Rachel's eyes surveyed the clearing and darkened when they fell on Levi, who grabbed his robe from the ground and pulled it up over his head to cover his nakedness.
Rachel charged at him. "Get away from her! Leah, run!"
Leah stopped her, placing her hands on Rachel's shoulders. "Stop!"
"He was hurting you!" Rachel shouted, struggling out of Leah's grip.
"You don't understand, Rachel." Leah tried to speak again, but her mouth was dry.
Rachel turned to her and took her hands. Her eyes were wild and she was shaking. "You won't be shamed, sister. You weren't actually—intimate—with him. Luckily I got here in time to prevent that. When we expose this pig, Father will understand—"
"He wasn't hurting me,"Leah blurted out. Rachel froze in her grip.
I'm sorry, Ummi. I'm letting you down now.
The words tumbled out in a hurried rush. "We had to keep it a secret, Rachel. Please understand. If Abī knew, he would have separated us."
Rachel's chin quivered as she slipped away from Leah. She looked between them, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"He ...he wasn't ...?"
"By all the Anunnaki, no!"Leah said, walking to Levi and taking his hand. Her sister had nothing to fear from him—she had to know that."Rachel, Levi and I are in love."
Leah held her breath as she saw the truth dawn on Rachel."In love? As in ...this isn't the first time you've—met like this?" she looked at Leah, bringing her hand to her mouth. "You took your hair down—"
"Lower your voice,"Leah warned her. Levi scanned the periphery of trees to see if anyone heard them, but the trees granted them silence.
"I don't understand,"Rachel said, ignoring Leah's plea. "Why would you keep this from me?"She shook her head, looking down at the dirt. "All this time I thought you were in mourning ..."
Leah felt a pang of guilt. She had questioned herself and her distance from Rachel for years ...but the truth went deeper than keeping Levi a secret. For Rachel to understand—for her to forgive—Leah would have to tell her the truth. She looked to Levi standing next to her and wasn't surprised to see such emotion on his face ...but he said nothing. It wasn't his story to tell.
"Rachel, I'll tell you everything. But can we go inside the tent, please? If we are found, Abīwill—"
Defiantly, Rachel took another step back. "I felt sorry for you ...but this whole time you never trusted me. Did you not think I could keep this a secret?"
The hurt in Rachel's voice seared Leah's heart. Her little sister had never looked more like a child to her than she did then. Leah remembered how Rachel clung to their father's robe at their mother's burial, when all Leah wanted to do was shove Laban into the little cave where they had laid Ummīand wall up the opening with stones. It was the least of what he deserved.
"I was trying to protect you. You are so innocent, and you hate disappointing Abī. It was so difficult, Rachel, believe me—there's nothing more I've wanted for the past five years than a friend, than my sister—"
Rachel's eyes filled with tears. "Five years?"
"I was afraid you would tell."She gripped Levi's hand tighter next to her, hoping his warmth would strengthen her.
Rachel puffed her chest out. "Well, maybe I would have told. He doesn't worship our gods,"she said, pointing to Levi,"and everyone knows that!"
"Neither does Jacob," Leah pointed out.
Rachel was obviously thrown by the words, for she stuttered slightly. "It was a special circumstance. Jacob worked for seven years."
"Right. Special for you. Spare me the story, we've all heard it before," Leah said, her tone full of ire.
Rachel stepped towards her. "Leah. Lust does dangerous things to a woman before marriage, trust me. Amit says—"
"I wish you would stop believing everything Amit says. She lies to you,"Leah said, letting go of Levi's hand and taking a step closer to Rachel. She didn't want to tell her, especially with such rage in her voice, but it seemed Rachel was determined to ignore the truth in front of her.
"That's not true,"Rachel began to protest, but Leah pressed on.
"You think Abī would have been so understanding of my love for Levi?"She could not stop. She had kept the truth in for so long. "Why? Because you, his perfect princess, would have told him to be? Well, of course you would think that, because you've never seen Laban for the monster he truly is."
Rachel turned to run, but Leah grabbed her wrist and spun her back around. She held her tighter than she ever had before.
"Rachel, he killed our mother."
****
Looks like both sisters have been keeping secrets! How will Rachel react to learning the truth about their father...and Leah?
Pre-order SIN AND HONEY's 2nd novella THE TOUCH OF BETRAYAL (a retelling of Samson and Delilah) now! Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Touch-Betrayal-SIN-HONEY-novella-ebook/dp/B00ZB2P7VY/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1435150894&sr=1-2
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ŞİMDİ OKUDUĞUN
SIN and HONEY: Seven Years of Longing
RomantizmSo Jacob served seven years, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. —Gen.29.20 Rachel was destined to love at first sight. Leah's only crime was falling for the wrong man. In Taryn Scarlett's richly lyrical novell...
