Now, I found myself trapped in a carriage with Isabella.
How did it come to this? Isabella was practically vibrating with excitement at finally securing the Crown Prince. The way she smirked at me made me want to smack the expression right off her face. Here I was, dreading my union with a psycho, while she acted as if she had won the lottery.
Since the double engagement was only a few weeks away, we had to return to the Ellington estate to prepare. Isabella had been at the palace to visit Ceres anyway, so we were forced to share a carriage. Maria stayed behind at the palace to gather my belongings.
"You... Isabella," I called out. We had unfinished business.
She looked at me as if I had just shattered a glass in the middle of her daydream. "What is it?" she asked, her voice laced with annoyance.
"You spread the rumors, didn't you? About the Prince and me sharing a room. I know it was you."
She looked away immediately, her eyes darting toward the window. Caught.
"N-no. I don't know what you're talking about," she stammered.
I didn't give her a chance to retreat. I lunged forward, my hand gripping her jaw and forcing her to look at me. My face was mere inches from hers, my eyes cold and unyielding.
"Don't lie to me, my dear sister. I don't like liars, and you know exactly what happens to people who lie to me."
Her face went deathly pale. I enjoyed every second of her fear.
I remembered when we were children; she had lied to Father, claiming I had stolen her jewelry. It was a pathetic lie—I had more jewels than she could ever dream of—but I couldn't let the insult slide. I had locked her in a room full of the one thing she feared most: beetles. I wondered if the memory was playing in her head right now.
"I wonder what punishment I should choose for you this time," I whispered with a chilling smile.
"I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry... please, don't do that again!"
I let go of her face roughly, watching her scramble back into the corner of the seat. "Don't mess with me again, Isabella."
She glared at me as if she wanted to choke the life out of me, but I knew her better than anyone. She was a coward at heart. She would never have the courage to follow through.
The rest of the journey was blissfully silent, but my peace vanished the moment the carriage pulled up to the Ellington estate.
Waiting at the entrance was the one person I had managed to forget while at the palace.
Derrick
He stood there with that same possessive smile that disgusted me to my core. For a heartbeat, I seriously considered telling the carriage man to turn back to the palace. Anything was better than this.
He helped me out of the carriage, his hand gripping my arm with bruising force. As always, he ignored Isabella as if she were a piece of furniture. Without a word, he dragged me inside the estate and straight toward his private office.
The moment the door slammed shut, he pulled me into a suffocating hug, burying his face in the crook of my neck. "I missed you," he whispered. The words felt like a haunting, oily stain on my skin.
"Let go of me," I snapped.
Of course, he didn't. His grip only tightened.
"Pati... oh, my dear Pati. You have no idea how much I was dying to see you. To touch you."
Bastard. You should have died. Why are you even alive? I shoved my hands against his chest. "I said, let go!"
In a flash of movement, he grabbed my wrists and pinned them above my head against the wall. His face went back to my neck, and his other hand hooked under my thigh, hiking my leg up against his waist. The heat of his body was sickening.
"Let me go!" I struggled, but it was useless. He was a knight; his strength was leagues beyond mine.
I was reaching my breaking point when, by the grace of God, a sharp knock sounded on the door.