Pleased to listen to that, he asked whether everyone else at the Mansion was doing okay and the maid answered. Feeling weird, she asked her boss whether he was okay as it was unlike him to ask such questions.
Duke told her to take care of his mother and the house and to call him in case of anything. The maid responded to him and he told her to stay safe as he hung up the call.
Duke was missing his mother bit since he did not like to be scolded over every little thing or being ordered around about what to do or what not to do like a child, he preferred to be away most often.
Turning to look at Bethany, she was so comfortable asleep and while he took some glasses more of alcohol, he noticed that his phone was ringing, and taking a look at it, it was Carol.
Mulling over or not to pick up the call, he finally decided to do so and he heard her saying with so much phobia in her voice,
” Thank goodness you have picked up your call I have been making an effort to reach you for like edges now but it didn’t seem to connect”, she spoke out with a breath of consolation.
Duke letting her finish breathing, took his time to say that he was fine, and asked how she was coping and before he could finish his statement she had cut him off as she said that the hospital was a mess.
There are a lot of people coming to seek refuge here from the good while some others are injured terribly and need medical assistance. Everywhere was just a disaster and the rain was not showing any sign of quitting soon and that she wished that he was there.
Holding himself, he turned his gaze to Bethany who was sleeping comfortably like a baby on his bed, he stepped out of the room to the kitchen asking her what she meant by that.
Duke was scared that, Carol might have been having that crazy obsession again the moment she saw him again. Wanting to avoid that as he had witnessed the damage such a thing can cause before, he told her clearly that she should stop whatever thing that she has in her head as it will not work.
“I am happy to know that you are fine and I am also happy to have met you again Carol but you see this obsession of yours, I am not going to be part of it, do you hear me?”, he asked angrily.
Carol did not like the words that Duke had used on her so she yelled out,
” Is it because of that middle-class girl that you keep rejecting me?.
“Yes it is because of her Carol, at least she has so much dignity on like you and she knows how to keep herself and not to throw it at a man who doesn’t want her”, Duke yelling, made Bethany wake up from her sleep and looking around for him and nor catching a glimpse of him, she thought that he had left the cottage for her as he had said.
Caught up in a panic, she became frightened and the next thing she did was to get down from the bed abruptly, heading to the bathroom to look for him thinking that he was there, calling out his name, Duke could notice that she was awake and Carol had heard her call out his name too through the phone call.
” Are you with her how?”, she demanded with so much authority as though he is her boyfriend and Duke responded,
“Yes she is with me because we are a couple”, he spoke out making sure that Carol gets it into her head.
” You can never be with any other woman except me”, she spoke out and Duke realized then that, she was determined not to give up.
Sounding a note of warning to her, he said,
“If anything should happen to Bethany, should even a strand of her hair go missing, you will wish you never crossed my path, Carol, push to the limit and poke fun at me by touching her”.
Carol could feel the tension and seriousness in Duke’s voice and listen to her breath in and out so hard, he could feel that his message was been passed clearly.
He thing up the call and went out of the kitchen. Finding Bethany seated on the chair with her legs joined and her head in her arms that were wrapped to form a circle round her legs, she married her head deep inside wondering how she was going to sleep alone in that room that was twice as large as half of her entire house.
Duke wondering why she was seated like that, walked gently towards her so as not to freak the hell out of her and extending her right arm to touch her, she jumped out in fear and without meaning it she whacks Dukes left eye with her hand and he screamed out in pain.
Covered with confusion as she did not expect things to be like that or to see Duke like that, she panicked more and asking him whether or not it hurts, she helped him to sit down while she rushed into the bathroom and soaked a towel, bringing it out to place it on his eye.
” I am so sorry Sir, I did not know that it was you and I could not even believe that you were going to show up like that”, she spoke out feeling hurt for him.
Duke told her not to bother and asked her why she was awake and sitting like that in the position that he had met her, she said that it was because she heard a voice in her sleep and on getting up, she could not find him anymore in the room and she thought that he had gone to another room to sleep as he had told her.
Duke held the towel on his eye and told her that he was just in the kitchen having a glass of water and he had come out after listening to her call out his name but was unable to understand why she was like that in that position.
Duke had lied about his whereabouts but he could not tell her that, while she was sleeping, he was on the phone with Carol as he thought back to the fact that it was the reason why she had left the hospital in such a state under the rain that landed her in an unconscious state.
Taking a look at him, she asked how his eye was doing and Duke said that it was not hurting too much anymore. Apologizing further she had a sorrowful face and tears in her eyes.
“Hey, what is the matter I am okay as you can see”, he spoke out but the tears in her eyes were already dropping down and she told him that “Fear”, was her biggest enemy and she does not know how to combat it.
Duke could see the sincerity in her eyes and the fright that she had thought that she had ruptured his eyes or something just because she overreacted.
Keeping the towel down, he told her not to bother her head about things like that, as he was there to help her overcome her fear and to make her more stringer than she already is.
” Besides you are my big baby so I can protect you from anyone and anything”, Duke spoke out and Bethany let out a smile feeling all awesome by him.
Raising a question to her whether she wanted them to go back to sleep or whether she wished for them to watch a movie, Bethany said that they could watch a movie, after all, the rain had decided to pour out itself today and I just pity the people living in the quagmire.
“Is your house not in a swampy area as well or is it safe?”, Duke asked getting up from the seat and heading to the table to get the Tv remote control for the channel change.
” No way, we are well secure as I am is a dry land and that was the best thing that my late father did”, she said feeling all happy. Duke could see the happiness in her eyes and her voice as calm as that of a child, and each conversation they had made drew him closer and closer to her, making it so difficult for him to resist her.
Things were getting better between them and the frequent attitude that she always gave him had vanished. Now he was certain that he could tell his mother about his plans to settle down though he has not known her for long.
Thinking about settling down, there was still one last thing that he had to do for her mother and which he had not done yet because he was so busy.
Talking to Bethany, he noticed that she was not responding to him again, and thinking about it, he took out his phone to call the driver that had taken Mrs.
Marvin to the hospital before and asking him whether he was still in town, he told him that he will need him in some days to come. The motorist gave him a favorable answer and Duke wished him a good night.
Smiling as he threw a lovely glance at her, he said to himself that she was like a baby, and she was tough from the outside but very soft on the inside. Duke came to know that, Bethany was putting up that thick skin and terrible attitude, just because she was shielding herself from the pain that a relationship could do to her.
Duke had made up her mind that as soon as the flood gets finished and he has a way of returning to his house, he was going to tell his other about Bethany and his intentions towards her as he loves her that much.
He carrier Bethany into his arms again and taking her to the bed, he placed her on it and covered her up with the blanket. Wanting to move away, she had gotten a grip of his t-shirt and not letting go, she made some lovely sounds in her sleep that turned Duke on as it could be given attention to as moaning.
Taking a close look at her, he realized that she was sleeping but her hand did not seem to leave his clothe as in not wanting him to go. Having no other option, Duke took off his slippers and putting up with the coverlet, he slips into it mad holding Bethany to make her sleep.
His heart was filled with you as he could never have imagined that such an incident was going to occur but there he was, wrapped under the blanket with the woman of his dreams in his arms.
Letting out a smile he turned his eyes in the way of the Television to watch the program that was going on there and not knowing with the call of nature came to be ripping into on the door of his eyes, he made an effort to fight against it but the tiredness that had been on him since the previous day had gotten the bigger part of him, giving rise to sleep as he closed his eyes slowly.
The night was going to be a good one as everyone was happy. Eva was with her love Henry and she was glad that he loves a simple girl like her and Mrs. Marvin was a bit worried about tee safety of her daughter though she knew that, Duke was going to protect her from any harm as she was with him.
Duke had confessed his feelings to Bethany and she brought into the world the courage to give him a try to have a relationship.