Cat in the Pupa - Chapter 5.1

Kit thought back to when Edwin was lying in his coffin, which had been covered in white flowers. Perhaps, it was really hard for her to accept that he had died.

There was a subtle change in Edwin’s eyes, the emptiness being replaced with a hint of agitation.

“Everyone dies. Whether it’s today or tomorrow, we are all eventually going to die.” Edwin snapped, much to Kit’s stunned confusion. She had expected him to be scared at the news that he was going to die.

But far from being frightened, he simply stated that everyone was going to die. Kit stared at him, speechless.

“If there’s nothing more to say, I’ll call it a day.” Edwin said as he stood up. He quickly started to walk away. Kit stood up and hurried after him, not wanting to see him leave again.

“Wait!” She called out for Edwin , but it seemed like he was pretending to have not even heard her. The more she called, the more distance he put between them.

Outside the manor, Edwin climbed himself into the awaiting carriage. Kit could only watch as the carriage disappeared out of sight, wondering how he could be so calm after hearing that he was going to die. She had a headache forming as a result of everything. Edwin was due to die in a week’s time. She had seven days to make him change his mind, and save his life.

*

The next day, after a restless night’s sleep, Kit awoke early with a fresh resolve to convince Edwin to get on the carriage. She quickly washed and threw on an old dress, before hurrying down to eat a quick breakfast. However, before she could even step outside her house, Rosaline was waiting in her carriage. She forced Kit in, a sour expression on her face. Annoyed, Kit demanded to know where they were going. She did not have time to be dragged around on Rosaline’s whim. There were only six days to save Edwin’s life, and being taken away was eating into that precious time. But her questions fell on deaf ears, as Rosaline merely ignored her and continued looking out the window.

When the carriage rolled a halt a few minutes later, Kit left the carriage after Rosaline. She was shocked to discover that Rosaline had brought her to the tailor shop where Ronnie worked. Rosaline had already entered the shop, and Kit peered in through the glass to see her and Ronnie engaging in conversation. Rosaline was curling her hair around her finger in a seductive manner, to which Ronnie responded by leaning on the counter and raising his eyebrows.

Kit watched it unfold from outside the shop, bile rising up to her mouth. She suppressed the urge to throw up at the knowledge that, this whole time, Ronnie was with her sister. So, when they got married, and she caught him cheating with Rosaline, she was the one who was getting the way of their relationship.

As she stared in horror at them, Ronnie turned in time for their eyes to meet. Heat flooded to her face as Kit took a step back, wanting to leave the area and head back home. In her rush to leave, she stumbled over the hem of her dress, falling backwards and landing roughly on the stone floor.

As she rubbed her sore hip bone, Kit spotted Ronnie running towards her. She cursed that she hadn’t been fast enough to make a silent getaway, and now had to face Ronnie himself.

“Kit! Are you okay?” Ronnie said, holding his hand out for her to take. Despite the situation she found herself in, and her prior need to get away from Ronnie, she found herself relieved to hear his comforting voice. She could not shake off what he said and did back in the original timeline, but in the current timeline, he had been nothing but polite to her. She willingly accepted his hand, the warmth of his skin radiating through her body, and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.

“I’m okay. Thank you, Ronnie.” She said, using her spare hand to brush the dust from her dress. Ronnie was still holding onto her other hand, and when she looked at him, he quickly dropped it with a mumbled apology. “You took a nasty fall, Kit. Are you sure you’re not hurt? I can call someone to check you over, if you wish?” Ronnie said with a worried frown. “Hey, maybe I’ll even hem your dress up so you’d fall over it again.” He laughed. Kit couldn’t help but laugh along. She could see why, in the old timeline, she had immediately leapt at the chance to marry him. But deep down, she knew that he would still end up with Rosaline, and thus she needed to keep her distance.

“I’m fine, really. My hip is feeling better already.” Kit said, though the pain was still very much prominent. She didn’t want to show her pain, especially after Rosaline walked out the shop and scowled at her.

“Had a little ‘accident’, did you?” She said, her voice heavy with sarcasm. “How typical of little Kit to trip over her own dress. Do you want me to kiss you to make the pain go away?” She began to make exaggerated kissing noises.