Finding Him

31l Living Again

Hadassah knew her legs carried her forward but she failed to pay attention to where it was they were leading her. She instead found herself trapped in a different time, a time she hated to relive in that moment, but she knew she was powerless against the memory. She was standing before Daniel, clad in an oversized, old wedding dress. She had been nervous, but not uncertain. She had known as she stood before him, his handsome figure standing tall before her, that she wanted a real marriage. She wanted a marriage built on love. Then, he had kissed her and in that second, she had desired nothing more than more of his kisses.

“Lady Hadley?”

Her eyes snapped up, confused at the unfamiliar frowning face before her. His brown eyes seemed to be searching hers for something.

“Is this true, are you unmarried? Do you consent to this marriage to Lord Julius Talbot, shall we proceed?”

His questions reminded her of where she was and why she was there. Sighing softly, she remembered her resolution to go on with the marriage and nodded to his questions. His frown deepened, his eyes searching hers for signs of deceit.

“To verify this, Lady Hadley...”

“There is nothing to verify!” Julius snapped.

The Reverend offered Julius an annoyed look before turning back to Hadassah, his features soft. “Bigamy is a crime, Lady Hadley, I cannot conduct such a marriage given your claims unless you assure me you were never married...”

“...I realize now that it can only mean I love you.” The words drifted to her ears, drowning out the voice of the Reverend. She remembered that night quite clearly, it was the night they consummated their marriage, the night he told her he loved her.

Did she respond to Daniel's words that evening? Wincing, she realized she didn't, she didn't tell him she loved him too. She should have pulled him into her embrace and confessed to loving him but she didn't. She would marry his brother and have him believe for the rest of his life that she never loved him.

A sense of dread and desperation washed over her. She couldn't marry Julius when she hadn't made her love for Daniel known! Surely her marriage to Julius would restrict her from telling Daniel the truth about how she felt and for some reason, she wanted him to know the truth.

Backing away, she shook her head.

“Hadassah!” Julius' warning voice sounded from beside her but she was already back away. “I can't, he doesn't know...” She mumbled, gathering her skirt in her hand and turning to the empty room but for the presence of her uncle who stood glaring at her.

Ignoring Julius' warnings and threats, she raced down the aisle and out of the door; she couldn't get married when Daniel had no idea she was in love with him.

Knowing there was nowhere to run, she settled in the waiting carriage, heart pounding. A few minutes passed before her uncle was settled beside her, his fingers clenched into fists, green veins visible. A part of her expected him to lash out at her for ruining the wedding yet again and if he didn't, she fully expected Julius to do so. But then the carriage started moving with neither her uncle speaking about the incidence, nor Julius showing up to the carriage.

The movement of the carriage was slow, most likely as a result of the snow that littered the roads. Hadassah reveled in the coolness of the breeze that caressed her face giving her an illusion of freedom. When the carriage began to slow down, she leaned her head against the window and sighed at the misery she knew awaited her in the estate. She would never see Daniel again and she would eventually be forced to marry Julius. It was a lost battle. Yet, she found herself fighting, a part of her unwilling to surrender.

The carriage pulled to a halt and a few seconds later, the door was swinging open, letting in a gust of wind. Hadassah didn't wait for her uncle to climb down, before taking the hand of the footman and climbing down. She was tired and in need of a few hours of rest.

Her feet had barely made contact with the ground when a loud shrill caught her attention. She turned to the side and was immediately being engulfed by something.

“Hadassah!” She stiffed, recognizing the voice, yet fearing she was simply imagining it. The arms around her tightened, pulling her closer. “Oh dear child, oh dear!”

“Dasa?”

Pulling away suddenly, she turned her attention to the voice that beckoned her. The second her eyes caught sight of him, tears sprang to her eyes, her feet planted to the ground.

“Dasa,” His hands beat the air before him as if in search of her.

Surely she was dreaming, she cried, willing her feet to take her to him. Yet, she found that all she could do was stand there, staring at him as he beat the air in a failed attempt to take hold of her. A hand settled on the small of her back and she immediately knew it was Leah. They found her! Her tears flowed easily down her face. They found her!

Daniel continued to beat the air and take cautious steps forward until he reached where she stood and his fingers brushed her arm, sending a slight wave of heat through her skin.

“Dasa!” His hands took firm grip of her shoulders, pulling her weak body forward until she was crumbling into his arms. “Dasa.” He leaned on her hair, her trembling arms encircling him.

For several minutes, they stood still in the midst of the snow, trapped in each other's arms and weeping together.

“Daniel?” She whispered against his tear stained chest, the result of her tears.

“I'm here.” Was his simple response before cupping her face in his hands and capturing her lips. His kiss was all she needed, she thought, melting further into his arms as she responded to his kiss, it was all she needed to live again.

Copyright © 2018 Lily Orevba All rights reserved.

A/N

Hey guys, again my life is a busy mess of school and trying to keep up my grades. I'm terribly busy and can hardly find the time to write. Again, I apologize for the sparse updates, I'll try to update as often as I can.

Meanwhile, how have you been? Did you have a good day? What's the most exciting thing in your life right now? For me, it's looking forward to finishing school and I'm this close.

I hope you are gracious enough to vote and leave a comment behind, I really appreciate all your support. Thank you so much.