Forbidden Love

She Went Back

Chapter 26

I woke slowly to sunlight and birds chirping too early in the morning. I don't remember the last time I've had such a good sleep. I reached out for Rena only to feel her spot empty. I open my eyes and she wasn't there. Well there goes my morning plans. She took care of me so tenderly yesterday I wanted to do the same for her. I stretched before getting out of bed and dressing for the day.

I was never a morning person.

I sat on the edge of the bed as I put on my sandals. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw a note on the nightstand.

I grabbed it knowing only one person could have wrote it.

Gone back to Rome. I have to speak to Father before Luna can. I will return as soon as possible.

Your loving wife,
Rena Maximia

I had to reread the note several times to fully comprehend what she had done. I almost wanted to mentally fight the words I was reading....

... She went back to Rome.

My wife, went back to Rome...

Alone....

In the middle of the night...

While there was a crazy senator trying to kill her, marry her or fuck her.

She went back... To Rome.

I was newly energized, as I grabbed my sack of gold and stormed through the house too find Cassius in the kitchen with Titus enjoying a breakfast of wine and bread.

"How were the nunchuels? I didn't hear nearly as much screaming as---"

"Rena went back to Rome".

"What?" Titus gasped.

"What the fuck did you do, Venus?!"

"I didn't do anything", I said throwing Rena's note down on the table. Titus immediately picked it up and read the note.

"Get your things and let's go. She couldn't have gotten far".

"Why does she have to speak to Marcus first?"

"I don't know, and I don't really care. The roads from here to Rome are dangerous. Bandits, slavers, the occult, just fucking men---"

"Assassins", Cassius added.

"She's going to father to try and convince him that this marriage wasn't a mistake", Luna said standing in the doorway. Rena truly did knock her out good, she wore a bandage over her nose and her eye was blacken. "Which it is".

"Darling, can we not start a fight? No matter how you feel about the marriage it has happened. And your sister is in danger".

"Good, I hope she falls off her horse".

"Do you want her to get raped and killed?" Cassius stated.

"No", Luna said frowning at him.

"Well that could easily happen. Just because she could knock you the fuck out doesn't mean she's going to be so lucky with the next person".

"Don't talk to me ever again", she then turned her bitter attention to me,"And that goes for you too".

Happy to ignore my sister-in-law I turned back to Titus,"Did you come here by carriage or by horse?"

"Carriage, and if we lighten the load we could speed things along".

"You're not throwing my things out, this was supposed to be our---"

"Two horses?" I asked

"Three".

I quickly handed over all of my gold if that's what it would take to get me a horse to get me to Rena,"that should more than pay for your horse and your inconvenience".

"I don't need repayment, take a horse, make sure she's okay".

I nodded my thanks.

"You can't honestly think that she actually left. She's probably a mile away, pouting under a tree and she'll be back before night".

"I thought you told us not to talk to you?" Cassius commented.

"I'm not going to take that risk that she's not. And I know Rena cares too much about your opinion to not do exactly what she said she was going to do", I quickly moved pass Luna.

I would ride as hard and fast as I could to find Rena. But I was not going to just abandon her or sit here and wait for her to maybe show up. The only reason she was doing this was because of me.

I swear to the gods she believes in, if anything happens to her, if one hair is misplaced on her head death will be a kindness.

"You all are mobilizing for nothing, Rena always runs away when she's upset, a couple of hours later she'll be back and you all would have been inconvenienced for nothing. Even the first night she was supposed to meet you that whole day, we stayed in the garden and complained and then we went shopping and came home".

"Luna, I do believe you miss the point where you said we spent time in the garden and went shopping in the marketplace. If there is no one to pull you back from your rash decisions why---"

"Rena, is the smart one. She's not going to risk her life just to run to Father first".

"People do crazy things when they're in love", Cassius stated.

"She doesn't know you enough to be in love. Maybe in lust".

"People that are fucking horny for each other don't get married to each other. They bang it out and go their separate ways. One could say there is a whole profession around that need", Cassius argued.

"There is no logic to love, my dear. If there was, we wouldn't be together", Titus said speaking up finally silencing Luna. "And it saddens me that you cannot find happiness in your heart for your sister. She was our biggest supporter against your mother and whispered nothing but good things into your father's ears. You never saw me is just a merchant, but renna could have looked down on us, look down on you and your choices but she didn't. We should be able to support her now, because without someone in our corner we wouldn't have happened".

"Cassius, I hate to drag you back---"

"It was a good break. But it was only temporary. Let's go find Venus".