I spent the whole night crying, angry and confused. I couldn't understand a thing. Why didn't Lothaire help Lucian, why was Lucian not coming home yet and where was Irene? Did Lothaire do something to her? If he could kill his son then he was capable of doing anything. What confused me the most was the reason Lothaire came here. If he didn't care for Lucian then why did he come here to take me with him?
The morning came quickly with me not getting any sleep or any answers. The head maid Edith walked into my room without knocking and placed some clothes on my bed.
"Change into these. His Highness has requested your presence." She informed then left without waiting for a reply.
I took the clothes and looked at them. It was a beautiful yellow dress with its white gloves decorated with lace. Clearly, he wanted me to look good so I did my best to look the opposite. I just slid into the dress without taking a bath or getting cleaned up and walked out of the room without brushing my hair. I needed to look awful in case he wanted to take advantage of me.
The maid who was supposed to lead the way stared at me in surprise but then quickly averted her gaze.
"This way, My Lady." She gestured. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
I followed her to the dining room where Pierre was already waiting. He sat at a large table where several extravagant dishes were served. When he took notice of me he stood up and dismissed the maid, then he just stood there and observed me for a while before he burst into laughter.
"You...you…" He tried to speak but he kept laughing in between. "If you were trying to make an impression you certainly did."
"I am not trying anything." I said coldly.
"You know…" he began crossing the distance between us, " I have never been so patient with anyone before. I don't know why I am so patient with you." He seemed thoughtful, but then he shook his head as if dismissing his thoughts.
"Come and sit." He said and went to hold the chair out for me. I sat down slowly and looked at the food on the table. My mouth already began to salivate, but as soon as Pierre sat down next to me my appetite went out the window.
"All this is for you." He gestured toward the food. "You can eat however much you want."
"I am not hungry." I said.
The smile on his face disappeared and got replaced by a displeased look.
"You know…," he began, "there was once this girl I saw when I passed by a small village. She was so beautiful so I brought her here with me. I gave her everything and I treated her well, but she was never satisfied. She wanted to go back home, to her childhood sweetheart, a shepherd." He said the last word with disgust.
"She chose a shepherd over a prince." He shook his head. "So do you know what I did to her?" He asked.
I just looked at him without replying. I knew he did something terrible to her and I didn't want to know what it was.
I knew this wasn't just a story, it was a warning. My stomach twisted in disgust and fear and I suddenly felt like throwing up.
"Are you alright?" He asked looking worriedly at me. "You look pale."
"I am fine." I forced myself to speak.
He chuckled darkly. "Don't worry. I won't do to you what I did to her." He slowly moved closer and grabbed my chin. "You are a precious one Hazel. I liked you from the moment I saw you, it was just unfortunate that you were my brother's wife. If you were mine I would treat you like a queen, but you see it's not too late. You can still be mine."
I wanted to slap his hand away, push him away, anything but I couldn't. What if he did to me what he did to that girl? I knew he could even do worse if I angered him enough. Maybe that story was his way of telling me that he was running out of patience.
Suddenly he grabbed the back of my head and pressed his lips to mine. My whole body froze in shock but got quickly replaced by emotions of disgust and anger. I placed my hands on his chest to push him away but he pulled my hair harshly and kissed me more urgent. So I did what I had to do, I bit him.
He hissed in pain and drew back. I took the opportunity and ran away as fast as I could. Running into my room I closed the door behind me while my heart drummed painfully inside my chest.
What had I done? He wouldn't let me get away this time, he would let his men defile me.
I sat down, curled in a corner of the room, waiting for Lucian to come. If he was alive he would come and save me and if he didn't come this time then I had to accept that he was gone. Praying to God I waited and waited but he never came.
A tear fell down my cheek. Lucian was dead. My husband was dead.
I burst into tears. The pain was too much to bear that I wished I was dead myself. I cried and cried while holding my chest as if it would lessen the pain but it only got worse until the pain and sorrow turned into fury. Fury toward Pierre.
He was the one who killed Lucian. Now I would kill him.
"Don't be stupid."
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