Ahsan watched the girl in front of him closely, their eyes boring into each other. With just five words, he had her looking at him like a scaredy cat. She was trembling. Her fingers twisted together, and her eyes were small, wide, and filled with terror as she stared at him.
"You must be the bride," he restated, watching her gulp.
Good.
They had brought him a terrified little girl, and something about her black orbs and pursed, trembling lips made his blood hum with amusement. He leaned back from her, sweeping her entire being down with a look.
"You're scared," he murmured, loud enough for the entire courtroom to hear, yet his gaze was still on her.
She swallowed thickly, casting her gaze down as her fingers dug into her palm. His lips pressed against each other thinly as he found his uncle's gaze, nodding at him before turning back to the cat of a bride in front of him,
"Follow me."
Aila felt her heart sink to the ground at those two words. His voice was so effortless, but it hit her like a whip. She gulped down, turning to look at him only to meet his turned back. Her eyes searched the courtroom, mistakenly meeting her father's harsh glare. She swallowed down again and followed him, picking her dress up at the side and walking through the door he just disappeared into.
When she stepped inside, she found him seated on his chair, an apple dangling in his hands. "Shut the door," he commanded.
Her hands trembled as she closed the door with a heavy thud, sealing her in the room. Silence etched every corner of the room, stretching into something suffocating and unbearable.
"Are you scared of me?" He asked.
Aila swallowed hard and dry, the word 'yes' on the tip of her tongue. Who was not scared of the mad king?
He didn't wait for her to answer that, so he threw another question at her: "Your name."
Two words that wrecked her brain every time.
She felt her heart stop as those black eyes that were on the apple snapped towards her, his head cocked towards her as his lips parted again, "You don't answer when spoken to?"
"Ai…Aki..akila.." her voice cracked open.
Ahsan exhaled sharply through his nose, the amusement brimming in his veins. She looked like she was going to pass out any moment from now on, scratching her fingers against each other like her life depended on it. He stood up from the chair, stalking towards her slowly.
"Akila…" he dragged the name between his lips, gazing down on her.
"Were you forced?" He questioned, dangling the apple in his hands.
Her fingers twisted the fabric in her hand, parting her lips to answer him only for him to cut her off before she could even start,
"When I'm talking to you, I want you to look at me."
She slowly raised her gaze, meeting his cold, icy stare. He was far away, about five steps away, yet it looked like he was so close. "Were you forced?" he asked again.
Aila thought about it carefully. What if she said she was forced? Would he let her go? Would he call off the marriage? Her father's warning glare flashed in her mind. No..no, she can't say that. If she said she was forced, and he called it off or there was trouble. She would be beaten, whipped until death. Her father would do that.
"N…no..your highness," she stuttered back at him.
"Liar." He said to her coldly.
His gaze darkened immediately, and a slow hum escaped his throat as he stepped towards her again. Aila could feel tears immediately burning at the back of her eyes. Her heart was pounding faster than ever, and her hands were sweaty. It felt like she was in a hot and cold room at the same time, the intensity so great that she was going to cry.
"I don't like to be lied to, and I don't want a bride who doesn't want me. So I would ask you one more time, were you forced?"
"I wasn't!" Aila half-yelled at him, the tears spilling down from her eyes.
She clung to the door like her life depended on it, her teary eyes meeting his icy one.
The intensity of his icy gaze made her break, staring at him sharply in the eyes with all her might,
"I wasn't forced! I am to be your bride! So please stop scaring me, and let's get this over with." She snapped.
Ahsan's lips curled into something darker as he watched her break down. He had never felt this way in his life.
Too excited. Too intrigued. And yet it was because of a simple mortal girl breaking down before him.
He squinted his eyes, looking at her carefully.
Was this a certain kind of ecstasy?
The tears rolled down her cheeks and for the first time in his fucked up life, he wished he could near her and wipe it off her face. Not because he cared but because he wanted to see how cold they were.
"Interesting. I like how cute you look when you're angry," he mumbled roughly before stepping a foot closer.
She shifted back to the door, the action only intriguing Ahsan more.
Ohh, how he wished he could touch her, even if it were just her tears.
He wanted her already. His body called for her.
"I won't ask much of you," he started. "All I ask is that you follow the rules given to you by the elders, and that would be all."
A memory flashed in his head, too painful to remember, "I won't hurt you or punish you, as long as you follow the necessary procedures. This marriage is just to show the people a queen; there would be nothing more."
Aila sniffed in, wiping the tears away from her face as she nodded. Relief flooded her bones, but just before it could settle in, he leaned in closer than ever, his lips almost touching her ear,
"But if I need you…if I want you… You'll come to me and do exactly as you're told."
Aila stiffened, every ounce of relief disappearing from her bones.
Ahsan's lips curled into a smile she couldn't see but one she could feel. He was taunting her, doing all this on purpose, making her so scared of him. As if on cue, he said the words on her mind,
"I don't care what you are or who you think you are after this marriage. Being my fake bride doesn't mean you get access to me. And today, you yelled at me just now."
"Because I'm in a good mood, I'll let it go. But the next time," he paused, his breath fanning against her ear.
"I would make you shed more than tears."
"Are we clear, Akila?"
Aila forced a nod, her body too numb of all the emotions to react.
"Good. I look forward to knowing and seeing much of you," he said as he leaned away from her, staring at her again once in the eyes.
He raised his hand to her face, making Akila flinch a bit, cowering her head in fear.
He didn't drop it even at her reaction but leaned closer, so close to touching her cheeks. Aila counted for his touch on her skin, but it didn't come, his hand just hanging mid air.
She watched as something darkened in his eyes, his forehead deepening with lines as if he was restricting himself before lowering his hand back to his sleeve, smoothening it as if she were nothing.
"Clean your face, and let's get this over with."
Ahsan stared at her as she hurriedly cleaned the tears in her eyes, only for more to keep on spilling.
For a brief moment before, he had wanted to wipe it off. He had raised his hand to do so. But he knew what would happen if he touched her.
He knew what he would do to her…
Or might do to her.
And he can't let that happen now. Not yet.
He watched as she scrambled to straighten herself, a bit of guilt wrenching his cold and dark heart, and him ignoring it immediately,
"Two minutes. And meet me outside." He uttered coldly.
It was better this way.
She needed to be scared of him.
A face he absolutely hated seeing flashed in his head, her voice too similar to the broken girl.
And he also needed to stay away from her.