Captivation Want Nothing But You by Adolf Dunne
Awake From A Nightmare
Even the butler, Lukas was shocked by the sight of the man’s eye. He’d seen it on multiple occasions,
but the feeling never faded. Lukas didn’t know the actual story about how the man had got the scar.
Maria had told him that the man’s enemies had chased him down and cut him, just before she’d saved
his life. Lukas didn’t know how true this story actually was. The man was keenly aware that Lukas was
staring at him, but he didn’t care.
He completely ignored him and kept looking at Maria. “Rachel is in hospital at the moment. She’s in a
coma,” he said calmly. Maria had been busy checking her nail polish, apparently already bored by the
conversation. But she stopped when she heard what the man said. “She’s in hospital? What about her
baby?
Is her baby alright?” Lukas asked before he could stop himself. “The baby is fine. Rachel just has a
concussion,” the man said Lukas’s previously worried expression changed to something a little more
unreadable. “Never in my life did I ever think Rachel would really be pregnant…” Maria splayed her hand
on her thigh and looked down at her half-finished manicure. Her hair fell forward to cover her face, and
her thick eyelashes hid the look in her eyes.
It was nearly impossible to tell what she was thinking After a long while, she said, “I see. You should
leave Apliaria these days. I will give you some money.” “Okay,” the man said in a low voice. He pulled his
cap back on, adjusting it so it hid his eyes, then he left without another word.
Lukas quickly centered himself and calmed his rapid heartbeat. Once he was sure his emotions were no
longer showing on his face, he looked up at Maria and said, “Madame, would you like me to find
someone else to keep an eye on her?” Maria said nothing in return and gently swirled the red liquid in
the glass, barely even moving her wrist.
Then she touched her lips elegantly to the brim and took a sip. As she tilted her head back to drink, she
exposed her smooth, pale neck. It was made even more enticing by the lighting in the room. Lukas
couldn’t help but look at it. And he couldn’t help that he was nearly salivating at the sight.
For a lady of nearly 50 years old, Maria was still an extremely attractive, charming woman. Every move
she made looked measured, elegant, well thought through and refined. She somehow managed to
effortlessly look simultaneously lazy and sexy. It was no surprise the that she’d married into the Sullivan
family. Even among the younger, fairer ladies she’d stood out as someone interesting and exotic. But just
like beautiful flowers, the more beauty it held, the more poisonous it was.
Such a statement applied almost perfectly to this woman. Before Maria had married into the Sullivan
family, the Kennedy family hadn’t even been considered as one of the upper-class families. It had been
quite a shock when Maria, a woman coming from just about nothing, had married into one of the
wealthiest families.
2 Maria had been Mrs. Sullivan for more than 20 years now. Many said it was out of sheer dumb-luck,
but the vast majority were of the opinion that she had schemed and lied her way into the position. Lukas
had been in Maria’s service for nearly 10 years. He knew better than most just how vicious and vindictive
this beautiful woman was. Lukas kept taking deep, measured breaths to keep himself calm as she waited
for Maria to speak. “Send someone else to keep an eye on her?” Maria sneered. “And give that bastard
more evidence?”
Lukas could feel the confusion starting to show on his face. Before he could say anything Maria spoke
again, “Why do you think I asked him to leave Apliaria in the first place? As ridiculous as that bastard is,
do you really take him for a fool? Do you really think he’d be satisfied that this was an accident?” She
shook her head and stood. She didn’t need Lukas to answer. In fact, she didn’t want, or expect him to.
“I’m feeling a little tired. Tell the beautician to come up to my room,” she said airily. “Yes, Madame,”
Back at the hospital ward, Rachel seem to be in some kind of distress. Her eyes were still tightly shut,
but her mouth was tipped down in a frown and her forehead was glistening with sweat. She looked like
she was having a bad dream. In her dream, Rachel was running down a dark, empty road. There was no
one behind her, just the streetlights that seemed to be keeping pace with her. Every time she glanced
back, all she could see was darkness; the lights turned off as she passed them.
She didn’t know why she was running. But she was overwhelmed by the feeling that if she stopped, the
blackness would swallow her whole, and then she’d disappear forever. So she kept on running. And
running… And running. She started getting tired. Every step was becoming more and more labored.
Then she started slowing down. She bit her lip, willing herself to carry on. Her vision was blurred with
sweat, and her breathing was coming in great gasps; but still she ran. Suddenly, someone grabbed her
arm. Rachel whipped around to stare right into the face of the man. “You!”
“Rachel. Stop running!” the man said coldly, gripping her chin tightly. Rachel gasped in horror. She tried
to struggle out his grasp, but it was useless. “If you try and escape, I’ll give your precious little maid to
Crown Club and let those men do whatever they want with her,” Victor seethed. 2
A streetlamp not too far away flickered on. It illuminated Abby lying pathetically on the ground. Covered
in blood, she was dirty and looked all around miserable. She looked up from the ground with tears
glistening in her eyes as she said, “Miss Bennet…” “Abby!” Rachel screamed. She tried to pull out of
Victor’s grip, but he was holding her too tightly. Violent rage boiled through her body at his insolence.
She rounded on him and shouted, “Victor, let me go! You bastard!
Bastard!” But Victor’s face remained cold and expressionless, even in the light of her anger. Rachel was
overcome by the sudden urge to bite him to force him to let her go. Before she had fully committed to the
idea, Victor suddenly pushed her into the middle of the road. A truck’s horn blared to her right. Rachel
whipped her head in the direction of the sound to see there was a truck barreling straight towards her.
She looked at Victor in horror.
He was still staring at her with that blank, uncaring expression. His eyes were almost dead as he said,
“Go to hell, Rachel.” Rachel screamed. She screamed so loudly that she woke herself up from the
nightmare. She gasped for breath, straining against the clutches of her own subconscious.
Victor’s last words still rung in her ears. So clearly, in fact, that she was having trouble discerning reality
from imagination. She spent a few more moments steadying her breathing and calming herself. Once
she was quite certain she was no longer trapped in the dream, she looked around the room.
It was dark.
It didn’t take Rachel long to figure out where she was. The faint smell of disinfectant and the parts of the
room she could see by the light of moon painted her a clear enough picture. She was in the hospital.
Slowly, Rachel sat up. As her thoughts returned to normal, she started to remember what
She’d taken a call from Roger. He’d phoned to tell her he had found Riley, and that he was now on his
way to meet her. She’d tried to move away from the crowds so she could hear him better, and give him
proper instructions as to where she was. Then someone had pushed her into the road… And she was
still alive? Rachel gasped and immediately laid her hand on her stomach. She could feel the small lump
beneath her palm; her baby was alright. But was she?
She remembered how much pain she’d been in before she’d passed out. How was it that she was still
alive?
Rachel frowned in thought, trying to order her thoughts. She didn’t get very far before someone turned
the lights in the ward on.
The sudden, bright assault of the iridescent lights was too much for her sensitive eyes. She raised her
hand to shield her face and to give her eyes time to adjust. Out the corner of her eye, she saw someone
sitting on the sofa. Rachel turned her head to look at him. Her expression slackened as their gazes
locked;
“What are you doing here?” she blurted out before she could stop herself. The memories of her dream
were still so fresh in her head she was having trouble believing her own eyes. Before she said anything
more, she stopped. Her hazy memory of the accident finally cleared.
Someone had grabbed her and rolled her out the way. She hadn’t had time to see who it was. Everything
had happened so quickly she’d barely had time to comprehend the situation. Then she’d hit her head
and passed out. All she could remember was a faint ringing sound and the minty scent before she’d
fallen unconscious.
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