Chapter 16
Giselle, still reeling from the unexpected twist, was left behind. She then slowly got up to her feet as she watched Stephan disappear into the distance.
She was just about to give chase when she suddenly thought of something. She pivoted sharply, shot a triumphant look at Rebecca, and exclaimed, “I told you all along, Rebecca! You don’t stand a chance against me!”
Rebecca silently observed her as she descended the stone steps, one slow step after another, until she stood directly in front of Giselle. She, being two inches taller, merely had to lower her gaze slightly to fully perceive the haughty arrogance burning in Giselle’s gaze.
Upon recalling the damaged pocket watch and all that had transpired between them, Rebecca realized that it was time to settle accounts with Giselle.
She deliberately stretched her fingers and cracked her knuckles with a pleasant smile settling on her features, and then, as Giselle looked on in utter confusion, she raised her hand and struck her hard across the face.
That sharp, resounding slap landed squarely on Giselle’s fever–flushed face. Her cheek instantly began to swell, and the sheer force of the blow sent her crashing to the ground, landing several feet away.
Though her hand throbbed from the slap, Rebecca felt a profound sense of satisfaction. She held Giselle’s furious, incandescent gaze without flinching, then said softly, “That slap was a reciprocal gift. You got a problem with it?”
Giselle was blindsided by the sudden attack. She had no strength to fight back, so she resorted to screaming at the top of her lungs. “You’ll regret this–Stephan won’t let you get away with this when he finds out what you did to me, Rebecca!”
Upon hearing that, Rebecca’s smile intensified. She half–crouched, then raised her hand and delivered another slap to Giselle’s left cheek. She felt a perverse sense of satisfaction settle over her as she caught sight of the two perfectly aligned red imprints on Giselle’s cheeks.
She then said lightly, “That slap was for what you did to my pocket watch. That settles the score between us, then. Oh, and if you’re thinking of getting back at me, please bring Stephan along as well. I wouldn’t mind slapping him around a bit either.”
Having said that, Rebecca elegantly rose to her feet, never once looking back at Giselle. She then turned and spotted Morgan leaning against the window, looking distinctly displeased.
Morgan rushed to the door the instant their gazes met. He then opened the door and gently took Rebecca’s hand, massaging it with obvious concern. “Why didn’t you let me do the hitting? Is your hand hurting?”
Rebecca’s heart warmed considerably the moment her eyes landed on Morgan. “It doesn’t hurt. You can do the hitting the next time the opportunity arises. How does that sound?”
Upon hearing her gentle reassurances, Morgan’s expression finally relaxed. He guided her to the dining table, helped her sit, and then headed into the kitchen to prepare a cold compress.
Upon seeing him fuss over something so trivial, Rebecca sighed faintly and said, “It’s nothing serious. It won’t even swell, so you don’t have to bother with the cold compress.”
Morgan, ignoring her completely, proceeded to prepare the cold compress. He then sat down beside her and carefully applied the cold compress to her flushed palm.
His earnestness brought a helpless smile to Rebecca’s face, though she also found it rather endearing. “Did you actually spend all that time watching the spectacle? Have you finished preparing the stewed pears? I’m still waiting for my share, you know.”
Morgan was still sulking and wouldn’t meet her halfway, so Rebecca shifted the subject, asking, “Aren’t we heading to Shadowbrooks in a couple of days? You said you’d take me back to your hometown, right? How about we get our packing done together tonight?”
Morgan finally broke his silence, saying, “You and I should make a stop in Iropa before we catch our flight to Shadowbrook.”
Rebecca asked, “Why are we sudde
going to Iropa first?”
It was only then that Morgan raised his head to meet Rebecca’s gaze, a soft, yielding indulgence in his eyes. “Isn’t that pocket watch Mrs. Green Senior’s keepsake? In that case, we absolutely have to get it repaired first; otherwise, she’d be heartbroken when we visit her grave.”
His unexpected consideration filled Rebec that it was beyond repair. She saw no point in a useless detour to Iropa, so she said, “It’s fine, really. It just stopped ticking, but as long as I still have it, that’s what with warmth. She had already checked the pocket watch on her trip here yesterday, though, so she was pretty certain
matters.”
Her reassurance did little to diminish the anguish in Morgan’s gaze. He set aside the cold compress, reached into his pocket, and took out the ring she had removed before her bath. He then gently slipped it onto her ring finger and said earnestly, “Let’s go to Iropa, Becks. You can think of it as a vacation. If it’s something that concerns you–even if the odds are one in a hundred–I want to take that chance.”
Chapter 17
