Chapter 6: Not A Dream

<p>"Guards, Don't let her come into my study again!"<br/>"How did you get here? Who let you in? Guards!"<br/>"You're not a family. You don't belong here! Go away!"<br/>"I'm extremely busy. Don't pester me. Please Leave, Lady Whitford."<br/>All those words were coming running in to her mind as the heart-wrenching images kept on playing like a pile of broken movie scenes.<br/>"Why? Why? Why? WHYYYYY? AHHHHHHHH!"<br/>Evelyn sat up with a startle as her body shook violently. Both Winter and Albert also woke up due to their daughter's screams.<br/>The first thing that they was, Evelyn panting heavily as she was clutching the cloth piece near her heart. Her body shaking heavily as if she was scared... terrified of something.<br/>Winter immediately hugged her daughter from behind, "What's wrong, Baby? Did you have nightmares? It's okay no-"<br/>"Mo- mo- momma?" Evelyn asked hesitantly as she reached out and held Winter's hand that's circling her chest. Her voice shaking as if she was trying to confirm something important.<br/>"Yes, Baby?" Winter's heart ached as she saw her once lively daughter in that state.<br/>"Momma?" Evelyn asked softly as she leaned in Winter's warm embrace and clutching her mother's hands tightly.<br/>"Yes, I'm here, my child."<br/>"Mommaaa," Evelyn breathed out heavily as if she was relieved of something and then started to cry while calling Winter countless times. In return, Winter kept on patting her back softly and answering her call everytime.<br/>At the side, Duke Albert looked at the scene and didn't know what to do for a while. His butler and guards used to say that each time Evelyn faced something bad, she would look for him first.<br/>Even when they used to come across coincidentally, she would abandon everyone, even her own mother and come running towards him like a moth to the fire.<br/>But this time, his daughter didn't. She even didn't even glance at his way and kept on looking for Winter. Worst, looking at the situation, she didn't even notice he's sitting right beside her. He suddenly felt so lost as he didn't know how to initiate a conversation with this daughter of his.<br/>Looking at the mother and daughter duo, he felt like he's a complete stranger and an invisible wall was separating him from his wife and daughter. They have their own world and he's an outcast!<br/>What should he do? He's worried about Evelyn too...<br/>After a lot of thinking, he hesitantly placed his large hand on Evelyn's head to console her.<br/>But the moment he started to pat her head, Evelyn let out a surprise cry for the sudden unfamiliar touch on her.<br/>All her nerves got tensed as she slowly turned to look at the owner of the hand. But the moment, she saw the owner of the hand, her eyes widened and then....<br/>"Ahhhh! Momma! Save me!" Evelyn shook violently in fear. She shook her head to shake off the hand on her head as she hugged her mother tightly. Cold sweat covered her body as she remembered what the man in front of her did to kill her with his men.<br/>"Evelyn, I-"<br/>Albert wanted to say something, but before he could say something, Evelyn let out another terrified scream as she curled up in her mother's embrace, "Momma, please ask him to go away. I don't want to die, Don't want to die. Please Momma! He'll kill me! He'll kill me with them! Please save me, Momma! Please!"<br/>As she spoke, she cried harder, getting all tensed.<br/>Winter was at lost of words. She didn't know what's going on with her daughter. But the moment she realized the depth of her daughter's words, she remembered the incident in the palace. She coldly glanced at the duke who was too stunned to speak as she tactically slapped away the hand that was about to touch her daughter again.<br/>"My Lord, I think Evelyn is still traumatized. She needs to calm down. She isn't in the right state of mind to see everyone other than the familiar faces."<br/>Meaning: Your presence is scaring her. Please Leave.<br/>Duke Albert understood the words of his wife clearly. But he still couldn't seem to believe it. The little girl who would always come running towards him whenever she would get a chance, how can she be scared of him, her own father?<br/>And Winter... what's wrong with her. He had been with her for 15 whole f*cking years! She had never behaved so rudely with him before! Why is she being like this? It's as if like she.. hates him.<br/>No! It can't be. They.. They love him.... right?<br/>"I-"<br/>"My Lord, Please. I don't want anything anymore, just my daughter to be safe and sound," Winter cut Albert off before he could say anything more.<br/>The Duke felt something wrong with Winter's words but he couldn't pin point it. With pursed lips, he glanced at his youngest daughter for one last time, before getting up from the bed. With a heavy sigh he walked towards the door and walked out.<br/>And then it only hit him. He scoffed at her behaviour from earlier! Hah! Just what was he doing!?<br/>Was he feeling pity for that disgusting duo?<br/>The woman who schemed against him to get under him? And the girl who hurt his daughter Amelia all the time?<br/>Had he finally gone nuts with overwork?<br/>But before he could take further steps away from the room, he heard his wife calling out for his daughter's personal maid, Kesi.<br/>All the self-mocking words from earlier vanished as new self mocking words came in his mind.<br/>A bitter smile made it's way on his lips. So, his daughter is more comfortable with a maid's presence but not his?<br/>As he thought of those words, he heard his inner self mocking him, "Because you were never there for the fifteen years of her life. You don't deserve her! Now you're a monster to her!"<br/>Pang!<br/>He felt as if his inner self just stabbed him with a sharp object.<br/>He suddenly had a feeling that he's too close of losing something precious. And he didn't know what it was.... Or perhaps he know... He just didn't want to believe it...yet.</p>