All Chapters of Love Without Time Limits: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

    The sun was high up in the sky by the time I woke up. I looked at Marcus's empty bed. He probably got up several hours before me. The servants made his bed already. I felt well-rested and the sight of warm sunlight filling every corner of the room was a welcome change from the usual early morning rains and gloominess.     Last day at the fortress!    My family must have covered a good distance by now. I decided to wear a pleated tartan skirt that Selma packed for me, with a tea green blouse that Iona presented me with. The smell of the bathroom after Marcus s

    "Is this cute blondie not riding with us?" Max sneered at Conan.    "Fuck you guys! I will sit with the women."    Conan pushed Rhea and sat next to her, facing me. I was beginning to wonder if something was going on between the two. While Marcus looked like his mom with lighter hair and skin, Rhea looked like her dad; hazel brown eyes with thick wavy hair that was dark brown. Her dark olive skin was glowing with health and right now it looked like her eyes were sparkling when she looked at Conan.

    I decided to go back to the fortress right away.    The witch's words rang in my ears. He will lie to me? Deception is written all over? I ran faster until I saw the cobblestone streets. I slowed down to catch my breath, lost in thoughts. It was impossible to believe that Marcus would lie to me or deceive me. His eyes were filled with longing when sending me only a mile away, just for a couple of hours. But he did scheme against me and my family. He didn't cancel that kidnapping plan until the morning of the wedding.

    A nice drive to some random destination around sunset time is one of my favorite memories with Jonathan. We used to hop into his mom's old car after classes. Sometimes we ended up at the rustic coffee shop where we broke up, and sometimes we used to leave town on a whim. One time we drove up to Milwaukee on a Friday evening with no set plan, well we had plans to go to a mutual friend's birthday party somewhere in Downtown Chicago. Somehow we ended up visiting all the best fall foliage spots in Wisconsin over that weekend. Life was spontaneous and carefree when I was with him.    I found myself reminiscing these good old times unexpectedly. I think every time I lost hope with Marcus, my mind shamelessly wandered back t

    "Why can't he give it to me himself?" I asked Max with a frown.    "I am not you guys' messenger boy you know. Take it or leave it." Max wanted Marcus to hear it so he yelled it out.    "She does everything on a whim anyway, might as well keep a weapon handy. To cut things like ropes instead of uprooting shit again." Marcus came out to the backyard.    "Tell him I wouldn't have done it if he wasn't such a sly two-timer."

    "This is a special casserole made with lamb brains, plenty of cheese, and I topped it off with this beautiful sea urchin that you can all see."    My stomach lurched in disgust.    "And oh! The most exciting one is coming up, I am sure Allena will love it; not sure if you ever tried it before Allena but peacock meat and eggs are considered a prized possession in Rome. They are very expensive."    I was horrified by the names of the dishes rolling ou

    The beautiful valleys and rolling hills of Switzerland and France soon gave way to rich coastal flatlands once we neared the ocean. We passed several farms and a web of communities before hitting the sea. I could never get enough of the breathtaking views of mountainous terrains dramatically spilling into the sapphire blue waters. It was my favorite part even when going to the fortress with my family. And I was so glad we weren't going to go through the caverns this time.    "Caverns? Who the hell dares to attack us??" Marcus asked me arrogantly when I mentioned it to him. 

     "What's so great about sunsets? Why do you love them so much?" Marcus asked me warmly, staring at the evening sky.     He saw me get excited every day of this week around this time. Today's sunset was extra special. Rain clouds cleared out and the sky was painted in bold and fiery hues. Also, it was the first sunset that we were watching together, without sulking or ignoring each other.    "It's not just about the sunsets," I told him, unable to express myself any better than that.

    Marcus gave me a totally unexpected and wonderful surprise when we were about half a mile away from his home. We were riding down a hill, and his house was situated in a valley below. It was surrounded by trees and a few other houses. What looked like the garden side of the house with a fountain was overlooking the river. I was straining my eyes hard to see the house more clearly when my family appeared out of nowhere. Marcus invited them the day they were leaving. He just never told me. The Romans did a ceremony to take the new wife into the house, similar to modern-day but in a slightly different style.     "Aaahhh...!" I was super thrilled and climbed down my horse to run to them.

   "This should be made illegal! It's totally unacceptable!" Marcus protested.    I was with him on this one. After sacrificing a pig and throwing nuts and what not at me saying fertility a hundred times, these people won't let us sleep together now. We both looked at our parents in disapproval.    "Avia says today is not an auspicious day. The propitious time for it passed mid-afternoon." Maia tried to explain and Marcus looked at his grandmother threatenin