A Lessen Taught

".... who did not know your father? He is the duke with a stronghold in politics, he was a liberal who wanted to bring so many challenges in society." he said with a shrug as if she was being a fool.

He was right, but not all of them knew the secret passages of her family. Did they?

"You need to be more vigilant now. They would not easily digest that you have not left the palace and would doubt your actions." she kept nodding her head when he warned her yet he felt that she was not being serious about it.

Just when she reached the door, he held her wrist and forced her to look back at him.

"Are you even understanding the gravity of the matter?" they could kill her if they thought that she could be a danger to them and then all her thoughts to run away and be free would end up with her.

"You do not need to worry. I will look for the name you are searching for." till the end, she was taking him as the villain he should be.

But why was he even trying to save the girl who did not want to be saved. He cursed himself and shook his head.

"If you would not be sincere from there and did not show your family that you are a meek fool they think of you, they will get rid of you so that no one could ever be able to take the money from them. Did you get it or not?" he did not mince his words with subtle words and his grip on her hands tightened when he spoke like that.

She frowned, staring at his hands and his concern when she had already promised that it would not affect their deal but there was no fear he was waiting for.

She already had that in her mind. Yet she was doing these kinds of foolish things.

"Is it really worth it?" he could not help but ask, looking at her controlled voice and flat face as if he had just asked her about the weather.

"Living is definitely better than taking breaths. You do not need to worry about me, sir! I know what promise I had made you." she repeated and then tried to turn but he only held her with more force that she winced.

 No. It had not been. He felt a stir of discomfort, too deep and unreachable to analyze, but strong enough to make him wish to push it away, or twist it into some more palatable emotion.

 He let her go.

"You make me too fragile, my lord. I am not a weak lass as I show and I thought you had realized it tonight but I think you are still stuck to your previous image about me. I will not die but run away. I have more plans than you can think." She had immense courage and such confidence that even he was surprised for a minute.

But then a wicked smile formed on his lips. She overestimates herself often. She would be badly beaten if she would not come out of it.

"You think you can fight against a man's strength? Why don't you prove it to me now?" he asked with something darker and sinister in his eyes.

Her eyes narrowed but before she could understand what he meant.. He had held her both hands and pushed her towards the wall of the tunnel behind her.

She tried to jerk away but he was faster. He held her and pinched her chin before capturing her lips.

His one hand was holding her shoulder while the other was holding her jaw to force himself on her. It was not a kiss with emotions but a lesson that in the end, she was… just a woman who needed protection.

She smelled like rain and honey. Her lips were tightly shut and her teeth were closed yet he sucked her lips with some force and bit her lower lips when she gasped.

He used the chance to enter her when he felt her stiffen. Her tongue did not move. Was it her first kiss?

It startled him and he let her go. There was a mix of surprise and pleasure in his eyes. For some reason, he felt pride that he was her first but that did not stay for long when he saw resentment, coldness and hatred coming out from her deep pool of eyes.

Those bright green eyes seem to be frozen. Well, what was he expecting? He was a villain in her eyes.

"Did you see that? You have no chance against a strong opponent." he said in a mocking voice.

It would be better that he pinch her till the end and realize that she was still weak.

"Your only way should be to let them believe that you are still a weak and naive child. Let them fix your marriage with your cousin and then.. Find a man and elope with him but this time.. Contact the man yourself rather than believing in the foolish maid." he warned her with a blank face but she kept staring at him with those green eyes.

For some reason, her gazes made him… uneasy.

"Are you done?" she asked when he stopped speaking.

They were standing in front of the thin wall. There was her room on the other side. She should have gone but she was staring at him with a raised brow when she frowned but nodded his head.

"Pardon my rudeness then…" she muttered as she kicked him on his shin and when his eyes widened, she used her knee to kick between his legs with some force.

When his body trembled a bit with the pressure she placed her both hands on the back of his head and pulled him closer.

Instead of kissing him, she cut his lower lips like he had and then let him go.

"Surprise has a marvelous effect that even strong people are not able to respond."