Hating you is the only way I know to protect myself from that feeling I no longer want to feel.

"Why should I release you?" Bright clarified, his eyes locking onto hers.

"Aren't you here to save me?" Emma asked, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and frustration.

"I am. And I've done that," Bright said coldly.

Emma's confusion deepened, her heart pounding in her chest. "What do you mean? How have you saved me if I'm still chained up like this?"

"The legal process will be completed within the next three hours. Before that, you and me still in fugitive status under King Otto's order. I managed to save you from the execution block, Emma," Bright said coldly. "Don't fret."

"What do you think of this back bend suspension? Are you interested?" Bright shifted the conversation, showing the manual book to Emma. "Hm, they already put a spreader bar on your legs. What position do you want to try first?"

Emma glanced at the device and the book, feeling a shiver run down her spine.