Chapter 33

A girl stared at me. Beautiful, with flowing pink locks and sky blue eyes. Her face was so beautiful it looked sculpted by the finest artisan in the empire.

She smiled.

And then her lips dropped, mouth gapping to let out a terrifying screech.

I felt my heartbeat accelerate in fear as I tried to leave. To escape. But I couldn't move an inch.

And then, suddenly, she stopped. Her head rolled back as blood splattered across my vision. Her eyes white as a hole became prominent in her head.

Something touched my head—a cold metal. There was a click. The same sound I heard before Sarah's brain blew out.

My palms grew wet. Breath becomes raspy gasps.

I couldn't see him, but I knew it was him.

I could feel his red eyes drilling into my head, and then he tipped the metal pipe back.

A loud boom burst my eardrums.

I felt a scream rise in my throat. I opened my mouth to let it out but found myself choking. Instead of screaming, I felt my eyes snap open and sat up in a bed of satin sheets full of sweat. My sweat.

I looked down at the silk sheets in confusion. My body was cleaner. Cleaner than it usually was, even with all the swear. I looked at the luxurious material of the nightgown I wore. It wasn't mine. None of this was mine.

I moved to step out of bed and flinched when my feet touched the ground. It was wrapped up.

When had I got hurt?

Just as I thought that, a series of memories hit me.

Sa-Sarah!

I looked around the room, trying to understand where I was. The beautiful thick carpet, coloured in a blue so deep it was almost black. The window that made the room echo in the dawning sun. And the painting of a beautiful woman with striking red eyes staring down from above.

I immediately realised whose room I had laid in, and I also noticed that I hadn't been alone.

There was a groan beside me. I looked back to the bed and caught sight of that soft head of blonde hair and the lashes spilling open to reveal bejewelled eyes that watched me in their narrow sleepy way. They opened slightly in a thoughtful manner as if he had just realised what was happening.

His shoulders bare as his face was slightly hidden behind his messy bangs. He looked… cute. But I didn't have time to dwell on that. Rather I was frightened as to why I had woken up in a bed with him.

As if nothing had happened, he smiled at me. A strangely happy smile. He was tugging at my arm to join him again. I complied, unable to understand what was happening and thought that maybe this was some strange dream. But the pain in my feet was too real.

"My duke? I- I don't understand what's happening right now?" I stuttered.

He pulled me to himself, placing his arms around me. His body engulfed my own in a tight embrace. I smelled musk and pine. A scent that seemed stitched into him.

"You don't need to", he replied, warm breath spilling over my shoulders, and he leaned his head there.

"I-Is Lady Lemone okay?" I asked, finding my voice shaking uncertainly.

He didn't reply for a moment. And then, as if it were just as much a spoken response, he pressed his lips to my shoulder. I felt his tongue press on the skin and flinched. My body squirmed to get away from him.

But he just pulled me forward, sucking harder on the spot while I struggled.

Tears clouded my vision. Fear rose in me along with bile, and the following words I spat out were the cruellest things I had ever said. I would come to hate myself for it. But I didn't want to get defiled. Not by him. And it was the fact that I'd wish it upon anyone that disgusted me.

I was even more compelled to say it when I felt his hands slide up my arms.

"The-There are more pleasing maids than me, My lord", I gasped out. I felt goosebumps on my skin from where he touched me, but he stopped at my words.

I had taken to closing my eyes in fear because his face was at a distance, much too close for me. Our foreheads were touching. Our bodies pressed so close, I could feel every inch of him and I knew he could feel me too. He could probably hear my thundering heartbeat clearly.

"Maids?" He asked. A tone of mocking surprise in his voice. "I think just about anything is more pleasing than you with the way you react to me."

I opened my eyes, but when I saw his eyes, I froze. The words in my throat died out as I caught sight of the red-rimmed eyes. The slightly glassy layer on his eyes. But most of all, his face stared at me like an abandoned little puppy.

"I- I'm sorry", I apologised, unsure of what I was apologising for, but for a moment, I thought my words had affected him much more than I would have anticipated.

"I don't care if you only see me as a brother. I don't care if you feel no excitement when I touch you. I'll feel it for both of us, but you can't let someone else touch you like that. You belong to me. You are mine." he spoke the words, all the while squeezing me tighter against him. There was a desperation in his voice as he told.

I had no words.

Touch me like what?

I wasn't sure why he did this with me, of all people. I knew I wasn't pretty. I knew full well a man wouldn't see me as much unless I were the only woman in the room, and even then, it would only be to satisfy themselves.

Rather, this boy- this man, up until not long ago was disgusted with my presence. I found the change in behaviour almost unsettling. The kindness. The regret. It was sudden as if the past didn't matter. As if the pain can be forgotten. What I hated most was that I had actually forgiven him more than I hadn't.

There should only be one person who should love me like this. Just one person.

Justin.

I recalled the cheek he kissed and prayed that Cain would be more interested in anything other than my face. But as I thought of him, I suddenly remembered the words he had spoken.

'No one wants to spend the rest of their life with someone they dislike...'

I felt a shudder run through me.

No.

There's no way.

I felt a hand lift my face to stare into dark eyes. They were filled with such apparent desire.

I wasn't sure when. I wasn't sure how. But Cains intentions with me were a lot more different to what I thought. I felt my face heat up at the thought, but just as I felt my face heat up, I realised I had forgotten something.

Oh dear, yes! Lady Lemone!

I thought of how he had skillfully changed the subject, and I hadn't even noticed. It dawned on me that she must not be okay. She may not even be alive. And by his hands...

"She-Shes dead, isn't she?" I felt my words shake when I asked.

He frowned. Displeased by the interruption.

"That none of your concern. She was a threat. She disrespected our dukedom".

"But she's a precious and loved individual. She has almost as much backing as royalty" I felt myself moving away from him. A terrifying fear arose in me as, bit by bit, I recalled the lack of hesitation it took for him to kill her. To shoot her dead.

"She was mad and began hurting what was mine", his words made me stop for a moment.

"What's yours?..." I felt goosebumps travel up my back.

"You gave yourself to me. You agreed", he stated the words slowly as if I was a child barely grasping words.

"You killed her... Because she hurt me?" I gulped, the sound of my heart drowning out everything as I began to imagine a series of scenarios in which I would get killed for causing the death of a princess.

"Don't twist my words. I killed her because!"- he stopped speaking when he noticed the increasing gap between us as I was slowly scurrying away from him.

I froze when I caught the look of astonishment on his face—the slow morph into anger. I knew what was coming next wouldn't be good.

At least thought so, until he frowned in a manner that was much calmer than his earlier face. It almost seemed like he had given up.

"I don't think you realise what would've happened to you if she had continued. You may be property of the Goldiar Dukedom, but regardless, you are just a slave. She would've done terrible things to you. Sarah has a knack for being loved by everyone, but she doesn't understand pain too well. I've known her long enough to know that anything that irritates her doesn't last long", he turned away from me as he spoke.

As he spoke I recalled rumours of how people who defied Lady Lemone had met well deserved ends. Those kind of humiliations that one wouldn't even wish upon their enemies. But maybe… those endings hadn't been so well deserved after all.