asked and I nodded.

We both were silent for a second before laughing together again.

"Let's go and eat something then. Maybe your nightmare was also because of hunger" he sang and I shook my head.

"It is way past midnight. All the staff would be sleeping,`` I replied and he frowned.

"Well, we can ask the maid to wake the kitchen staff up, after all we pay them" he said as if it were a matter of fact.

'We do not pay them to ask them to cook anytime without any advance notice.," i replied stubbornly too, "it would be a hassle to wake up maids then ask them to wake up chef and then they would cook, better wait for breakfast" i explained and the man sighed

"Come, I will cook something for you then."

".........."