The Knight's Mysterious Maid-Chapter 302: If you still love me (2)

"You have every right to be mad at me. I kept the truth from you, but I honestly wanted to tell you. It was just hard to do because I feared how you would react to finding out I was from here. I regret that I didn’t tell you when we were giving our goodbyes. I’m sorry," Annalise apologised.

Rafael understood that it wasn’t something she could find easy to share even though he wanted her to trust in his feelings. He had said time and time again and also liked to believe he showed her just how much he loved her for her to have some idea that his reaction wouldn’t be to have her imprisoned.

What was he to think when she was fearing he would have her imprisoned? What type of person was he in her eyes? He swore to put the kingdom first, but he had a mind to know when to hide some things from the palace.

"What part of it was real?" Rafael questioned, looking away from Annalise. He found it hard to look at her now as he felt he knew nothing about her. He looked straight ahead at her people to make sure there was no surprise attack.

"My feelings for you were real. Believe me, I did not come to your manor looking to have feelings for you. That happened on its own. I tried not to like you since I knew it was wrong that I was the only one knowing the truth. You have witnessed me denying my feelings for you. I really tried to do the right thing which was to deny your feelings," Annalise said, lowering her head before looking back up at him.

She already knew this would be a tough conversation so she prepared herself for it, but being here with him now and seeing him upset with her, was not something she had entirely prepared herself for.

Seeing how angry he was now showed more of why she should have said something before she left.

"You let me bed you but you couldn’t be open about who you are? Did jealousy have anything to do with you claiming to like me or did you change your plan to using your body to get something from me? Did you plan to come back here and make a fool of me? Make fun of the things I did for you?" Rafael asked, releasing a dry laugh. "I see now why you spoke of bragging about my confessions."

"So when does the fun start? Of your people laughing about how I foolishly loved you while being clueless?"

"Besides Thomas, my grandmother and mother, no one knows about you. I didn’t plan to share our relationship with everyone. Don’t you know that mixing with your side is forbidden? Having parents who are farmers, Thomas being my brother, and coming to the manor for work was a lie. That is all. Everything else was real for me. I wouldn’t have initiated us sleeping together if I didn’t like you," Annalise explained.

"I came to you because I wanted to gather information. I was going to get what I could find and get out, but then you were always there keeping a close eye on me. Annoying me, making me laugh, or being impressed with your skills. I ignored the consequences I could face if anyone were to find out just so I could indulge in what I felt for you," Annalise said, reaching over to touch him, but Rafael moved his horse to get away from her.

"I truly did fall in love with you, Rafael. It has been eating me up inside that I did not tell you the truth before we parted or that I could not forget about everything here and just stay with you. I promise you, my feelings for you were always real. I even made up excuses to stay by your side longer when Thomas wanted us to go home," said Annalise.

Rafael finally turned to look at Annalise. Under different circumstances, he would be thrilled to see her now after thinking about her during the long journey here.

Why was it that the woman he fell in love with and thought of making her be the lady of his manor had to be right here in the middle of this field with him?

He loved her more than she realised, and though he would have been shocked to hear who she was, he might have stormed out of the room, but he would have returned to her to keep her safe. Knowing that she would have been in danger he would have kept her safe because he loved her too much to let harm come to her.

Even now when he was angry with her and wanted to throw away his feelings for her, he couldn’t. His mind was filled with how he could get her far away from this fight.

Rafael couldn’t look at her as the enemy when he should.

Rafael was far from accepting her apologies and feeling like she was not toying with him. He didn’t know what to believe when it came to Annalise. He couldn’t believe the smallest thing like Annalise being her name so how was he to trust that her feelings had been real? When he said he loved Annalise, he might have been speaking of a name that did not exist to her. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

"Do you regret it? Coming to my manor," Rafael said.

"No. If I had the chance to do this all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. I told you not to love me," said Annalise, unaffected by the hurt in his eyes. She tried to stop this, but it was him who kept chasing after her.

There was nothing Annalise regretted other than not telling him the truth earlier. If time were reversed, she would approach him again to try to learn if he would one day be a threat to her people or if he knew anyone who would be a threat. She wouldn’t mind if she would repeat falling for him.

Annalise would give him the same warning and then let it all repeat, but this time, she would tell him the truth before this point.

Rafael smiled, fighting back the emotions he felt. He was such a fool that if they could start over, he would also love to see her standing there the night he returned. Still, he couldn’t tell that to Annalise. "Love? How can I love someone who was lying to me from the beginning? If you have ever loved me for even a second, be honest with me, Annalise. Who the hell are you?"

She had to be someone of importance since she rode out here to him. It was about time she started to show exactly who she was.

"My name is Annalise Woods. My father is Phillip Woods. My father is the current leader of our people and soon, I will lead after him. I have a lot of responsibility awaiting me, so that is why as much as I wanted to stay with you, I could not. There isn’t a sibling to take my place. I travelled far from home looking for an advantage for when my time would come," Annalise answered.

"How long will it take you to forgive me for not telling you who I am-"

"That is not the only reason I am angry with you. I told you what I intended to do when I returned to the manor. That I would take care of you. You led me to think I was going to return and find you there. There are many things I am angry about when it comes to you. Do not expect me to care for you so soon," Rafael replied, moving his horse to turn back to his men. "Or ever," he added.

"Right. I will do whatever is necessary to get back into your good graces. To prove that my feelings have always been true. You can yell at me if you want. I don’t mind if that will help you get closer to forgiving me. Just consider that I put my position on the line to speak with you right now," Annalise said, hoping that would show how much she cared for him. "I could lose my people’s trust, but I turned a blind eye to it for you."

"Annalise!"

Rafael turned around to face her when he heard someone call out to her.

"No," Annalise muttered, watching as her father was coming straight to her and Rafael.