A Chance With You by Paula Camille Wong (the snowy day read aloud TXT) 📖

head while his free hand moving her skirts up to her waist, his fellow friends cheering, Lillian’s face nothing but a blur.

She’s helpless now. No one will save her. No one has ever saved her. Except for one person. The only person that can be able to grant her liberty. Happiness. Joy. Love. The only person that can be her salvation. But he wasn’t here. He didn’t even know her. He pushed her away as if they have never meant.

The slight amount of hope that started to form inside of her heart vanished. Her thrashing stopped, her eyes closing. She was alone. She will always be alone. But that couldn’t stop her from saying his name. The name that always sent shivers of pleasure down her spine whenever mentioned. “William,” She whispered.

Just then, the sound of a gunshot fired through the air startling all of them. Including Jane. The bullet hit Goo right on his forehead, a perfect aim. Cork looked around, positioning to a standing position along with Dunk. Lillian ran to Jane, sobbing, helping her into a sitting position, holding her trembling body. Another gunshot followed and Dunk was on the ground, screaming in agony as a bullet sunk deep into his shoulder. “Who the hell are you? Show yourself?” Cork called out onto the vast grassland, looking around wildly as if he was a mad man.

“Help me to stand,” Jane whispered, leaning on Lillian as she helped her to her feet. Stumbling at first to regain her balance failing at first then the second, giving up after the third and just simply held onto Lillian. A figure emerged from a hill; it caught Jane in the corner of her eyes. He was dressed in black attire, his brown locks falling onto his forehead, hiding his eyes. But Jane knew the color of them. The expression he held. The scenery around her started to blur, and she held onto Lillian more tighter.
William.


“Who the hell are you?” Cork asked furiously, pointing the gun directly at William’s tall and powerful figure.

“Someone who wanted to save you for last,” He answered in a deadly calm voice.

The highwayman pulled the trigger, all ready. But William was faster and a loud gunshot fired, making Jane wince, closing her eyes for a couple of moments. When she finally opened them, Cork was on the ground, a bullet on his forehead. And just then the scene before her started to vanish.

Her gaze met William’s as he strode toward them with hurried strides. His green powerful eyes was the last thing she saw when everything turned black and she fell onto the ground, hearing Lillian call her name before totally slipping into darkness.
Chapter 8

“Jane! Jane! Are you alright?” Lillian asked, gently nudging her still body.

William broke off into a run and kneeled beside Jane’s unconscious form. “She’s alright. She’s just unconscious,” He picked her up, surprised by how light she was. Has she been eating? “Open the carriage door,”

He saw her hesitate and gave her a soft reassuring smile. “She’s going to be alright Lillian. I promise,” That seemed to ease her worry. He entered the carriage and placed Jane on the seat gently, trying hard not to release the anger that lurked inside of him. “Support her,” He mumbled before jumping out, glancing one last look at those bastard who dared to mess with him, feeling the urge to shoot at them one more time but figured it would be unwise since his sister was watching.

William made his way on front of the carriage, kneeling down to check Deviling’s pulse. A wash of relief coming over him as he felt his heartbeat. “Deviling,” He called, nudging him. “Wake up,”

Immediately, the coachman opened his eyes and sat up, his eyes widened knowing exactly why he is acting this way, William placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright. They are gone. Lady Jane is unconscious and I would like you to take the carriage home. Ride as fast as the horses can take you. I’ll strap my own horse at front so it will have an advantage,”

Deviling nodded, taking a moment to make sense of everything. “But my lord, where will you be riding?”

“I’m going to assist my sister and her friend. I’ll ride inside the carriage,”

He nodded yet again and sat onto the driver’s seat and took the reins in his hands, looking around.

William jumped down the carriage and took his horse, tying the strap onto the reins that was attached to the horses before making his way back into the carriage, locking the door behind him as he seated next to Lillian, looking down at Jane’s still form. Her chest rising and falling, indicating sleep.

“I was so scared,” His younger sister whispered.

He looked over at her, a sigh escaping his lips as he took her in his arms, giving her a comforting hug. “It’s okay Lillian,”

She shook her head. “No. It’s not alright. Jane and I was almost killed by those highwaymen. I really thought my life was going to end Will. If it wasn’t for you showing… Jane would be in real trouble… thank you,”

He smiled softly. “I need you to remember this little sister. It does not matter even if you are married, I will always be there for you,”

Fresh tears escaped her eyes and she leaned against him. “Promise me Jane will be alright.” She whispered.

“What happened a few moments ago must have shocked her to the point that her brain cannot process it. Those bastards…,” He trailed off, his fists tightening. “I should have been there. I should have come with you,”

“But you were with your mistress,” Lillian whispered, her gaze outside of the window.
William sighed. “I know,”

“When will you find a proper wife to wed?” She asked looking over at him.

“Lisa is a proper wife to wed,” William remarked. The defenses that had broken down when he had seen them in danger was building back up again. Creating a massive wall that no one can penetrate.

“As you say brother,” Lillian mumbled. Feeling exactly his walls come up. He always does this. Whenever she enters a particular topic he does not want to talk about.

His lips formed into a thin line but other than that he said nothing: Instead, his gaze landed on Jane. She was sleeping heavily, some of her loose hair falling on her face. He felt the urge to reach out and brush it behind her ear, feel her skin against his palm. He remembered everything about her features, even after all these years. The way her pale skin glows whenever the sun hits them. The way her smile transforms her facial features, bright green eyes seeming to glow from under those long brown lashes.

“She has changed hasn’t she?” Lillian asked. He was surprise that she was watching him…watching her.

“I don’t know what you mean,” William mumbled looking away, placing a hand under his chin as he looked out of the carriage window.

“You know exactly what I mean,”

The rest of the trip back to his home was nothing else but a silent one. As soon as the carriage entered the massive black gates, Lillian was helped out of the carriage, greeted by the whole staff asking her if she was alright. William followed behind her, Jane in his arms, her head resting on his chest. The footmen came rushing to him, offering to take her out of his arms but he insisted and told one of the maids to, instead, ready a room.
As soon as the maid came back a couple of moments later to tell him the room was ready, William walked up the long flights of stairs with Lillian following. “You should chance Lillian. You look like a mess,”

She smirked. “And leave you alone with Jane? Not a chance big brother. And besides, it is improper for a lady to be alone in her chambers with a man. Especially a man like you brother,”

He grinned. “It is not like I am going to ravish her Lillian. I have a better sense than force myself on a woman that is unconscious,”

“Exactly as you said brother. Unconscious. And besides, she would be relieved to see a familiar face,”

“Is my face not familiar at all?” William asked as if hurt, taking two steps at a time, that grin still on his lips.

“Your face is too familiar for someone like Jane. Or any woman on that fact that you tried to seduce,”

“Oh sweetheart, I did not try. I succeeded.” He winked at her.

Lillian rolled her eyes in response. “One of these days brother. I swear you will learn your lesson. I promise you,”

“There is no lesson to learn Lily,” He remarked smiling. Recalling her nickname he used a long time ago when they were younger.

Lillian stopped and looked up at him.

He stopped as well, turning around midway to look at his sister, Jane still in his arms, unconscious and sleeping soundly.

“You remembered,” She whispered. “I thought all this time you had forgotten. Ever since you came back from War, you were more of a stranger than a brother. I was afraid that you were scarred forever. Of all the horrific images you had seen. I’ve heard what War can contain. People dying on the battlefield,”

William’s expression was unreadable. “I am forever scarred Lily. I will not lie and say War hasn’t changed me because clearly it had. I am not the same silly brother you had in the past,”

Lillian’s lips were set in a firm line. “I know.” She replied bitterly. The relief emotion she had felt when he called her by her nickname disappearing and was replaced by anger.

“Because the brother I had will never have slept with different women every night ever since he had come back from War. The brother I had will have never hurt his best friend because of some silly lust for her younger sister,” And with that remark, she went ahead stepping around him before going up to the guest room where Jane will stay. Her head held high, shoulders straight, back erect: Like any proper lady would act. She knew she was out of line but his last words hurt her. Additionally, she was partially correct. The Will she had known would have never abandoned his best friend for a selfish woman.

William watched her went around them, ignoring the sudden stab of ice in his heart as the past memories unfurled in his mind. He didn’t abandon Jane. It was the