"Or could it be that you like watching me suffer, my lord?" she asked accusingly. She could feel the hard pounding of her heart on her ears like a drum.
She was almost sure that it was because of the blood gushing out of her wound and the pain that came with it. But when Reed squatted in front of her, held the sides of the bed where she sat, and stared at her closely with those brooding turquoise eyes, she doubted if the pain solely caused her heart to go frantic.
"And what do I get from watching you suffer?" He spoke with heaviness in his voice, yet with frigidness at the same time as if he wanted to freeze her to death for testing his patience. But wasn't he also testing hers?
"Trust me, I will be in any place but here. I don't like your stubborn temperament, and your entire presence burdens me, Lady Lewis. Do you understand that?"
It was like a slap. A hard one for that matter. He had always made her feel that she was only a burden to him, and it had always hurt her pride, but it felt different this time. Because this time, she was truly helpless. She didn't want pain. She didn't want to die. She needed his help and he refused without any remorse as if what she was asking for was so hard to give. He did more than just hurting her pride. He made her feel pathetic.
If she only had the energy to move, she could have slapped him or did worse, but she hadn't. She could only stare at him with a hard face. Her eyes didn't feel puffy, nor did she feel like crying.
She never cried when she heard the worst things about her from those girls who still ran to their mamas' skirts once they heard their prospects were engaged. She never cried when her father always forgot her birthday. She never cried when she couldn't even find her parents' faces in her memories. So why would she cry over the words of a man she didn't even like?
"Do you think I like your temperament, Lord Knight? How overbearing, rude, and self-centered you are? You don't like me? Fine! There's nothing wrong with that. Some people hate me too. So don't be too arrogant…" She wanted to shout at him foul words that would pierce through his stupid ego but she stopped when she felt another wave of agonizing pain.
The hand on her chest trembled a bit and she felt really dizzy. She didn't understand what she was feeling. There was numbness at one moment, and the next second it felt like being stabbed again.
"Take this pain reliever if you don't want to die in pain," Reed said and urgently got a specific bottle from the medicine kit. He took one white tablet from it.
"I can't take pain relievers," she admitted. The sole reason why she couldn't wait for another doctor to come.
She didn't know why, but for some reason, every time she took pain relievers, it had bad effects on her. She had taken some years before, when she had minor injuries and toothache, and she felt really bad. The first time, she was nauseous all day, on the second time, she had high fever that lasted for three days, and on the third time, she passed out due to lack of breath and almost died. Her father consulted the best doctors and they said it might be a rare case of allergic reaction.
"What do you mean?" Reed asked.
"I will die sooner if I take a pain reliever. I'm allergic to it."
"Are you telling the truth?"
Her brows furrowed. "Do you think I wish to suffer like this? If I could only take anything that could ease this pain, I would eat that all."
Reed had a critical look in his face. He put the tablet back in the bottle and dropped it into the box. He glanced at the door and then back to her.
"There's no way they will arrive anytime soon. If I die here because of your stubbornness, do you think you can still face King Vincent? May I remind you that I'm not just any lady in town, my lord. I am the King's wife-to-be."
The muscle in his jaw moved. She could say that if he was losing patience earlier, now she had sent her to his edge. The ocean in his eyes that was once calm had turned fiery now. He was on his limits.
"I will do it," he snapped.
She released a sigh of relief. But thinking how much pain she should get through, the relief was short lived. She hadn't taken any pain relievers and there were no anesthetics available.
"You can cut the cloth around the wound. Just take the thing out and dress the wound. Once the female doctor arrives, she can bandage me up."
Melrose could feel how thick the air surrounding them was. But she would either die in pain or infection if this would be delayed any longer.
She stared at Reed intently as he leaned over with a scissor to cut the necessary part of her dress. She had a petticoat underneath but she could imagine how lethal Reed's look would be if she suggested taking off her dress and leaving her with just a petticoat. He wasn't like any man. She even felt like he hated women.
She was dead sure he was not a gay, though. Before, she always believed that no man could match King Vincent's manliness. But when she met Lord Knight, she started to question that belief. Vincent had a gentle demeanor, which made him look like a prince charming in those fairytales she had read, while Reed was the opposite. He was like a villain, an alpha male. A dark lord.
He started cutting from the side of her collar, the sharp blade of scissors tracing the line of her right shoulder. She was anxious at how close they were, but she maintained a straight face. She had to.
A low gasp escaped her lips when she felt the coldness embraced her exposed shoulder. And when Reed tore the fabric down to her chest, his cool fingertips touched her bare skin, making her shiver.