Chapter Fifteen

#Chapter Fifteen

He had shot up from that position almost immediately after she ended up underneath him, his expression awkward and words frantic. She got to her feet afterwards and he led her back to the mansion, where she cleaned up. Now, it was several days down the road and it was another night of loneliness.

She had just visited her father. She had dinner with him and he asked her repeatedly throughout the dinner when he would be able to hug his grandchild. She purposely dodged his question but he brought it up so much that it became impossible not to address. She simply gave him some ridiculous excuse, and he frowned at her for what must have been the millionth time.

Seated at the bar in her mansion, she poured herself a glass of whiskey and downed it in an instant. Frustrated, she ran through her incessant thoughts again before she came to a decision. She hollered for her maid and when she came over, she instructed her to invite Lachlan over. When Lachlan arrived, she dismissed the maid and she poured him some whiskey.

"Are you sure I get to drink this? Is it poisoned?" Lachlan asked her.

"It's not," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Go ahead, I just wanted to talk to somebody."

"Frank is in his study."

"He's busy. And it's Your Lordship."

"Fine," he said. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Do you ever feel like you're suffocating? Like you can't breathe all the time?"

"Because of?"

"Because of nothing and everything. Like your heart is always beating fast, and you can't seem to slow it down no matter what you do. Like you're lying on a bed but it seems like your heart thinks that you're running a marathon."

"I can't say I've ever felt that way. Are you talking about yourself?"

"I am."

"Is there an event that preceded those feelings that might have something to do with why you're feeling this way?"

"I don't know."

"How are you feeling now?"

"I was feeling horrible when I woke up but it got better as time went on. Now, I'm feeling horrible again but for another reason."

"What reason?"

She didn't say anything.

"I know life can get hard sometimes," Lachlan said. "Hardship is common to man. Everyone has high moments and low moments. It's completely fine to take a break every now and then. People who care don't matter and - " Lachlan trailed off into silence as he stared down at his hand. His hand was holding onto his glass of whiskey and Serene had placed one finger on top of his, tracing it around his skin in circles.