Chapter 85
I was then left completely alone in the room, shaking and in disbelief this had actually happened. Of all the things that could have occurred, Bash was being pinned for my own. crimes and it was Benjamin who came to find us in bed together.
I wanted to throw up.
I looked down and saw I was only dressed in the baggy t-shirt Bash had given me, my bare legs showing from the mid-thigh down, and my cheeks burned red. The Benjamin from the past would have killed me, I had no doubt in my mind. There wouldn’t have been any explanation needed, only my throat ripped out before I’d even had a chance to open my mouth. But he’d done the complete opposite. Not only did he not hurt me, but he also didn’t even hand me over to the warriors for sentencing. It was difficult to wrap my head around, but… Benjamin had just saved me.
I stiffly got changed into the dress from the other night before sitting in a daze on the side of the bed… waiting for when Benjamin would return. My mind was thinking of everything and nothing all at once, unable to pinpoint just one thing to focus on.
After not too long, I could finally hear footsteps coming back. I poised myself for battle in the event it was anyone other than Benjamin, but thankfully it was him.
His green eyes were sharpened like daggers as they met mine, ready for an argument. “Give me one good reason why I
shouldn’t-”
I didn’t let him finish though as I launched myself at him, grabbing onto his clothes, my tears resuming.
“Please, Benjamin, listen to me,” I cried. “He’s not involved.
Please.”
“How could you possibly know that, Winona? We literally found the dagger here,” he argued, backing up against a wall in his attempt to free himself from my grip. “Why are you being so blind to all of this?”
“Because it was me!” I yelled. “I was the one who stole the dagger from the evidence locker and attacked the warrior, not Bash. I-I wanted it to kill Isabella. I wanted revenge for what she did to Ava. And you and my father acted like you didn’t even believe me… So I took matters into my own hands.”
He was avoiding my gaze as he tried to gently pry my hands off without much success. “Stop making shit up just to spare him. And I never said that I didn’t believe you. I stopped you from committing murder without evidence in front of an entire crowd of warriors. You’d be on trial right now if you’d actually gone through with it. You should be thanking me.”
“I’m not making this up!” I insisted, a tone of frustration in my words. “It was me. I attacked Ray and ordered him to stand down so I could steal the dagger. How else would I know who it was when you never said the warrior’s name?”
“You’re not even remotely high enough in rank for that,” he argued. “You’re a Beta heir, a half one at that.”
“I’m a goddamn Saintess first and foremost, Benjamin, or have you forgotten?” I spat back, his eyes finally meeting
mine. “My authority is whatever the fuck I want it to be, including higher than yours if I was ever so inclined one day.”
We stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before finally, the tension between us started to ease. I could see as Benjamin was trying to process everything I was saying.
“So Bash is… -.”
“He’s innocent,” I finished. “It’s my fault. All of it.”
I sighed, bowing my head towards him in complete defeat as I clung to him. “Please, you have to help him. I’ll confess to the whole thing if need be. Just… don’t let anything happen to
him.”
I felt him shift uncomfortably as he thought, rubbing at his face in irritation. “If you confess that it was you, my father will have you stripped of all your titles and you’ll probably be imprisoned, you know that, right? Maybe worse… And then coupled with if he ever found out that you were here in bed with Bash? Fuck, Winona, are you trying to start a war?”
My heart was racing as he pointed out just how messed up things had become due to putting myself above duty. He was right. I’d known he was right and yet I thought I was going to get away with it.
“I know,” I said, “I messed up. I messed up bad. But I’ve just lost Ava, I can’t lose Bash too. Please… help me Benjamin.”
I looked up at him through my eyes full of tears, begging him for this one thing. Just this one thing that maybe I could make better and fix. Whatever it took, so long as Bash would be okay.
He stared down at me, his face full of confliction and… pain? It was yet more new expressions I’d never seen him ever show before, expressions I was unfamiliar with. It was making it impossible to know what he was actually thinking with this sudden unpredictability.
“…Fine, I’ll help,” he finally said with a long exhale. “But you should know that I’ll be trying to get this mess fixed without bringing your name into it first.”
“Wait, Benjamin-.”
“No, I’m serious,” he said sternly, cutting me off. “I personally don’t care what happens to Bash but I do care if the only living Saintess gets charged with treason. There would be a religious riot on our doorstep protesting whatever
punishment my father issued. I don’t want to be put in that awkward position if we can help it.”
And with that, he quickly released my hands from his chest. without waiting for me to reply and started walking back outside.
“Get your shit together, Winona!” he yelled out casually over his shoulder, not even bothering to turn back around to look
at me.
…But as it turned out, that was a lot easier said than done.
