Chapter 123 The Good-bye
Chapter 120
Lyra's POV.
Caramel's eyes grew big. Her pupils shriveled into tiny specks. Her entire face turned white, with the color draining out like water from a broken cup.
She surged forward, grasping for the rope. Her fingers were shaking so violently that she nearly dropped it twice. She grasped the rope and wrapped it around her wrists. Over and beneath; around and through. She used her teeth to yank the end tight.
The rope dug into her skin, turning it white and then red. She wrapped additional rope over her mouth and pulled it between her teeth. The knot squeezed against her cheeks, making her face pucker up.
I stood a few paces back. Both of my hands were now gripping the rifle. My arms are straight. The barrel pointed directly at her face. I could see her eyes above the rope gag, big and teary. I intended to make her death worse than Astra's.
I wanted her to experience the misery she had caused me. I wanted her to suffer in the same way that I had. But I did not have time. Jax would be here shortly. He was probably already looking around the house for me.
Bang! Bang!!
The sound made us both freeze. Someone was at the door.
I didn't need to tell Caramel to stay quiet. She could see the gun. She knew exactly what would happen if she made even the smallest sound.
Bang! Bang!! Louder now. More insistent.
"Madam, I'm sorry your tea is late," a voice called from behind the door. Female. Young. Not Freya's voice. Freya would never come near this room. Only Freya and I knew what was about to happen here. What had to happen.
"I had to follow the master to town to pick up your dress from the seamstress," the voice continued.
My heart stopped. Then started again, beating twice as fast. The master. Ryder. He was home. He was in the house right now.
My chest tightened. I couldn't let him see me. Not now. Not yet. Not until this was finished.
Everything in the room became still. The air felt thick and heavy. Even the dust floating in the sunlight seemed to freeze in place. Caramel threw her bound hands over her mouth, pressing down hard. Her eyes squeezed shut.
We waited. Five seconds. Ten. Twenty. The silence stretched out like a rubber band pulled tight.
I could hear breathing on the other side of the door. Slow. Patient. Waiting.
Then, click, click, click. Footsteps. The maid was walking away. The sound grew quieter and quieter until it disappeared completely.
I let out a long, slow breath. My shoulders dropped just a little. The tension eased, but only for a moment.
"Move to the bed," I said. My voice was steady. Calm. Like I was asking her to pass the salt at dinner.
"Please, Rosa," Caramel begged. The words came out muffled and wet, distorted by the rope in her mouth and the tears streaming down her face.
I didn't move. Didn't blink. The gun stayed pointed at her face.
She knew. She knew I would pull the trigger. She knew I meant every single word.
Caramel pushed herself up from the floor. Her legs wobbled beneath her, shaking like a newborn deer trying to stand for the first time. She crawled onto the bed, her tied hands making every movement awkward and clumsy.
"Turn your face into the bed," I said. "Spread your legs wide. The way Ryder made you do it, you idiot."
Caramel's body went completely still for just a heartbeat. Then she moved. She turned over, pressing her face deep into the mattress. Her back arched up. Her legs spread apart, trembling.
I moved to the side of the bed. Earlier, I’d cut the rope in half. Now I picked up the remaining length and secured her ankles to the bedposts, one to each side. I tightened the knots until the rope groaned under the strain. Escape wasn’t an option.
I climbed onto the mattress, feeling it dip beneath me.
Caramel’s back arched unnaturally, her body folded in on itself, reduced to something small and defenseless. Her face was pressed into the mattress. She tried to speak, but only muffled sounds came out.
I grabbed two pillows from the tangled sheets, large, soft, uselessly decorative, and forced them down over her head. Hard. Her body jolted violently beneath me.
Bang! Bang!
Two shots exploded. The sound was sharp but not too loud. The pillows swallowed most of the noise. If anyone heard, they would think it was a vase breaking. A dish falling. Normal house sounds.
Bang! Bang!
Two more shots. Feathers burst out from small holes in the pillow fabric. They floated up into the air, drifting down like snow in winter.
"Rosa, stop!"
A voice. Loud. Furious. Male.
"Open the door! Open it now, or I'll break it down!"
Ryder's voice. Right outside. His fist pounded on the door. Boom, boom, boom.
My heart hammered in my chest. My hands were still on the pillows. Still gripping the gun.
Ryder was at the door, and he was not going to wait much longer.