Selena didn't know how much time had passed, but she felt as if her body weighed a ton, with clothes clinging damply to her skin. Her forehead and arms throbbed with pain. As her mind cleared, she noticed the smell of damp earth and the sound of rain dripping onto the ground. Has it started raining outside? When did this happen? She let out a soft moan and instinctively called out, "Mariana…"The moment the words left her lips, she jolted awake. Remembering the chase by those people, Selena scrambled to her feet in a panic. As she rose, she felt a sharp pain in her hand, realizing she had scraped her wrist against the ground. Though it wasn't bleeding much, it stung fiercely. Her knees also throbbed with dull pain, likely bruised from the fall.But she couldn't dwell on her injuries now. Frantically, she looked around. The sky was dimly lit, and she could see raindrops falling outside, yet she seemed to be sheltered from the rain by something above her head. She hurriedly looked up and
Two days later, in the middle of the night in the mountains, a woman cautiously held her clothes, glancing back every few steps until she heard no sound, then she breathed a sigh of relief and hastened her pace. She remembered seeing a shallow forest pool nearby during the day, and after two days without bathing, she felt uncomfortable all over and sticky. The man had been around her all the time, so she had no time to clean herself until she could sneak away while he slept at midnight.The mountain path was difficult to navigate during the day, let alone at night, but luckily the moon was bright that night, so she could see clearly. When she saw the reflection of the lake, Selena's eyes lit up, and she quickened her pace. She regretted her decision to come here instead of hiding in a nearby town. She couldn't believe that after rescuing Mariana, the man had simply sent her away without bringing her along or finding someone to take care of her. She had to travel through the mountains
"Do you think all men are so easily deceived?" His voice was cold and somewhat hoarse as it echoed in her ear. "Why were you rummaging through your clothes, your belt, that day? And why were you secretly hiding the money from me? Huh? Were you planning to run away as soon as we left the mountains? Or did you think I was unaware of your every move?""No, no, no, it's not like that! I can give you money, all of it, I'll go back to Beerspa city with you, just take me back…"Selena felt like a cornered rabbit with no way to escape. No matter how she hunched her shoulders and hugged her chest, she inevitably touched the chest of the person behind her. The man's strong and forceful presence, combined with the shivering sensation of their skin touching, made her heart tremble slightly, and she was almost too scared to speak."No need." The man behind her coldly chuckled, "I suddenly realized another type of guarantee could work too. Today happens to be the day we planned our wedding. Spending
After descending the mountain and crossing two ridges, there were more carriages on the road. Not far from the town, there was a village known for its simple folk. Since it was a route commonly used by merchants entering the capital, many villagers were willing to provide accommodation and food for a f*e.Selena and Lucio temporarily stayed at the home of a widow named Alice. Lucio carefully cradled the sleeping Selena. Alice hurriedly ushered them into the house, which, although a rural dwelling, was surprisingly clean and tidy.Treating the woman as if she were a precious treasure, Lucio laid her gently on the soft bedding, despite being covered in mud himself after spending half a day taking care of her. He hastily left after giving Alice some money and a few instructions.Alice naturally agreed to his requests one by one, feeling quite satisfied with the money she received. However, when she opened the pouch later, she was startled. Oh my goodness, she had never seen gold coins in
In the afternoon, a carriage hurriedly arrived at Alice's doorstep. Jose, with an anxious expression, and Thomas jumped off the carriage. Seeing his daughter standing at the door, Jose finally breathed a sigh of relief. These days, he and Maria had been frantically searching for her. Thankfully, Lucio had sent a message back, and after days of sleepless travel, they finally arrived here.Seeing his daughter pulling on his arm like she did when she was a child, her tears seemed to be on the verge of falling, what could a father say? Eventually, all the worries and hardships of the past few days were condensed into a deep sigh.After leaving Alice's house, despite urging the horse on, it still took six days to return to Beerspa City. From afar, he saw Maria, who was almost seven months pregnant, standing at the door, anxiously looking out. Seeing the carriage, her face became nervous.Upon seeing Selena, Maria's expression changed several times, but eventually she turned and went inside
Her departure from home had been kept secret, with the story being that she was confined to her room with a contagious rash. Luckily, she had returned safely.Initially, everyone in the neighborhood knew about Selena's engagement to Lucio and their impending wedding. However, it was strange that there had been no word from Lucio for two months, and the wedding plans seemed to be falling apart. Now, many people in the town were making fun of Selena, despite her successful business ventures. They speculated that there must be something wrong with Selena, and Mr. Simeone was not pleased.Maria had been looking increasingly worn out and troubled lately. It was understandable, considering her beautiful daughter was now without any suitors, and Lucio had suddenly disappeared. Mr. Selena had visited Lucio's mansion several times, but the gatekeepers always claimed Lucio hadn't returned yet. It had been two months already, and it was clear he was just making excuses. But what could they do?Me
Upon hearing what the young servant girl said, he was stunned for a moment, then turned to the man beside him, Lucio, said, “Lucio, even though I considered you as my elder brother, is this how you treat me? Did you know about the woman I admire, and you just looked by silently?”Lucio, upon hearing this, raised an eyebrow and stared at Hector with his eyes as black as night, then extended his hand and gestured with his finger, “You want to know? Come here, I'll tell you…”Hector, upon hearing this, was taken aback for a moment, then immediately closed his mouth in disbelief and approached Lucio. Lucio smirked and said, “She's… your sister-in-law.” With that, he punched Hector in the stomach with his injured right arm, and a dull thud resounded. Hector immediately screamed in pain and doubled over, clutching his abdomen.Although Lucio remained composed after the punch, blood began to seep from the bandaged area on his arm. He glanced at the piece of jewelry the girl had picked up earl
Selena cried for the whole afternoon, and without any appetite, she went to bed early in the evening. The rain poured down all day, and even at night, it continued heavily, making the air humid and uncomfortable. Mariana had to leave the window slightly open before leaving to let in some fresh air.After taking a bath, Selena lay on her side facing the inside of the bed, with the pillow slightly damp. She fell asleep eventually, but in the middle of the night, she was awakened by a sudden gust of cold wind blowing through the window. Thinking the window might have been blown open, she lifted the thin blanket and was about to sit up. However, as she turned her head, she saw a dark figure standing at the head of the bed. Instantly, her eyes widened in shock, and she was about to call for help.But then she saw the person leaning down, using his hand to support her slightly plump chin, and forcefully kissing her sweet red lips. Despite initially trembling with fear, Selena recognized the
At this moment, she was both shocked and afraid, too late to think about how the fire started. Her mind was in chaos, and her last thought was of the child in her belly. She felt her heart and courage shattered, tears streaming down uncontrollably, but soon they were dried up by the flames.As the fire grew bigger and bigger, she felt surrounded and trapped in the inferno. Despair engulfed her, and even though she covered her nose and mouth with a wet cloth, she knew she couldn't hold out for long in the intense heat. Looking at the piled blankets on the bed and thinking of the flesh and blood in her womb, Selena gritted her teeth. She was determined to fight, either to burn to death or to escape alive with her child.Just as she took a few steps back, preparing to close her eyes and charge forward, the door suddenly burst open with a loud bang, as if someone had kicked it from outside. A figure rushed in.The comer was none other than Lucio, who had been too busy to come home for dinn
The morning sunlight streamed through the window into the room as Selena and Lucio got up early to prepare for a special day — the baptism ceremony of Selena's brother, Adrés. Selena wore an exquisite dress, smiling as she held hands with Lucio in the carriage, feeling full of anticipation.The carriage slowly made its way through the streets of the town and soon arrived at the church. The baptism ceremony proceeded solemnly and warmly, with family members gathering together to witness this special moment. Adrés was cleansed with holy water, appearing incredibly sacred and pure. Selena and Lucio felt immensely happy and content in their hearts.After the ceremony, the family gathered together to enjoy a lavish lunch, with the table filled with various delicacies. However, when it was Selena's turn to taste the food, she felt nauseous and had no appetite, hardly able to eat anything. Her face turned pale, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, indicating obvious discomfort.L
Perhaps feeling refreshed and comfortable without any sweat on his body, the man nodded in agreement. Selena supported his arm and helped him lean against the edge of the bed, although he didn't really need her help, as he was able to prop himself up with his own arm strength. With her limited strength, she couldn't even move his body.After a while, when the meal was brought in, Selena smelled the aroma of the food and heard the man's stomach growling with hunger. She couldn't help but smile, knowing that hunger was a sign of improvement in his condition. These days, he had only consumed some thin porridge and a bellyful of medicinal soup. Selena instructed Mariana to place the meal on the low table by the bed.Then, she uncovered the lid of the soup bowl. A person who had just recovered from a serious illness would have a weak digestive system and would need something soft and easy to digest. Today, she had the kitchen prepare some meat congee, where the meat had been stewed until it
The wound continued to bleed, and despite applying pressure, the bleeding wouldn't stop. After a moment, Mariana brought the Achillea millefolium powder Selena had prepared. Selena then poured some hot water into a porcelain bowl and mixed in all the miraculous water droplets she had generated earlier with the Achillea millefolium powder, creating a paste. She then cleaned the wound and applied a thick layer of the paste before covering it with a white cloth, repeating the process for the other wounds.When the two of the king's physicians arrived, Selena had already cleaned her hands. The older and younger physicians opened their medical kits and proceeded to examine the wounds. The older physician, pinching the paste on the wound with his fingers, turned to Selena and asked, “Madam, who dressed this wound?”Selena, feeling a bit embarrassed about her crude dressing, replied anxiously, “I did. Seeing the severe bleeding, I was in a hurry and used the common method my father often used
Jose and Maria, being kind-hearted, had softened their anger considerably after having a son, knowing they now had an heir. They simply hoped Antonio would return the money from the stolen materials. However, Selena believed that such parasites should be punished severely, as otherwise, the employees in the shop might follow suit. So, she instructed Thomas to submit the relevant evidence to the police station. Despite Tasilla returning the stolen goods and Antonio being sentenced to a year in prison.With the arrival of the cruel summer, the days became hotter and more stifling. Selena visited her mother and little brother every day, but even with the carriage available, she ended up sweating profusely due to the heat. Upon returning, she had no desire to go anywhere else, she just wanted to rest on a bench by the window with a water basin to cool off and a novel in hand. She spent the afternoons comfortably, sipping flower tea and enjoying some snacks.However, one day, while she was
Although it was daytime, the room remained dim with the doors and windows closed. Several candles were lit for illumination. Inside, the room echoed with the sounds of painful groans, causing Jose, pacing outside, to feel increasingly uneasy. He had skipped meals from noon until now. The sounds from inside were getting weaker, and as Jose watched the servants pour out basin after basin of blood water, his heart clenched.However, more anxious than Jose was Selena. Originally, her mother still had half a month before giving birth. Her health had been good, but unexpectedly, she went into labor prematurely. The newly prepared home was not ready for occupancy, so they had to make do with delivering the baby here. Due to the lack of preparation, the room had to be hastily cleaned. Probably due to the shock, her mother's condition was not good. Holding her hand, Selena could see it turning pale.Thankfully, Jose had arranged for three midwives in advance. Two of them were older and experien
Selena watched as the woman waved her arms in excitement and cursed loudly. Suddenly, Selena interjected coldly, “If what you say is true, it makes sense. However, this matter concerns only Antonio, and whether innocent or not, he must come personally to confront our family. What does it mean for a woman with a child to be here? Why isn't the principal involved party present?”With these words, those who were initially confused about what was happening suddenly understood. They pointed and murmured among themselves, and the neighbors knew that José's family had a flower field. Every year, they receive about a hundred carts of flowers. It was rumored that the caretakers of the field were a peasant family, which before used to be their neighbors.Apparently, they discovered that this peasant family was selling the flowers from their own field to someone else. As a result, they angrily demanded compensation, but the man of the family did not dare to show up and sent his wife with the chil
After Lucio set off on his mission, Selena found herself at a loose end. Suddenly, she realized that since getting married, her life had been completely dominated by Lucio. Now, with all this free time, she felt a bit uncomfortable with this sudden change. Selena quickly instructed Mariana to bring out the account books from all the shops to audit them; she needed to find something to occupy herself.As she pored over the books in the room, Mariana fanned her, and though there was an ice basin beside the chair keeping her cool, the task of going through the books required concentration, and Selena still felt a bit sweaty around the nose. Originally, she had no idea how to do these things, but there were some things she couldn't avoid learning, as an owner who can't understand the accounts is easily fooled by the employees.After going through two or three books, Mariana came in and said that Thomas had sent a message saying there were problems at the store. Selena's first reaction was
Selena and Lucio returned home and rested for two days to recover from their journey. Lucio went back to work, and Selena, realizing she hadn't seen her parents in a while, decided to visit them the next day.Approaching the familiar gates, Selena's heart was filled with nervousness and joy. She couldn't wait to see her family again, eager to share the sights and experiences they had encountered during their trip to Jarll.As the evening approached, Maria insisted that Selena stay for dinner before heading home. Selena, realizing she hadn't had a relaxed chat with her parents in a long time, agreed to stay a little longer.Unexpectedly, halfway through dinner, Lucio walked in with a grim expression. He had come home and didn't find Selena there, and seeing that it was getting dark, and she hadn't returned, he got worried and came looking for her. He breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Selena happily chatting with Maria.Jose greeted Lucio and instructed the servants to fetch the uten