Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Lola's POV
I skipped back happily to the manor some minutes after Marcela left. Oh, it was more like half an hour, considering that I stopped at a couple of more shops to buy cosmetics, makeup kit, and a lot of fancy new dresses that I found. It was honestly very unnecessary considering all the clothing that I already have, but no one was going to say anything. What was important was that I was happy.
I had a huge smile on my face by the time I got back to the manor. It was like I finally broke through from being hooked up in one place for a long time, and honestly speaking, that was the best feeling that I've had in weeks.
I was concerned, honestly, but I knew better than to ask questions, especially if it was some personal matter. Maybe she had to rush back to the hospital. However, she said that she was going to miss me in the manor, so I wasn't much concerned.
The guards at the entrance nodded at me, their heads bowed as I passed. Entering into the main building, the reality came back crashing down. I remembered the unfinished business that I have with Tyler, and it makes me just a little bit nervous. Would I have to face him now? Would he scold me for running off and spending unnecessarily?
I think to myself as I make my way to my room, dragging the heavy bags with me, full of the things that we bought. The room door is slightly open, I noticed with a frown. I open it fully and look around, seeing that everything had been rearranged, stacked neatly in the corner, the bed sheet changed, and the dressing area cleared.
However, I didn't give it much thought, simply coming to the conclusion that the housekeeper had been here to clean up. I spent the next few minutes arranging the stuff in their respective places.
When I'm finally done, I sit down on the plush bed, pulling out my phone to text. I just wondered if anything was the problem. Maybe it was way more out of hand than just a patient's emergency. I sat there for a while waiting for a reply. Well, obviously she was busy. Was she going to reply? I was like, I think so, walked up over minor details, I thought to myself.
A knock sounded on the door and without waiting for a response, the door pushed open. I was about to tell whoever it was to come in, but seeing as they took matters into their own hands, it brought a slight frown to my face. However, the disapproval disappeared immediately when I saw Marcela. The look on her face was what scared me—the scared and urgent expression that she had.
"What happened?" I immediately stand up. She closed the door behind her and looked around, her expression very guarded.
"I need to tell you something," she said, watching me closely. Sensing the panic in her eyes, the rigidness, the way she seemed to hold back, I knew that something was terribly wrong, and I understood the gravity of the situation.
"What's the matter?" I asked, steeling my mind for the information, knowing that it will be anything but pleasant.
Marcela approached me and drew a spare chair to the side, sitting down. She let out a huge sigh, making me wonder just what she had been through. My nerves are increasingly set on edge with every passing moment. It's like the suspense is almost killing me.
"How is your relationship with Tyler going?" she asks out of the blue, catching me off guard.
I stutter a little, trying to get the words out. "Well, I—" I paused again, not knowing how to say it. Didn't know where we stood right now, or was it that Tyler and I seemed to take a step forward and two steps backwards all the time? Or was it about the time when I failed to do a task as simple as seduction?
"I don't know," I say finally, letting out a sigh. However, I don't see the look of disappointment that I expect to see from Marcela. Instead, she heaves a sigh of relief, making me all the more shocked.
"Why would you suddenly ask that?" I question, finding it a bit weird.
"Listen, you have to go right now," she said, discarding my question. However, her voice was too urgent for me to brush off.
"Go?" I repeat, my eyes widening in shock. "Calm down, Marcela, you're not telling me anything," I said as patiently as I could. How was I to explain to her that she couldn't just come to my room and tell me to go? "Go where exactly?" I asked.
"You're right," Marcela said with a nod. She closed her eyes for a brief second to reopen them, a look of determination flashing across her brown eyes. "I didn't tell you the reason why I'm really here, but can you just trust me for a while?" she asked, staring at me intensely.
"Trust you?" I repeat, now knowing that I'm completely cornered. "Where are we going to, Marcela?" I asked carefully. I stare back at her, trying to read her expression, trying to get anything out of the parables that she was speaking in.
"We are running away," she answers, holding my gaze.
My eyebrows shoot up in shock. "You're kidding, right?" I asked with a nervous laugh, looking at her closely for any hint that she is joking. However, the serious look in her eyes told me otherwise.
"We are leaving. We have to leave now, tonight," Marcela stands up, making the decision all by herself. It's like she grew wings, I thought, watching her as she randomly stuffed some of the stuff into a luggage.
"Wait, hold on!" I rush forward, holding her hand, stopping her. "I can't just leave," I say. "This is my home."
"Is this really?" she countered, glaring at me now. "Is it your home because you are with a man you love, or because he's giving you false hope? Is this your home if you know that he will eventually reject you for carrying another man's child?"
I stumble back from her, her words cutting deeply into me. I'm unable to make out words for a moment. We just stare at each other, and I'm shocked beyond measure.
"I'm sorry," Marcela said, her eyes filled with regret. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, and I didn't mean it that way."
"No, you did," I say, my voice eerily calm as I turned around.
"The real reason why your parents were killed..." I immediately turned to face her, my head snapping up in shock. Why would she suddenly bring that up now? I thought to myself.
"It was because they were trying to protect someone. You hold powers that you don't know about, Lola," she says, reaching for my hand, her expression soft like I was her little sister that she was trying to protect.
"Those powers that people are after," she continues. "Tyler is after those powers. He believes that you are the one holding it. He would sacrifice you for his plans," she says, and somehow I believe her. Somehow I should trust her over the man who saved my life.
"I'll tell you everything about it," she promised, "but you have to trust me just this once. You have to come with me. We have to run away tonight."
"It will take me a while to process all this," I say as honestly as I can, stepping back from her. "But I... I think I should trust in her much more than myself." It's like a feeling that I have, one that says that I should follow her.
I wondered what I would say to Tyler, what he would think of me when I suddenly disappeared, but I doubted there was enough time to think of that. There wasn't even time to weigh the decisions carefully. I had to run away before it got too late.
Marcela stayed around in the room for a while. We didn't really talk about the tense situation, but I did try to lighten the conversation and just stay around trying to bring back the casual air from the afternoon. She cracked a joke a couple of times, but there was still the unspoken tension in the air.
I decided not to press her for answers. She already told me that she was going to tell me all about it later. It was an unfamiliar feeling, trusting someone blindly, but I decided that I would take my chances in this one. After all, Marcela had done nothing but stick by me ever since. There was no reason not to trust her.
Finally, the sun began to set against the horizon. "I've got to go," Marcela said, standing up from the bed. "We'll meet in the usual place," she said. I nodded in understanding, knowing the place that she was referring to. With that, Marcela slipped quietly out of the room.