Counting the stars

Chapter 1

Thunder and lightning announced a storm. Black clouds covered the sky, darkening those lands that just a few hours ago enjoyed peacefully the wonderful rays of sun. A few drops began to wet the earth, flooding the atmosphere with the delicious aroma of rain.

But she wasn't paying any attention to that; she just wanted to run through the forest without looking back. The trees were swinging their tops violently, the wind that was becoming stronger and stronger was hitting her cheeks and the rain was beginning gradually to wet her hair. Without realizing it, the branches on her way were striking her, her thin shoes were completely covered in mud, but she didn't care about any of that. Her vision was blurred with the tears that were flowing incessantly from her emerald green eyes...

She couldn't help it; her soul was crying...

Those words she had heard only a few moments ago had shattered her heart that was just beginning to heal. Why was she crying? What was that pain, so deep that it didn't let her breathe? Why did she feel so bad, as if she were dying? She couldn't deny it anymore. She knew very well the answer to all those questions; she knew it for such a long time...But the fear of being hurt again forced her to be cautious until the last moment, to believe that everything she felt when she was with him was an illusion, a friendship or a brotherly affection. We are like brother and sister, nothing more, she repeated again and again, feeling her heart beating wildly whenever she was in front of him. But since that afternoon, since she heard those horrible words, she knew she could no longer deny what her heart felt. She had fallen madly in love with him, her best friend, her guardian...Because he was her guardian and she was his ward; they had always been like this and would continue to be until she was twenty-one. Fortunately, there is little time left for that...she thought as she kept running. She felt relieved knowing that on her next birthday they would stop having that hateful legal relationship of father and daughter and they could finally be simply friends as before, when they lived together at the Magnolia.

Three years had passed since she had found out that the vagabond who lived with her for little more than a year was the mysterious Great Uncle William. Three years had passed since she had discovered on Pony's Hill that the man who had been by her side almost all of her life as her confidante was none other than her dear Prince. And it was little more than two years ago that she had been completely in love with that man...Although it was precisely at that moment, while she was running desperately through the forest, in the middle of a storm, completely bathed in tears, that she had realized there was no turning back...No, not any longer, because those words...Those words...They still echoed in her ears...She could still see them, both of them, in the parlor of the mansion in Lakewood, sitting beside each other on that huge divan, and Great Aunt Elroy standing and announcing their engagement. She could still see Albert's eyes on her, waiting for her reaction. And Candy could say nothing, nothing at all. She had just looked down and run to the garden.

What could she say? Her great love was getting married...He was getting married! To a beautiful, refined, delicate woman of a good family...Not like her, an orphan who was living in a fairy tale until she would turn twenty-one.

She ran without stopping for a long time; she never knew for how long. From time to time she thought she heard her name in the wind but as soon as she tried to pay attention, a loud thunder startled her, forcing her to keep running. She didn't care where she was going; nor did she know why she felt that desperate need to run. She only wanted to silence that pain which sprouted from her chest; the immense pain of loving deeply without being reciprocated.

The right side of her abdomen began to hurt her; a sharp puncture in that area caused her to fall on her knees to the ground, burying her hands in the black mud. Breathing with difficulty, she tried to fill again her lungs with air. She felt the warmth on her face although the cold rain was falling mercilessly on her body. She looked up and tried to sharpen her senses. Immediately she recognized the place; she was at the edge of a waterfall. It was the same place where he had saved her life years ago, where she had seen him for the first time. A smile appeared on her lips when she remembered that it was the second time she had seen him, when they had introduced themselves simply as Candy and Albert. She was looking at the waterfall for a long time, recalling the moments she had shared with the man who had stolen her heart long ago and for whom she was crying just now.

A strange sound interrupted her thoughts. She turned her eyes but she only managed to see the shadow of a man getting off a horse.

"Candy!" was the last thing she heard, before a deep darkness surrounded her, vanishing in the mud.

The crackling of the fire awakened her. She opened her eyes slowly

and found herself wrapped in some blankets, reclining on a sofa in front of a fireplace. She raised her eyes and looked around her, trying

to remember something of what had happened recently.

"Good evening, sleepyhead!" A voice that she knew very well greeted her. She looked in front of her and saw him. Two intense blue eyes were looking at her with concern and affection. He was standing there, with a steaming cup of coffee in his hands.

"Where am I? What happened?" she asked, although she began to remember little by little what had happened that night.

"We are at the villa in the forest, in Lakewood. You fainted as soon as you saw me by the waterfall," he replied quietly, even though his eyes still seemed worried and also...reproachful?

"Oh! Thank you for saving me again...Albert..." she said, looking sadly at him. She attempted to get up but she noticed she wasn't wearing anything. She was completely naked under the blankets. The intense warmth on her face told her that she was blushing. How could this be? Had Albert dared to...Impossible!

"I'm sorry, but I had to undress you so you wouldn't get sick. Your clothes were soaking wet. Do you see them? There they are, laid in front of the fire. Once they are dry, you can put them on again. In the meantime, put this on." He handed her a white robe. Candy grabbed it and that moment their eyes met. Albert was looking at her in a penetrating way which little by little made her feel uncomfortable.

"Could...could you turn around, please?" asked Candy nervously, observing Albert as he obeyed her request without objection.

She stood up and slowly put on the robe closing it with a knot at the front. "Thank you for cleaning me up..." she murmured, when she noticed that her hands and feet had no trace of mud. "I'm done, you can turn around."

"You're welcome..." he answered, as he turned and looked at her steadily. "I've prepared coffee; do you want some?" he offered, raising the cup.

"Yes, please..."

Albert went to the kitchen and came back a few moments later, bringing her a cup of coffee. Both of them sat silently on the sofa in front of the fireplace. In the distance they could hear the thunder and the incessant rain that was striking the windows.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"An hour more or less, although it's already night. The storm doesn't intend to stop, so we have to sleep here."

Candy swallowed hard. The two of them alone under the same roof, after that scene when Aunt Elroy announced his engagement?

Now she realized it...What a fool she had been! She had totally betrayed herself by reacting in that way! What would Albert think of her? Surely he had noticed she was hopelessly in love with him. Oh, God! On top of that, he had seen her completely naked! Her face blushed again. She wasn't a little girl anymore and her body had changed enough since the last time they had spent the night there, a long time ago...No, she couldn't allow that; there must be another way out...

"Maybe the rain will stop a little after an hour and we could leave on horseback..." she murmured bringing the cup of coffee to her lips.

"Maybe..." answered Albert, who kept looking at the fire. "But it's also night, and if we leave in that darkness we run the risk of getting lost. Besides, we must take into account that the forest is full of traps...The most sensible thing to do is spend the night here and leave early in the morning."

Silence fell again between them. The rain was falling incessantly, and at times the lightning flashes illuminated the small living room. Albert was tense and sighed deeply. Candy was looking at him askance; she didn't know why he was like that but she wouldn't risk asking him either.

"Candy..."

"Yes?"

"What the hell were you thinking when you decided to run away to the forest in this weather?" Albert was looking at her furiously. He was holding the cup so tight in his hands that his fingers had become white. His frown and tight lips told Candy that he was really angry, very angry..."Don't you realize what might have happened to you? You could have been seriously hurt. And if that happened, Candy, tell me, how could I have found you? You would spend the whole night in the middle of the forest during a storm! Do you realize what you have done, Candy?" His eyes had darkened and he was breathing agitatedly. It was the first time Candy had seen him so angry. She had never seen him like this, not even when he had canceled the engagement with Neal.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think..." she responded, lowering her eyes.

Albert looked at the ceiling and stood up. He put the cup of coffee on the small table beside the sofa and turned to look at Candy while he ran his fingers through his blond hair.

"You didn't think...You didn't think?" Albert's tone of voice was getting louder and louder. "Of course you didn't think! You never do! That's the problem! And that's how you always get into these predicaments and make me run after you in order to save you."

Candy looked at him in surprise, without believing what she had heard. Her eyes filled with tears, as she was unable to avoid it.

"I'm sorry to bother you with my problems..." she told him with trembling lips. "Soon you won't have to take care of me...Don't worry..." She got up from the sofa, put her cup beside Albert's cup and turned to go to the rooms, but a hand held her arm, stopping her. Albert turned her around and held her by the waist, pulling her towards him. He embraced her tight; his face was a few centimeters away from hers, and their breaths were blended in the small space that separated them. Candy looked up and saw Albert looking steadily at her lips, then raising his eyes until he met hers.

"What does that mean?" he asked in a hoarse voice, breathing shortly.

"That soon I'll be twenty-one and you won't have to worry about me anymore since you'll stop being my guardian."

Candy's voice was full of energy, and her eyes had a defiant look. She felt offended by Albert's words. All right, she admitted it...She had been stupid to leave so impulsively from the mansion while a storm was coming, but that didn't give him any right to speak to her in that way, let alone shout at her.

Albert released her immediately, and grabbed his head with both hands. Candy was the only person who could drive him crazy. He looked up at the ceiling as if he wanted to count to ten and then, being unable to avoid it, a smile appeared on his lips.

"Oh, Candy, Candy...What am I going to do with you?" he said, still looking at her tenderly.

Candy, surprised by his attitude, thought he was not taking her seriously and that infuriated her even more.

"Why are you laughing? I'm serious. You know perfectly well I can settle on my own and I don't need anyone. And if I live in the mansion right now, it's because you asked me to. I'm a nurse, remember? I can get back to work whenever I want."

"I don't doubt that..." he said, looking at her with that smile only he could give her.

They looked at each other for a few moments. Little by little, Candy was lost in the blue of his eyes. She felt she was being born and she was dying at the same time. Whenever he looked at her like that, millions of butterflies fluttered in her stomach and intense warmth covered her chest...

Why? she wondered. Why does he alone make me feel these things? No, my heart, please don't betray me. He doesn't reciprocate my feelings; he loves another woman. He's going to marry another woman! Please, my heart, react; don't make me suffer like this...

"Well, I think it would be ideal if I should go to bed..." she said looking out of the window.

"Why? Are you tired?" he asked, while he came dangerously close to her and lifted up her chin, making her look at him.

"Eh? No...Eh, yes...Yes, I'm tired..." she answered nervously as she tried to turn around and head towards the bedrooms.

But Albert didn't let her go and held her by the waist, pressing her tight against his body. Candy couldn't think; she felt dizzy...His closeness, his warmth surrounding her...She felt she would faint in his arms and unable to avoid it, little by little, she closed her eyes. She felt Albert's breath closer and closer; she didn't want to think but a little voice inside her kept warning her that this was not normal. She didn't know what was happening. Albert was about to kiss her? Was he really? Yes, Albert wanted to kiss her!

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to get married?" she asked almost unconsciously and then she cursed herself for that, biting her lower lip.

Albert separated a little from her but didn't let her go. He let out a deep sigh and looked at her with resignation.

"Well? Don't you think of answering me?'' His silence puzzled her. What was happening? Why didn't he answer? "Apparently I'm no longer trustworthy..." she said lowering her eyes.

"Candy..."

"No, that's enough, Albert!" she cried, finally drawing away from his arms. "I think everything has already been said." And without further ado she ran to one of the rooms, closing the door with a bang.

Albert had remained motionless, looking steadily towards the room Candy had entered. He couldn't understand what was happening. Was it possible that Candy felt something more than simple friendship for him? Why had she reacted that way at the announcement that afternoon? Was it jealousy? When he found her unconscious and took her in his arms, he noticed that she had cried, but why? Or rather, for whom? For him? No, it couldn't be...Candy couldn't be in love with him. Or could she? Was she? And what if, after so many years he had loved her in silence, his love was finally reciprocated?

Not wishing to avoid it, he recalled the moment when he undressed her that same afternoon. He knew it was not right to look at her under those circumstances, but his instinct couldn't help it. How could he not delight in such beauty? Candy was a woman and her body was definitely driving him crazy. There was little left of the girl he had met some years ago and in front of him there was a beautiful mermaid whose laughter and voluptuous curves were slowly driving him to madness. He couldn't even touch her without feeling the immense desire to take her in his arms and kiss her passionately. He recalled looking all over her body: From her nose full of freckles, her cheeks, following until her appetizing lips, down to her delicate neck, her round and perfect breasts, her abdomen, and...No! No more recalling! He had to stop thinking about that if he wanted to survive that night. Being under the same roof with her was torture...A delicious torture, there was no doubt about that, but still a torture.

It was getting completely out of control. He knew it was the first time

he argued with Candy like that but he couldn't put her imprudence

aside. If anything had happened to her...If anything had happened to her...No, he couldn't live without Candy; he couldn't bear it...

He walked slowly towards the kitchen and warmed up again the coffee he had prepared that same afternoon. He put a little in his cup and sat again on the sofa stoking the fire in the fireplace.

It was going to be a long night...He was completely sure of that.

In the meantime, in one of the few furnished rooms in that mansion, lying on the bed, Candy was thinking in tears:

And now what must I do? He doesn't love me, that's certain. I would be very silly to stay here with them. No, I couldn't bear it. I would die if I saw him at the altar with another woman. No...I have to get away from here as soon as possible...There are only a few months until I turn twenty-one...That's it! That's what I'm going to do...I just have to think well about how I will leave. I'm not a child anymore; soon I'll be a grown up woman and as such I have to think about things carefully. I have to plan it well, very well...Yes, yes...That's what I'm going to do...

And taking a deep breath, she tried to calm down her thoughts. Yes, she was already determined for the next step she was going to take. She just had to put it into practice.