Chapter 56

[Evelyn’s POV]

Son of a bitch!! What the hell is going on?!

Oh God! I’m trapped!

Please! Someone! Anyone! Help me!!

Trapped. That was the best way I could describe the sensation that was being inflicted on me. I was trapped. Stuck inside my own mind with no means of control.

I couldn't even bring myself to open my damn eyes. It was like someone had torn my body apart from my mind. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get a single part of myself to move.

All of my muscles felt like they had been locked in a vice from which I had no escape. Soon came the rushing fiery heat that spread like wildfire throughout my veins. It was terrifying.

And as if things couldn't get any more unsettling, I kept hearing a voice. A soft, firm voice that called out like a hand reaching out to me through the dark.

“...Evelyn...”

My heart rate picked up. Alexander.

A spark of hope spread through me, knowing that he had found me in my paralyzed state.

I was enveloped in a warm cape of security that made me feel safe for the time being. Wait, was he holding me? Before I knew what was going on, that warmth evaporated and was replaced with a heavy weight of water.

It was too much of

I was desperate to show that I was still there. In my mind, I was practically screaming at the top of my lungs.

“I’m here! Please, don’t leave me alone.”

“...We don’t know what poison you ingested. But something tells me that it’s not going to be entirely easy to flush out of your system right away...But whatever happens, I promise that I’m not going to leave your side...”

Poison?

It was suddenly all rushing back to me. I was in the tent next to the greenhouse. I’d been there to test out the newest batch of tea that I was getting ready to ship out. I brewed some of the mixture and took a few sips to check the balance of the flavors.

Something had been off...And that so-called ‘something’ was what sent my body into total shutdown. I knew there was something off about that mixture. It was a flavor that didn’t make any sense.

One that took me far too long to recognize. But once I figured it out, I knew there was no mistake.

“Cherries,” I whispered to myself.

I distinctly remembered the sweet, bitter taste of cherries. But the only problem was, that I hadn’t added anything into the dry mixture that would give us such a flavor.

Then it occurred to me. Having studied agriculture and the nature of various usable flowers and herbs, I had a lot of knowledge to back up my claim.

Certain flowers and herbs, when dried and rehydrated could give off a unique taste that minced other things such as cherries and other fruits. Unfortunately, the top plant that came to mind was one that possessed a nasty reputation.

“Belladonna.”

Belladonna was a tricky plant to work with. If not measured carefully, one could run the risk of a wild overdose with effects that weren’t always certain. Its main use, when working in the medical field, was as a type of sedative.

It could be used as a natural muscle relaxer—hence why I could barely move a single part of my body.

It wasn’t always recommended to be taken in a tea because everyone had a different style of brewing their own cup. The longer one would steep the mixture, the more they would end up putting themselves at risk due to the plant's natural potency.

But the question still remained...How the fuck did Belladonna end up in my tea mixture??

It wasn’t even a plant that I felt comfortable working with. Not when there were far too great risks that could potentially happen.

Evelyn, your main focus needs to be fighting through this horrible paralysis. Come on, focus. Breathe in and out...In and out...In...Out.

I needed to find something to grab ahold of—something tangible to bring me out of the mental state I had fallen into.

Alexander's voice continued to ring through my ears. “Evelyn…Evelyn. Please, you have to wake up. Wake up and tell me what happened, please.”

Oh, wow. I’d never heard his voice like that before. It sounded so raw and so vulnerable. It was almost enough to make me question if it was really him who was speaking to me. But, no. I easily recognized the deep baritone of his voice and knew it could be no one else.

The two of us were in the midst of gradually getting comfortable with one another. There were many times when I caught myself thinking back to that intense kiss the two of us shared. To hear such words of encouragement filled me with a whole new wave of determination.

It brought me back to when he was guiding me through my etiquette lessons. Alexander had a way of inspiring me to get through what seemed like the most impossible things. The man got to walk in literal high heels.

Surely, I can get through this.

Once again, I heard his words ring out. “You need to come back to me.”

That was it. I needed to get out of the dark pit I’d been thrown into. I grabbed ahold of his voice and all the feeling that came with it and I began to climb. I felt like I was reaching for something bright and almost blinding.

But soon, I was able to feel the tips of my fingers. I twitched my toes and started to move myself one part at a time. I parted my lips in an attempt to speak.

“A-Alexander?”

“Evelyn.”

I tried to move some more, but surprisingly, I was stopped by a large hand pressing my shoulders back.

“Take it easy. Don’t move too much, alright,” he hushed. “Can you open your eyes at least?”

For all that I was managing to accomplish, my sense of sight was its own ordeal. I tried to crack my eyes but found that it was too difficult.

“C-Can’t,” I whispered. “Too b-bright.”

“Hang on.”

I felt his presence beside me shift. A moment passed and the room had grown dimmer. I gave it another try. Slowly, I peered my eyes open; however, my vision wasn’t as clear as it should have been.

It was terribly spotty and ridiculously blurry. All I could really make out were shapes.

My hindered gaze fixated on a particularly large shape that moved about the room. My brows drew together in utter confusion. Was there someone else in here with us?

The mere thought of someone else seeing me in such a compromising position made me panic.

A stifling breath of air filled my lungs.

“Alexander?”

Geez. I could hardly recognize my own voice.

“I’m here,” he assured me.

“I can hardly see.”

“It’s okay, you don’t need to use your eyes too much right now,” he said. “Evelyn, can you tell me what happened before you collapsed?”

“The morning was pretty much normal. I had lunch with some of the staff and then I made my way out to the greenhouse to go through my usual routine. I was doing what I normally do before packing up the tea mix,” I explained. “I took a little of the mixture and brewed it to test it out.”

“During that time, did you not sense anything strange or maybe something feeling a bit off?” he questioned.

I opened my mouth but swiftly closed it.

Alexander’s voice grew stern. “Evelyn...What is it that you’re not telling me?”