Enzo sat at the head of the table and watched Arabella sitting with her head down, her fingers trembling slightly in her lap as if she were trying to hold herself together. The silence in the room stretched, heavy and suffocating, pressing down on her chest.
"Come here, Arabella," he called, his voice firm, leaving no room for disobedience.
Arabella stood up immediately and walked toward him, her steps slow and uncertain, her head still bent in submission. She stopped just before him, not daring to look up.
"You do know what it means to be a king's breeder, right?" Enzo asked coldly, his sharp eyes boring into her lowered form.
"I do," Arabella said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Then why are you behaving like you don't?" Enzo's tone hardened. "You are testing me, Arabella, and you wouldn't like the side of me you want to see."
The words hung in the air, laced with warning.
