Damned by Him

Thank you so much, @Marijayne32 for the gifts and Golden Tickets.

Thank you so much, @ Sarebie for the gift.

**************

Rosaline stood completely still, her eyes widened so much that, for a moment, she wondered if she had opened the wrong door.

"What the hell is going on in here?" The words burst from her mouth before she could stop them.

Lily, who had been in the middle of swinging two ropes in opposite directions around her body, froze and one rope slipped from her hand.

The other continued its motion for another second before falling uselessly to the floor.

Lily stared at Rosaline.

Rosaline stared back.

Neither of them spoke.

Lily’s chest rose and fell rapidly, her face flushed from exertion, while beads of sweat glistened along her forehead and neck. Her hair had become slightly disheveled, with several strands sticking to her damp skin.

This was not what Rosaline had expected to see.

Not even remotely.

She had spent the better part of the morning worrying about Lily, wondering whether Xandros had punished her severely, whether she was being kept somewhere uncomfortable, or whether she had somehow fallen ill again.

And this woman was here...

Skipping rope.

Rosaline’s expression slowly changed from confusion to disbelief, then from disbelief to irritation.

"Lily."

Lily swallowed.

"My Lady."

"What..."

Rosaline pointed at the ropes lying on the floor. "...are you doing?"

Lily glanced down at them and then she looked back at Rosaline.

"I was exercising."

Rosaline’s jaw dropped. "Exercising?"

"Yes."

"You’ve been locked away in this forgotten corner of the mansion, and instead of wondering why you were brought here, you’ve decided to exercise?"

Lily opened her mouth.

Closed it.

Then walked across the room without answering.

She bent down, picked up one of the ropes, and dropped it beside the other before reaching for the glass of water sitting on the table.

She drank almost the entire thing in one go.

Rosaline watched her in disbelief. "You’re unbelievable."

Lily lowered the glass and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I was just doing something."

"Something?"

Rosaline stepped farther into the room and closed the door behind her.

"I’ve been looking everywhere for you!"

Her voice rose despite her weakened body.

"I thought something had happened to you. I thought Xandros had done something because the butler wouldn’t tell me where you were, and when I finally found this place, I expected to find you injured or—"

She stopped herself.

Her chest rose with frustration.

"Instead, I find you jumping around with ropes."

Lily stared at her.

"I wasn’t doing anything dangerous."

"That isn’t the point!" Rosaline threw her hands into the air.

"The point is that I was worried about you!"

Lily’s expression softened for a brief moment.

Then she lowered her gaze.

"I know."

"Do you?" Rosaline folded her arms.

"Because you certainly don’t look like someone who knows."

Lily muttered something beneath her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"I heard you."

Lily sighed.

"I said you didn’t exactly act worried."

Rosaline froze.

"What did you just say?"

Lily looked away.

"I said you didn’t act like you were worried."

Rosaline’s eyes widened.

"I didn’t act worried?"

She gave a disbelieving laugh.

"I’ve been trying to find you since this morning!"

"I know."

"I sneaked out of my room while I can barely walk properly because I thought you were somewhere in this enormous mansion being punished!"

Lily remained silent.

"And you’re telling me I didn’t act worried?"

"I didn’t mean—"

"No."

Rosaline shook her head.

"Don’t."

She took another step toward her.

"You know what? This is getting ridiculous."

Lily looked at her.

Rosaline’s anger was no longer merely irritation. Beneath it was something far more vulnerable.

Fear.

Concern.

And the strange discomfort that had been growing inside her ever since Lily had started behaving differently.

"I know you injured your head."

Lily’s expression changed.

Rosaline continued, her voice becoming quieter but more emotional.

"I know something happened to you. I’ve tried to convince myself that you’re still the same person because you look like Lily, you sound like Lily, and everyone keeps telling me you’re fine."

She swallowed.

"But this..."

Her eyes moved toward the ropes.

"This isn’t you."

Lily didn’t answer.

Rosaline’s voice trembled slightly.

"You’re different."

The room fell silent.

"You used to complain about everything. You hated exercising. You’d rather spend an entire afternoon eating sweets than run around until you were sweating like this."

Lily glanced toward the ropes.

Rosaline shook her head.

"Even after hitting your head, you were supposed to be different in little ways, perhaps. Forgetful. Confused. Maybe you would have forgotten some things."

Her eyes met Lily’s.

"But this isn’t just forgetting."

Lily remained still.

Rosaline’s expression softened.

"This isn’t my Lily."

The words came out quietly.

For the first time, Lily looked genuinely uncomfortable.

Rosaline waited for her to say something.

Anything.

But Lily merely shrugged.

"I don’t know what you want me to say."

Rosaline stared at her.

"You don’t know?"

"No."

Lily lowered herself onto the edge of the bed.

"I don’t have anything to say."

Rosaline’s heart sank.

She didn’t know which frightened her more...the changes in Lily or the fact that Lily didn’t seem frightened by them at all.

Before she could answer, footsteps sounded faintly beyond the door.

Neither woman noticed.

*******

The meeting had finally ended.

Xandros stepped out of the study with the last traces of irritation still clinging to his expression.

He had intended to return to Rosaline immediately.

He wanted to check whether she had eaten.

Whether she had taken her medicine.

Whether she was resting.

And, perhaps most importantly, whether she had remained in bed as he had instructed.

Although he already suspected the answer.

As he approached her chamber, a faint sense of anticipation settled within him.

Perhaps she would still be there,sleeping.

Perhaps she would be staring at the ceiling with that irritated expression she always wore whenever she was bored.

He opened the door.

Empty.

Xandros stopped.

His eyes swept across the room.

The bed was disturbed.

The food had been partially eaten.

The chair where he had been sitting was empty.

His expression darkened.

"Rosaline."

Silence.

He stepped farther into the chamber.

His gaze moved toward the door and then toward the corridor.

A scowl settled over his face.

Of course.

She had left.

His fingers curled slowly at his sides.

For a moment, he simply stood there.

Then his thoughts reached the only conclusion that made sense.

Lily.

She had been asking about Lily all morning.

The butler had already told her too much.

If Rosaline had left the room, there was only one place she was likely to go.

Xandros turned sharply.

His footsteps became faster as he moved through the corridor.

Something inside him was beginning to stir.

His eyes flickered.

Grey, then black then grey again.

The change lasted only a fraction of a second, but the darkness was becoming harder to suppress.

Xandros clenched his fists.

"Calm down."

He whispered the words beneath his breath.

His knuckles tightened until they whitened.

He inhaled slowly.

Exhaled.

Again.

He knew what was happening.

His corruption always reacted to heightened emotions.

And right now, he was angry.

Not because Rosaline had disobeyed him.

Not entirely.

He was angry because she had only just recovered from nearly drowning, and she had already decided to wander through the mansion alone.

If something happened to her again...

His jaw tightened.

He increased his pace.

There was only one place she could have gone.

The secluded section of the mansion.

Where Lily had been kept.

Xandros reached the end of the corridor.

His eyes flickered black once more and he stopped before the wooden door.

He could hear voices from inside.

Rosaline.

And Lily.

His expression hardened.

So she had found her.

His hand closed around the door handle.

He pushed it open.

The door swung inward.

Rosaline immediately turned.

Lily looked up from the bed.

Xandros’ grey eyes swept across the room before settling on his wife.

She was standing when she was supposed to be resting, and judging from the heated expression on her face...

She had been arguing.

A muscle in Xandros’ jaw twitched.