Reborn To Change My Fate

Chapter 349 - Three Hundred And Forty Eight

Derek froze completely.

His brain short-circuited. For a solid five seconds, he simply stopped processing the world around him. The cool spring breeze, the singing birds, the sound of the courtyard—everything vanished. His mind went totally blank. His heart stopped beating for a second, then started hammering so hard it hurt his ribs.

He stared at the young boy.

Derek slowly crouched down, lowering his tall body until he was exactly at Ryan’s height. He placed his large hands gently on Ryan’s small shoulders. He looked deeply into the boy’s bright, honest eyes.

"Awake?" Derek whispered. His voice was incredibly raspy and shaking. He was terrified to believe it. He was terrified it was just a child’s dream.

He swallowed hard. "Did you say your mother is awake?" he asked, needing to be absolutely sure of what he heard.

Ryan nodded his head up and down so fast it was a blur. A huge, toothy smile stretched across his face.

"Yes!" Ryan confirmed happily. "A few minutes after you left for the palace this morning, she woke up! She opened her eyes. She even bathed me herself and fed me sweet bread and honey for lunch!"

Derek blinked. Once. Twice. The words slowly sank into his stunned brain.

She bathed him. She fed him. She was out of bed. She was moving. She was truly, completely alive. The long, terrible nightmare of the past month was finally, truly over.

"Mari is awake," Derek said to himself, his voice cracking with an overwhelming, powerful emotion. Tears of pure joy instantly filled his dark eyes.

A sudden burst of massive energy shot through Derek’s tired body.

He scooped Ryan up from the cold stone floor, lifting the boy high into the air. He hugged him tightly against his chest, causing the boy to giggle loudly with delight.

Derek turned around. He did not walk. He sprinted into the house.

He ran through the grand entrance hall, his heavy boots thundering against the polished marble floor. He ran past the dining room and the sitting room.

As he turned the corner near the stairs, he saw Mrs. Alma, the head housekeeper. She was standing in the hallway, holding a basket of clean laundry. Her smile was wider than her face. She looked incredibly happy and relieved.

She tried to tell Derek the good news herself.

"Your Majesty! The Grand Duchess has—"

But Derek did not stop to listen. He ran right past her, holding a giggling Ryan securely in his arm. He was absolutely adamant on seeing this news for himself. He needed to see her face. He needed to hear her voice.

He practically flew up the grand staircase, taking the steps three at a time. He sprinted down the long, carpeted corridor on the second floor.

He finally got to the heavy oak door of the master bedchamber.

Derek stopped in front of the door. He was breathing heavily. His chest heaved up and down. He carefully set Ryan down on his feet in the hallway. He reached out with a trembling, sweaty hand and grabbed the brass door handle.

He slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The large bedroom was flooded with bright, warm spring sunlight. The heavy velvet curtains were tied back completely. The bed in the center of the room was neatly made, and it was completely empty.

Derek looked across the room toward the large glass doors that led outside. The glass doors were pushed wide open, letting the fresh, cool spring breeze blow into the warm bedroom.

He walked slowly toward the open doors.

He stepped onto the stone balcony.

There she was.

Marissa was sitting out on the balcony. Her back was turned to the room. She was sitting comfortably on a soft, padded wooden rocking chair. She was wearing a beautiful, simple light blue summer dress that caught the spring breeze. Her dark, curly hair was brushed neatly and tied back loosely with a simple white ribbon.

On a small, round iron table next to her sat a delicate porcelain teacup. A thin wisp of steam rose from the hot tea.

She was holding a stack of official papers in her hands. She was calmly sipping her tea and quietly reading the agricultural and financial reports for the spring season, exactly as she used to do before the world fell apart.

She looked perfectly normal. She looked incredibly peaceful. She looked beautifully, wonderfully alive.

Derek stood perfectly still in the doorway of the balcony. He stared at the back of the wooden chair. He stared at the light blue summer dress moving gently in the cool breeze. He watched her dark, curly hair blowing softly against her shoulders. He watched the gentle rise and fall of her shoulders.

He was terrified to blink. He was afraid that if he closed his eyes, she would disappear like a ghost. He was afraid he would wake up and find himself back in the freezing stone room, sitting next to a coffin filled with ice.

He took a slow, shaking breath. The air smelled of blooming flowers and warm tea.

"Mari?" He said. His voice was barely a whisper. It was so quiet and rough, it almost sounded like the wind.

Hearing her name, Marissa stopped reading. She lowered the stack of official spring reports to her lap. She placed her delicate porcelain teacup down on the small iron table. The cup made a soft clink against the saucer.

She slowly turned around in her chair.

When she saw him standing there in his military uniform, a bright, beautiful smile spread across her face. Her dark eyes were full of life and warmth. She looked completely healthy. She did not look like a woman who had been dead for a month.

"Oh, Derek," Marissa said cheerfully, her voice clear and sweet. "You are back."

She did not know how much time had passed. To her, it felt like she had just taken a very long, deep nap. She remembered the dark alleyway, she remembered the sharp pain in her back, and she remembered closing her eyes. But waking up in her own warm bed with the sun shining made the memories feel like a strange, distant bad dream.

She stood up from her chair, brushing the wrinkles out of her blue dress.

Derek walked towards her. His legs felt heavy, like they were made of lead. His eyes were wide and shining with unshed tears.

Marissa did not notice his deep emotional state at first. She was just happy to see him home safe.

She continued talking in a casual, happy tone. "I was told you went to the palace this morning," she said, taking a step toward him. "I had the cook make your favorite roasted lamb for dinner tonight. I also told them to prepare..."

She couldn’t finish what she was saying.

Derek closed the distance between them in two massive steps. He did not say a word. He just threw his strong arms around her and hugged her.