The Serpent's Enigma

40 | Unscrewing the Lid

- Warning! Mild depictions of PTSD -

(Italics are for flashbacks.)

.·。.·゜·༺♥༻ ·゜·。.

CAL LEROY SR.

Cal's whole body shook as he escaped from the scene. As his heartbeat raced he felt a churn in his stomach and his mouth became dry.

He finally found an empty corner and gulped down some air, trying to get rid of the agonizing pain in his chest.

He couldn't stay there to witness it. It was too similar, too vivid, as clear as it was seven years ago. The bully, the damsel in distress, and the chivalrous stranger who saved her; him.

"Be a nice lil' lass and show a gentleman some gratitude!"

"Anyone who lays a hand on a lady has no right to call himself a gentleman!"

"If ya seen some heinous thin's she did, ya'll agree that this freak deserves some poundin'!"

"...Are you okay?"

"You saved me..."

"...Sire!" He saw Gigi running in her heels, trying to catch up to him. "Sire, what happened?" She pressed a gentle hand to his temple, wiping his sweat. "...You're shaking."

Usually, he would try to shield her from his problems; lie and pretend that he was okay.

"No..." He panted, pain and distress visible in his eyes. "No, I am not alright..."

She looked up to him with concern, stroking his cheek with her thumb. "Is there anything that I can do?"

He swallowed. "If you don't mind, I would like to return home early... right now."

Cal could not express enough gratitude, seeing Gigi go through all of the trouble of excusing them from the event, even citing her own injury as a reason. She even held him close during the car ride, whispering words of reassurance to soothe him.

It had been a while since somebody did that for him.

By the time they reached the palace, he had mostly calmed down. Gigi brought him back to her room and allowed him to rest on her bed; their shared bed now.

A faint smile was tugging at his lips as he remembered their wedding night, which happened right here in this bed. At least there was a small memory of his to cherish amongst all these nightmares.

Still, he was guilt-ridden seeing her making all the arrangements for him with an arm still wrapped tightly in a cast.

"I should have been the one to look after you."

"Please, I'll make sure that you repay me three times over when you get better and I've recovered." She gave him an earnest smile, smoothening the covers to get him comfortable. At that moment he was sure he'd never seen a more sincere gesture.

"I'll handle the rest of your appointments for today. Nothing involving Seol-il, right? Should I call for the doctor?"

"No," he insisted, not wanting Dr. Jaeyr to hear and blame it on his attempts of getting intimate to Gigi. "...But if you could, please ask someone to fetch me my pills, and— bring Junior, if he's not otherwise occupied."

Gigi hurried out to do as he asked, returning moments later with the children.

"So if my sister's your fairy godmother, then... do I get to be Prince Charming?" Aravin tilted his head at Junior with one of his coquettish smiles.