บททั้งหมดของ Annalisa : บทที่ 31 - บทที่ 40

32ANNALISAThe world swam around me, a kaleidoscope of throbbing pain and disorientation. My head pounded like a drum solo gone horribly wrong, and the metallic tang of blood filled my mouth. The carriage… the crash… it all came flooding back in a sickening wave.Disoriented, I blinked, trying to make sense of my surroundings. We were at the bottom of a steep embankment, the mangled wreckage of the carriage lying testament to our violent descent. Dad, thankfully, was stirring beside me, a groan escaping his lips.Relief flooded me, warm and sweet. He was alive! But judging by the way he winced as he tried to sit up, alive wasn’t exactly synonymous with spry.“Dad!” I cried, scrambling towards him, ignoring the searing protest from my own ankle.“Annalise?” he rasped, his voice weak. “What happened?”“The carriage,” I explained, my voice shaking. “It went out of control.” Thankfully, the darkness veiled the expression on my face, hiding the fear that threatened to consume me. Who was

34ANNALISAThe world narrowed to the sliver of space between the floorboards and the bottom of the heavy oak door. My heart hammered a frantic tattoo against my ribs, each beat a frantic drumroll echoing my fear. Spencer’s voice, laced with a sickeningly sweet amusement, sent shivers down my spine.“Annalise, Annalise,” he cooed, the sound as grating as fingernails on a chalkboard. “Playing hide-and-seek, are we? Not very sporting, don’t you think?”Trapped. The word echoed in my mind, a cold, suffocating truth. The woman, bless her kind heart, wouldn’t be able to hold him off for long. I had to do something.But what?A memory, a flicker in the recesses of my mind, surfaced. Self-defense lessons. Dad, his voice booming with mock seriousness, teaching me how to block a punch, how to use my body weight to my advantage.A spark of defiance ignited within me. Maybe I wasn’t completely helpless after all.As the sound of the doorknob rattling intensified, I scrambled to my feet, adrenali

36ANNALISEFEW HOURS AGOTears streamed down my face, blurring the path ahead. My lungs burned, a searing protest against the relentless pace I pushed myself to. Escape. That was the only thought hammering in my head. Escape Spencer’s cold grip, escape the suffocating confinement of the hidden room.The woods, once a familiar playground, now loomed like menacing giants, their gnarled branches reaching out like skeletal fingers. Every rustle of leaves, every snap of a twig, sent a fresh jolt of fear through me. Was he close? Could he hear my ragged breaths, the desperate pounding of my heart?Suddenly, a flicker of light pierced through the dense foliage. Hope, a tiny ember, ignited within me. Could it be a clear patch of sky? A way out?Scrambling through the undergrowth, I emerged into a small clearing. And there, bathed in the soft glow of an oil lamp, sat a woman. An old woman, with eyes that seemed to hold the wisdom of ages, and a head adorned with fiery red hair.A fortune tell

38ADRAINI made sure the physician arrived quickly. The duke was slipping in and out of consciousness, and Annalise—well, she looked as if she had been through hell. I didn’t want to think about what might have happened if I hadn’t found her in time. The thought gnawed at me like a wild beast.As I paced the room, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She sat on the edge of the bed, her hands trembling slightly. She hadn’t spoken much since we returned to the estate, and I couldn’t blame her. The terror she’d faced, seeing Spencer kill the coachman, hiding with the duke, all of it—it was too much for one person to handle.“Are you hurt?” I asked her, my voice quieter than I intended.She shook her head, but I didn’t believe her. Not really. I could see the fear in her eyes, the uncertainty. It wasn’t just physical pain I was worried about. I wanted to reach out, to comfort her, but something held me back. Perhaps it was the way she had looked at me earlier, as if I were a stranger.“The p

40ANNALISEThe room was quiet except for the faint rustle of the curtains. My father was settled comfortably in his bed, his breathing steady after the physician had finished attending to him. I sat beside him, the exhaustion of the day weighing heavily on me. Adrian’s quick actions had saved us both from disaster. The gravity of his bravery was still sinking in. My heart ached with gratitude, and I knew I had to thank him properly.When Adrian walked into the room, his face showed a mix of relief and weariness. His eyes were fixed on me, and I could see the concern still etched on his features. I stood up as he approached, my hands clasped tightly in front of me, trying to steady my racing heart.“Adrian,” I began, my voice trembling slightly. “Thank you for saving us. I don’t think words can truly express how grateful I am.”He stopped a few steps from me, his expression softening as he looked at me. “You don’t need to thank me, Annalise. I did what anyone would have done in my pla