Chapter 6

I watched Theo leave and felt a chill settle in my chest.

They would not stop. I knew it.

This had only been a test. Worse things would come.

The crowd slowly broke apart.

Celia stood there, staring at me as if she didn't recognize me. "Mom, how do you know all this?"

I took the wooden plate from her and answered calmly, "If you want to stay alive, you have to know things."

She flinched a little at my words. Her eyes showed hurt, confusion, and fear all mixed together.

But I didn't have time to comfort her.

The Cobbett family had lost face today. Theo had been embarrassed. They would not let it go.

That evening, I was closing up the stall. There were still a few cakes left unsold.

Hector came striding down the alley, fast and tense. His expression was serious.

"Don't take the west road back," he said right away. "The Cobbett family is waiting by the river."

A chill ran down my spine.

Celia's face went pale. "What are they going to do?"

Hector looked at her, his voice low. "They are planning to take someone."

My grip tightened on the basket. It suddenly felt much heavier.

In my last life, they had done the same thing. After the marriage failed, they turned to something worse.

It was a dark night. They planned to cover Celia's mouth and tie her up on the road. They would claim they were bringing her home as a guest. But once she crossed that door, once her clothes were disturbed, her life would be ruined.

That night, a passing trader had made enough noise to scare them off. Celia had been saved.

But her reputation hadn't.

Later, Bernard used that against her. He said she was no longer pure. He handed her over to the County Governor without a second thought.

My teeth clenched hard.

They were trying the same thing again.

Hector stepped forward and took the load from my shoulder. "I will walk you home."

Celia stood frozen, the color drained from her face.

She had been stubborn earlier. But now, she looked like what she was, just a young girl who had never faced something like this. Hearing the word "kidnap" was enough to scare her.

I looked at her, and my chest tightened.

In my last life, I always thought she was not mature enough.

I understood now. She was not immature. She had simply been born at the wrong time, into a life that was too hard.

More than anything, she wanted to live with dignity. And this world was quick to take that away from a girl.

I stepped closer and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Don't be afraid. I'm here."

Celia looked up at me. Her eyes reddened.

She looked like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just bit her lip and gave a small nod.

On the way back, Hector walked ahead of us. His shoulders were broad. A short knife hung at his waist. His presence made the narrow path feel safer.

The wind cut cold, but for the first time, I didn't feel like I was walking alone in the dark.

But when we reached home, my steps stopped. The lights were already on in the yard.

Someone had already sneaked into my place ahead of us.

They hadn't gone anywhere else. They had gone straight to the west room.

That was where I kept my husband's old books. That was where the land deeds were.

Hector's face hardened. He kicked the door open.

"Take the box. Hurry." A voice came from inside. I knew it at once, and anger surged through me.

The door slammed against the wall with a loud crash.

Two figures stood inside the west room. They were carrying the wooden box my husband had left behind.

The moment they saw us, they panicked. The box slipped from their hands and hit the floor with a heavy thud.

One of them turned to run.

But Hector was faster. He swept his leg out, and the guy went down hard, howling in pain.

The other tried to jump out of the window. I grabbed a pole by the door and swung it hard. The blow landed across his back and knocked him back inside.

Celia's face was pale, but she clenched her jaw and rushed over to slam the window shut.

The oil lamp flickered. At last, I saw their faces clearly.

One was Ralph Marsh, a hired hand from the Cobbett family. And the other was Bernard.

Heat rushed to my chest. I hadn't expected him to dare come back.

Hector grabbed Bernard by the shoulder and held him in place. Bernard looked disheveled, but he was not afraid.

He looked at me and said slowly, "Sally, I only came to take what I left here."

I let out a short laugh. "When did your things end up in my husband's box?"

I stepped forward and slapped him.

The sound rang sharp in the room. Everything went still.

Celia froze. She had probably never seen me hit someone like that before.

Bernard's head snapped to the side. His lip split, a thin line of blood showing.

When he looked back at me, his eyes had gone cold. "Sally, you are going too far—"

"Too far?" I cut in. I pointed at the wooden box on the floor. "You break into a widow's house in the middle of the night to steal, and you call me too far, huh?

"Come on. Tell me what's yours in there. Is it the essays my husband wrote? The deed to my land? Or the little bit of silver I have left?"