Chapter 26

She contemplated the words. If it was true, it meant the man she loved would stay beside her for all her life. Well, it could be... but she didn't want a lifetime affair.

"Will I live in proper and righteous way?"

"I have no doubt. I see great power and wealth and honor."

Polly was right, the dramatic and hyperbolic prophecy was getting tedious now. It was impossible for any decent man to have her. It would have sounded less nonsense if the woman said she was going to marry a villager, a man with lowly status and a humble beginnings who didn't require a respectable background from her. A man who could marry whoever he wanted. She smiled at the thought. Indeed, the people who had nothing were the people who had the infinite freedom. But if her prophecy was true...

She shivered at the first thought crossed her mind. If she was going to marry properly and live in nobility, chances were she would be married to Roger. After all she had been through, she would end up with Roger... It was the biggest possibility anyway, it had been half a year since she ran away, her father must have sent men to chase her from the first time. It had been a long hunt, after collecting some clues, perhaps eventually they would find her. Suddenly a sickening feeling stirred in her stomach.

"You said I will live a respectable life, a life that I've always wanted..."

She paused and swallowed, she felt like her throat were clogged.

"But would I be happy and content?"

The woman fell silent. She stared at her for a brief moment that felt like a long, maddening hour.

"No matter how great my special gift to foresee the future, there's one thing I could not tell because I don't know either..." She took a deep breath.

"I can't measure happiness."

Now it was Ava who fell silent. It was true. One could have the most enviable life to others, yet it didn't guarantee one had a meaningful, fulfilling, and satisfying life. She took out a coin pouch and put it on the desk, rising from her chair and walking toward the door. Her hand was on the door handle when she heard the woman called. She turned and saw Nora stood from her desk.

"I have to tell you. You've walked into a dark mist, and you've come at the point of no return. You're in the midst of it now. What awaits you ahead is not a rainbow trail. Denial, deception and doubts, tears and sacrifices, painful revelation and danger. I see it all along the way. It won't be an easy ride, but it's worth the cost."

Ashton let out a harsh breath in frustration. He stepped back from the filthy wall and brushed the dust off his coat in annoyance.

What a great result. He had spent an entire day sneaking and hiding, stalking a silly wench like an idiot, and all the total efforts had only led to this. A visit to a fortune teller. Well, at least he had succeeded in collecting one strong evidence. That this woman was definitely crazy.

She walked out of the house into the quiet trail and Ashton scowled at her back. He waited until she was a fair distance away then came after her in silence. His spying was over. He would no longer follow her, enough, never again.

He watched the back of her grey cloak swooshing with every lope she made. She strolled in silence into a long, dark path in the immense rural area, entirely alone, blissfully unaware that a man was stalking her for hours. She was lucky he wasn't some dirty rogue. One would prey her so easily in this perfect secluded patch, surrounded by nothing but tall trees.

Ava was musing on the prophecy when suddenly she got alarmed. She was walking into a long, dark path underneath the shadow of tall trees. The moon was hidden beneath a misty cloud. This was the only path to come and go, before the dark, it wasn't as terrifying as it was now. She gripped the neck of her cloak and walked quickly. Suddenly she regretted her visit to the fortune teller. She didn't feel like getting any clue and now she was all alone in a dangerous place. She turned her head to look around and loped faster. Still a long way to go.

"Hey, Gully! Look what we have here."

A rough voice in strong cockney accent startled her. Ava jolted and choked as her eyes caught a man standing a few feet away from her. The man was tall and robust, with muscles all over him. A sudden tremor ran through her when she saw his face, an ugly scar crossed from his forehead to his cheek, but what made him even more terrifying were the malice in his eyes. He gave her a wicked smile, and Ava turned back and ran as fast as possible, knowing her life was in danger.

She screamed when a pair of strong arms came around her waist and she was pulled back, crashed a hard body behind her. She struggled in her captor's clutch, shoved those steely arms, stomped on his feet and moved frantically against him in a futile effort.

"Wow, Gully, I've got a wild cat, come help me tame her!" The man laughed in amusement. Ava halted abruptly when she saw a hulking beast came over her from the woods. The second man was a bulky giant with a sullen face. He stared at her with a scowl and suddenly she felt a surge of panic that made her move again, pushing the hands that imprisoned her, clawing, kicking and stomping, trying desperately to release herself.

The gloomy villain smacked her face so hard she stopped moving out of shock. The next second, the man already tore away her cloak with a frightening ease, and now he was grasping the front of her dress. The violent sound of shredding clothes sent fear and panic through her brain. Never crossed her mind that such a misfortune would befall her, that tonight would be the death of her.

"Get your filthy hands off of her right now."

The smooth voice carried over the wind, the coolness in it was strangely chilling. The two men paused and turned.