Chapter 81 - I don't exist?

Isabela

"Rau! Raul! Are you all right?" My shout made her return to her position, leaving my bodyguard lying on the forest floor with his back against the trunk of that immense tree.

"Damn it! Didn't you get lost, or were you eaten by wolves?" The woman, who was restless, turned to me, holding a dagger in her right hand. Her question showed that seeing me in the same place as her and my bodyguard, was the last thing the cretin wanted.

"Go away, miss…" I heard Raul whisper.

"Where are the others who were with you? What happened? Where's the duke?"

"Hell... go away and leave me!"

"Come to think of it, now that the duchess has caught me red-handed, I can't let you go." She took a few steps towards me, which made me take two steps back.

"What are you doing, Ana? Have you lost your sanity? This man is the duke's best friend, believe me, when he shows up here, you'll feel what it's like..."

"Oh, shut up! Your voice is getting on my nerves! Whether the duke is alive or not, to hell with him, Fernando has more important things to worry about, like his own life." Ana raised her hand and pointed the dagger in my direction. I could feel all her anger in that sad look and in the sharp point of the weapon she was swinging dangerously close to me.

I took a few more steps backwards, my heart beating fast, my head exploding with negative emotions and thoughts, and my breathing becoming increasingly difficult as I saw myself about to be murdered by that scary smile. Finally, my back hit a tree trunk as my eyes desperately searched for a solution that would allow me to defeat her. What could I do to get around this situation and not only save myself, but also save Raul? If I had a knife, she wouldn't have the advantage all to herself.

"Lady Hanover! What do you want? I have a chest full of precious jewels." I said without thinking, what a stupid question.

"Please wake up! I don't need your jewels; I need knowledge. I want to live forever." She replied without looking away from me. "And the Duchess can't give me that."

Behind her, I noticed that Raul had started to move, maybe, even if he was wounded and dying, he could save us. All I had to do was keep her focused on me.

"What do you mean by living forever?"

"What happened to the woman in the future, huh?"

"What?"

"Those two bastards weren't good enough for her, but I warned her."

"Right, calm down. What or who are you talking about, miss?"

"Apart from being annoying, you're a foolish woman! It's clear that something has happened to you." I managed to keep her furious gaze fixed on me, while Raul stood up, with a wound on his abs. From where I was standing, I knew he wasn't well at all.

But she was right. What happened to me was that I didn't suspect anything, that conversation was strange, and everything indicates that I was a fool to divert the present moment from my dark past.

"The two scoundrels are Filipe and Jaime."

"Congratulations! Good girl, but I must admit it took you a while to realize it, didn't it?" She smiled, which made me angry.

"I see, apart from the two of them, you're just another piece in that woman's game."

"Understand as you see fit. But the duchess still doesn't understand anything that's going on today, isn't?"

"And to think that the duke and I gave your benevolence a chance."

"Are you disappointed, dear? But don't worry about a thing, after I've finished with you and your friend over there, nothing will be more than a bad dream for you. After that, you'll be reborn somewhere else and take over the body and mind of another poor woman, just like you always have, after all, you don't have your own body, and you never will."

"Do you think I'm a book for you to flip through and study? Come on, you know too much about my life, even more than I do. Where did you get the idea that I don't have a body?"

"Your daughter is much smarter than you, and she told me everything." She spoke, and Raul approached, holding a branch.

"She's fooling you, there's no such thing as living forever."

"Lucia promised me; I know she'll keep it." Ana shouted loudly. "You're both eternal, aren't you? Why can't I be too?"

"I feel sorry for you, that woman is a shameless villain, she has her own goals, and you're nowhere near her priority. Lucia will use you until she has to, and then discard you."

"She wouldn't do that."

"How well do you know her? What daughter plots against her own mother?"

"This family problem between you doesn't interest me!" She shouted again.

"Hey, hey, easy with that knife, girl!" She moved closer. What the hell, why doesn't Raul just finish her off?

He's too slow!

"Why did you have to show up, huh? If it wasn't enough that I had to accept Lucia's flirtation with the duke, then you show up and completely steal him away from me? What the hell, I hate you!"

"It's fine for you to hate me, but put the knife down!"

"Shut up! How can the duke be so fond of a woman who doesn't even exist? You're just a wandering spirit who will never really know what death is."

"You don't know anything about who I am."

"Oh, believe me, I know more than you do. It was because you got involved with a human that Lucia was born, according to her. She said that it couldn't have happened and that you broke the rule. So the only one to blame for the chaos in your life is yourself!"

But, between you and me, what was my daughter up to with this dirty game? Was it just another move by Lucia to undermine me? I understood every word Ana said, but I confess I can't accept it. How can I not exist, when I remember my very well-being as the Joana of the 21st century?

"Really, you were completely fooled by that asshole."

"I know you wouldn't accept that; Lucia said so too, so explain to me: while you were controlling that other woman from the 21st century, did you feel in total control or was it as if you were sailing a boat? You're at sea, but it's not you who's floating, it's the boat."

What a complicated situation! I don't exist? Am I just an anomaly in the universe, then? But then again, she's right. Even living as Joana, I feel as if I'm not me in that body. Does what Ana de Hanover is saying make sense?

Before she could approach, Raul hit Ana on the head with the piece of wood, causing her to faint.

"The duke needs your help..." He said it breathlessly and fell backwards, lying on the ground, my bodyguard pointing the other way. "Don't pay any attention to what that woman said, Fernando is being hunted by her. The nobleman who was with Ana is actually Lucia Ortiz."