Songs for the Chapter: EVEN WHEN YOU'RE RUNNING, by Casting Crowns and SPEAK THE NAME, by Koryn Hawthorne

(Kindly try to listen to the last one at the end of the chapter if possible, please. I have been longing to add it for some time now.🙏🏻🥰)

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"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."

~ John 6:37;

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After travailing all night in Worship—one of the strongest and mightiest weapons she knew of—Violet felt the drain of the battle that had been fought.

Her only hope during the battle? Her SAVIOUR Who had led her to find that gift had fought and won the Victory.

She had trudged through the woods beside the Villa in the middle of the night to dispose and set ablaze the gift—finally ending its existence.

The gift still remained a mystery to her. For it had strangely snuck its way into her room.

All in all, Violet felt she could sleep all day long. She was knackered.

Well, until somebody decided to wake her up—for what you might wonder? Well, for breakfast!

"Since when did you even eat breakfast?" Dazed and yawning, Violet tried her best to keep her eyelids open and resolve to stay awake.

But she was failing miserably.

"Isn't someone groggy today?" Vincenzo managed to sound his typical self despite the slight glint of amusement she noticed through her sleepy haze.

"I am not into the habit of eating without praying or reading my BIBLE first," she drawled, yawning and turning in bed away from him.

Yet, her subconscious mind was anticipating a rebuff or disapproval.

"Should I get Survivor to wake you up?"

Violet immediately bolted out of her bed, casting her blanket aside.

Survivor, she had learnt, was a German Shepherd Vincenzo doted on. She had never seen him when she lived on the other side of the Villa.

But for some reason, he had taken an uncanny liking to her—way beyond comfortability. He often barged into her room and would not budge until he felt like it.

He saw himself as the master of the house—which Violet lowkey believed he actually was—his boss was a King Maker.

No surprise there, she thought.

Finally rising from her bed and stretching, she turned to Vincenzo, who looked as casual as she had never seen.

"And concerning your Prayer time and BIBLE reading..."

Violet raised an eyebrow, dreading what was to come. And she had her defence ready, akin to any award-winning manifesto.

She was not going to give up on her time with her SAVIOUR—not even for the man she called her husband.

After a moment of awkward silence, filled with perturbation on her part, Vincenzo finally concluded.

"Fine, we will do it together before having breakfast then. I will be waiting."

And with that, he left the room.

What did he just say? Violet had not expected that response.

She remained fixated in her position for a few moments as the shock of his statement finally computed into her befuddled brain.

LORD, I know YOU are full of surprises, and I prayed for this chance, she prayed within.

But can YOU kindly have mercy on this poor servant of YOURS? How ever am I to have my BIBLE Study with him of all people?

Regathering her equilibrium, she quickly freshened up and changed clothes before heading out with her BIBLE in hand.

"But you asked for it, Child... Why blame ME? I am simply doing what you asked for," she thought she could hear her SAVIOUR chuckle.

FATHER, if YOU keep going at this pace, I don't think even my running skills can keep up.

A verse came to mind as she stepped out, "The race is not to the swift..."

She could not help but chuckle herself—her SAVIOUR sure did have an answer to every question.

Yet, she found her heart racing faster as she thought of the task ahead—a prayer and BIBLE Study session with Mr Icy.

The only question on her mind was, had her morning shower been hot enough to withstand the ice?

~~~

"Would you like to join us for golf at the club today?" Giuseppe asked in his ever-so-humble and loving voice. He was dressed up to join his colleagues at the Circolo Reale (Royal Club).

"No, thanks," Ginevra tried her best to smile at him—a task that was becoming increasingly difficult with each day that passed by.

"I think I need to rest some more," she feigned a yawn.

She caught the subtle change in Giuseppe's visage before he masked it with his endearing smile.

"Sure," he replied and drew closer to her as he bid her farewell. "Get as much rest as you need for the little one. See you later."

Ginevra double-checked to make sure he was gone before finally letting out a sigh of relief. She could not stand the sight of the stranger she had all too soon realised she was living with.

Of course, she had told him about the child, thinking that could sway his feelings toward her brother. And despite his over-enthusiastic reaction to the news, she tried to find any opportunity to elude him.

Ever since that night, she had kept a closer eye on him, listening to the cryptic remarks he made to others on the phone. Some of which she could not fully comprehend, yet, gave off danger signs.

They made her fear all the more and came to the realisation that she had made the biggest mistake of her life—marrying Giuseppe.

Her thoughts were on the poor baby that was going to have a monster of a father. How could she shield the unborn baby?

She had no clue.

~~~

"Whatever in the world are you so engrossed in?" Alessandro startled his younger sister who was deeply engrossed in her meditation of the Holy Scriptures.

Yet, his surprising appearance did little to dwindle the interesting facts she had found in her BIBLE.

"Did you know the BIBLE foretold the Euphrates river drying up?" Her eyes were lit with the revelation.

"So?" Alessandro sat next to her in the family's library, where he had found her. "Everyone can predict anything these days. Big deal."

"Oh, it is a big deal," she finally turned to look at him fully.

"About 2,500 prophecies are found right here," she patted on her BIBLE. "And, guess what? 2,000 of them have been fulfilled. Doesn't that amaze you?"

Though Alessandro gave her a look that told her he thought she had lost her marbles, deep inside, he had begun to wonder.

~~~

All throughout the drive to the Circolo Reale (Royal Club), Vincenzo's thoughts were on the morning he had spent with Violet.

He had allowed himself to take part in her BIBLE Study and prayer session as a means of getting rid of his guilt.

Maybe this would suffice and help clear up the mess and confusion, he had thought then.

But, as it always was with Violet, something strange kept occurring.

He knew she had cut her BIBLE Study short and brief for his sake. But the Words, despite their brevity had struck a chord within him.

She had read from Revelation 22:12, about the soon return of JESUS.

It was not a new topic to him. But, perhaps, it was the way she had shared and explained it that caught his attention.

Or rather, the aftermath...

Heading toward the club, he had casually turned on the radio, and the first words that he had heard were...

"And looking at the text for today, we hear our SAVIOUR say," the booming voice of a preacher came on. "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his..."

He switched the station. He heard the melodious intro mixed with vocals and various instruments that were to his liking.

That ought to lighten the mood.

But when the artist began to sing, Vincenzo could listen no further.

An unfamiliar song he hadn't expected—once again—reverberated through the car.

"THE KING is coming...
Every eye will see THE KING..."

Did Violet program all these?

But, he knew that was far-fetched, for she had no access to his car.

Finally deciding to turn the Radio off completely, a car ahead of him caught his attention. It bore a sticker on its rear window.

"NO TIME TO WASTE, JESUS IS COMING SOON."

Vincenzo concluded that he had had enough. He quickly overtook the car ahead of him and sped to his destination.

Seeing Giuseppe and Lilith among the throng of other King Makers, he began to feel the same fog he had encountered the night Violet had been abused.

~~~

(The other song may be played now, please 🙏🏻🙂)

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

~~~

Violet had thought she had seen a ray of hope in Mr Icy as he joined her for the first time in her usual BIBLE Reading and morning Prayers.

She had taken to greeting him whenever he returned home as a means of fulfilling her duties as a wife—a topic she was slowly learning from a Christian book on the subject.

That evening, she greeted him upon his return with great expectancy, Survivor by her side.

But surprisingly, she was met with the same old indifference—or even worse.

Vincenzo patted the dog fondly before turning to face her.

"I don't need you having to stand guard like Survivor whenever I return home."

Violet could hear the little ray of hope she had held on to throughout the day shatter into pieces at that declaration.

"I... I'm sorry," she stuttered. "I did not mean to..."

"What? You thought just because we had breakfast together and a few conversations we have become close?" He snorted and began to walk towards his room, Survivor by his side.

Her heart began to sink in the dark mire of disappointment. And a part of her wanted to hold on to that feeling. But her heart was drawn to something else.

She had not heard his voice as he spoke to her. She had heard another voice she recognised all too well. He had been under the influence of Giuseppe, and a certain evil female presence hovered around him.

She knew she did not have the strength nor power to overcome the pain those words had inflicted on her already wounded soul.

"Dear, maybe I put you here for just such a time as this..."

And at that moment, she knew the only way to stop the powers of evil clinging onto him, was to speak THE NAME... the ONE above all others.

"LORD JESUS CHRIST," she uttered with conviction, though barely above a whisper...

And Vincenzo stopped in his tracks.

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Hi, everyone!

I am so sorry for the delay in updating. I was supposed to post this earlier. Kindly forgive me.

I hope we are all doing well by HIS GRACE AND MERCIES.

Kindly let me know your thoughts on this chapter. 🥰

Frankly speaking, I had not thought this story would intrigue me so after PU. But by GOD'S Grace, I seem to love this one even more. 💜🩵🤍

Much Love,
Phela 💕