It was faint, but I caught the sound of footsteps in the hallway, stopping right outside his door. I knew who it was. My little 'rabbit' had arrived, just like I planned. And it was the perfect timing too… when I had Caelum wrapped around my delicate fingers.
I didn't wait for her to knock. I grabbed Caelum by the neck and pulled him down into a kiss, making sure it looked deep and passionate.
The sound of the door opening was music to my ears. I didn't flinch, and I certainly didn't pull away. Instead, I leaned into Caelum even more, my fingers tangling in his damp white hair to keep his face exactly where I wanted it.
I felt him shudder—a mix of shock and the sheer heat of my body against his bare chest. He was like a deer in headlights, his 'iron' discipline failing him at the worst possible moment. It was probably his first time entangling so deeply with a female.
I bet not even his damsel in distress had tasted the sweetness of his lips. Okay, maybe she has, but it had never been as good as I was doing it.
I slowly broke the kiss, but I didn't move an inch. I kept my arms wrapped around his neck and turned my head just enough to look over his shoulder.
Beatrice was standing there, her face filled with pure, shattered disbelief. She looked small, pathetic, and completely broken, shaking like a leaf in the wind. How could such a small thing try to challenge me? Talk about bold recklessness.
I let a slow, jagged smirk crawl across my lips.
Caelum was frozen in place. I was sure he had noticed it… noticed her, but he could not bring himself to turn his head and look at the broken expression on her face. He probably knew he had messed up but also knew that no amount of explanation could fix it, so he decided not to face her… yet.
Well, that only makes my revenge feel wonderful, so keep at it, Caelum. Keep being a cheating scum to your darling rabbit.
"Oh," I purred, my voice dripping with honeyed poison. "Beatrice. What are you doing here?" I asked, acting like I just noticed her. "I didn't think you'd be the type to walk in without knocking on the Young Master's private chambers."
"I... she... the maid said..." She couldn't even finish a sentence. Her bottom lip was trembling so hard I thought it might fall off.
I definitely thought she would yell, get upset, and demand an explanation, but she seems to know her place well. Too bad. I would've definitely used that against her. Huff.
I turned my gaze back to Caelum, tracing the line of his jaw with my thumb. He had finally tuned his head and was staring at Beatrice with a pale face, but he didn't shove me off. He couldn't.
I don't know his reason, but I was riding that wave.
"Did you hear that, Caelum?" I whispered, loud enough for the rabbit to hear every word. "She thinks she has the right to just barge into your room. Is this how you've been 'training' your servants? To be so... bold?"
I leaned in and nipped at his earlobe, a sharp, intimate gesture that made him gasp. It was a calculated move, a final nail in the coffin of Beatrice's delusions.
The girl let out a choked sob. She probably thought she was special. She probably thought that because he looked at her with 'gentle' eyes, she was going to be the one to melt the ice. That she was in a fairytale and was 'the one', but Jokes on her. Men will be men.
This wasn't a happily ever after troupe… not when I was involved.
I looked back at her, my golden eyes flashing with a predatory light.
"It seems you have nothing more to say, and Caelum has nothing to say to you either, so run along now, little rabbit," I said, the smirk never leaving my face. "The Young Master is... occupied. And I believe you have a floor to scrub. Try not to get your tears all over it. Drown in them if you must, but don't make a mess."
Beatrice looked at Caelum, as if expecting him to stop her, but Caelum did not say a word, as he was struck with grief. And so, little Cinderella, who never got her fairy godmother, but instead met a witch, turned and bolted, her frantic footsteps echoing down the hallway until they were cut off by the sound of her own wailing. The end.
I laughed. It was a genuine, dark sound that bubbled up from my chest. It felt so good to see that 'saintly' mask shatter into a million pieces.
I felt Caelum finally find his strength. He grabbed my wrists and shoved me back, his face a mix of rage and something that looked a lot like fear.
"Are you satisfied now?" he hissed, his chest heaving as he tried to pull his robe closed. "You planned this, didn't you? Lyssa!" he yelled my name, and I picked my ear. I didn't tell him my name for him to misuse it like this, jeez. "Say something!" My silence haunted him. "You just destroyed a girl who did nothing to you."
But then I couldn't stay silent for longer.
"Ha! Did nothing?" I straightened my maid's apron, my gaze turning cold again. "She tried to put me in a rat-infested attic and dumped filthy water on me while I slept. I just returned the favor, Caelum. I don't play fair; I play to win. And in case you don't know, I never play friendly games either. She brought this on herself."
I walked toward the door, stopping to look back at him.
"Sure, I'm not exactly kind, but I don't mess with people unless they give me a reason to,"
And looking like a freaking innocent damsel in distress was already the first offence. I might've ignored it had she behaved, but nope. She decided to wake a sleeping snake. She truly had herself to blame.
I feel no remorse whatsoever for what I did, not to her and definitely not to Caelum.