WAKING UP FROM PAIN

Annabelle's body suddenly froze as the wooden door to her room creaked again. A man with golden brown eyes came into his room and looked at him. Eyes he was so familiar with but now in a different position. It was not the man named Simon who was standing before him, but Lord Albert Louis, Duke of Hamilton who was staring at him.

After knowing his identity, for some reason Lord Louis was so domineering and intimidating in their meeting. The man looks very authoritative and powerful. Annabelle struggled to sit up and ignored the pain in her head. With all his might, he bowed his body respectfully.

"My apologies, My Lord. I don't know if you are Lord Albert Louis, Duke of Hamilton. How stupid of me to not recognize you at all. Even when you gave me your coat, I didn't realize it belonged to a Duke," said Annabelle, very politely.

"What's the matter with you, Miss Annabelle? Did the bump on your head make you so polite to me?" Albert asked the beautiful woman in front of him, the woman who made his breath catch for a moment.

As his eyes met Annabelle's clear blue eyes, the passion within him seemed to be about to explode. Especially with her messy golden hair, Annabelle's very thin long nightgown and her sitting position on the bed with a white mosquito net that matched her nightgown, as if inviting Albert to pounce on her.

"Back then I didn't know you were a Duke, I didn't expect you to be Lord Albert Louis, the most wanted man in this city. I dare not speak rudely to you."

Albert, who heard Annabelle's polite words, immediately laughed. "Miss Annabelle, I have seen you many times with your impolite behavior. Now you look so cute and adorable when you're being polite to me," Albert said as he approached Annabelle.

"Thank you, My Lord. I take it as a compliment to me," Annabelle replied, blushing. He knew that his attitude in front of Albert was embarrassing.

"Am I really praising you? I'm making fun of you, Miss Annabelle," Albert said matter-of-factly. It was really annoying, when Annabelle acted like an ordinary noblewoman.

"I know that, My Lord," answered Annabelle, admitting it. Knowing that Albert was getting closer to her, Annabelle inched backwards. "Stop, My Lord! My body is very dirty, I have to clean my body before meeting you. I don't even know how long I've been lying in this bed," said Annabelle who stopped Albert in his tracks.

It would be very rude to meet a duke with a dirty body and full of sweat.

"Almost 5 days you have been lying here. I was so worried about you, afraid that you wouldn't wake up again. Your face is very pale, and your pulse is very weak."

"WHAT 5 DAYS?" shouted Annabelle without her knowing it in a loud voice. It made Albert frown, as if he got a shout from Annabelle.

Annabelle who realized this, bowed again. "My apologies, My Lord. I didn't mean to yell at you, but I have to go home right now. Otherwise, I will lose my estate," Annabelle said.

He quickly tried to get out of bed, but the throbbing in his head was getting more and more painful. Before her feet touched the floor, Annabelle's body swayed.

Luckily before Annabelle's body fell to the floor, Albert's strong hands had grabbed her and held her. Annabelle's still weak body drooped in Albert's arms. Those clear blue eyes only looked at Albert for a moment and then closed again.

"Shit" Albert cursed as Annabelle passed out in his arms again. Albert shouted for his servant who was standing outside Annabelle's room.

The maid stumbled into the room. "Yes, My Lord," said the servant, bowing.

"Call Gerard! Quickly get him to make a potion for Annabelle," Albert ordered.

"Okay, My Lord," said the servant who then withdrew from before his Master and ran to call Gerard. A well-known doctor who has served the Louis family for decades. He can treat various ailments with the potions he makes.

Albert waited anxiously, as Gerard handled Annabelle. He paced back and forth in the middle of Annabelle's bedroom. "How is the condition?" asked Albert after seeing Gerard move away from Annabelle's bed.

"Miss Annabelle's pupils, respond well, My Lord. We'll just have to wait for it to develop. The impact on her head was so hard, it made Miss Annabelle lose consciousness. I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Well then, you may go now," Albert ordered to Gerard.

Gerard bowed respectfully and left Annabelle's room.

"Clean Annabelle's body and change into clean clothes," Albert's voice came again, commanding his servant. He went out of Annabelle's room to meet Simon.

"Have you taken care of it?" Albert asked Simon.

"Already My Lord. News of your engagement to Miss Annabelle has started to spread. I've also told the Taylors that Miss Annabelle is in this castle."

"Very nice. Has there been a reaction from Falkner?"

"Nothing so far, My Lord. I hear that Falkner is seeking help and voting support when he appeals to parliament."

"Who do you think Falkner was invited to work with?"

"I don't know, My Lord. In my opinion, he will look for a parliamentary person whom he can bribe to win the land he wants to seize."

"I'll find out who Falkner is working with. Prepare the money for the ransom of Miss Taylor's estate. I don't want the estate to be taken by Falkner. We secure first, the land that we are sure we will win."

"Very well, My Lord."

***

Annabelle's eyes opened and realized that she had passed out in Albert's arms. Luckily, the pain in his head was much less. Although his face still looked pale, a tinge of redness was visible on the top of his nose and cheeks.

As Annabelle turned towards the tall window in her room. There was a man standing under the window. His eyes stared into the dark night outside the window. The moonlight was already dim, not as round as it was during the dance.

"My Lord," Annabelle muttered under her breath.

Albert who heard it, immediately turned his body, looking at the source of the voice. Quickly, Albert walked over to Annabelle's bed. His hand touched Annabelle's pale face.

Albert's lips immediately brushed against Annabelle's, as if giving new strength to it. Even the effect of all the potions that entered Annabelle's body was not as great as the effect of Albert's sweep of lips.

Annabelle seemed to be in a fairy tale sleeping princess, with a kiss on the lips of her prince, she would wake up. Does it taste like this? Although Albert was not a prince, he was a prince to Annabelle.

Her charm shattered Annabelle's self-control. Since the first time Annabelle had seen this man's golden brown eyes in the forest, since then her heart had been locked. A duke had taken her heart, and now it was a duke with smacking his lips.

Annabelle's hands gripped tightly on the blanket covering her body, as if it were her last line of defense, because she didn't know what would happen once this lip licking was over. Annabelle tried to muster her sanity, but still Albert's lips took her again. Keeps him complacent.

When they finally ran out of breath, Albert took his lips away from Annabelle's. "Don't worry me anymore, My Lady. Get well soon and we will get married."

"What? Married?" said Annabelle looking shocked.

"Yes, My Lady, you will soon be Lady Louis," said Albert with piercing eyes at Annabelle.

Annabelle's heart was beating wildly, her ears were ringing. Is it true that Lord Albert Louis will marry her? A duke who was chased by many women would marry a poor woman who was in debt, with a tainted status.

The blue eyes stared in disbelief. Annabelle was still frozen as the lips brushed against hers again.

"Go to sleep, make yourself healthy. Once healthy, you can go home to tell everything to your family and servants. And don't worry about your estate, I've redeemed it from Falkner."

Annabelle was still silent and frozen, Albert's words were like a spell that made her unable to move.

When the wooden door in her room closed and Albert was out, Annabelle just woke up.

"What happened while I was asleep?" She muttered to his empty room. She was the only one sitting like an idiot in the middle of the room.

***