Chapter 25: The Emperor's True Face - Mei

*TRIGGER WARNING* This chapter depicts assault. Skip to chapter 27.

I can no longer feel the pain in my cheek as I force myself to sit up and begin furiously shaking my head, unaware of where my new strength is coming from. His eyes darken, his jaw ticks and I see the fury burning in his eyes.

“I had expected you to show more gratitude, Mei,” he says coldly, his demeanour completely changing.

“I won’t marry you! You’re not my animai! I’d rather di–”

My words are cut off, as in the blink of an eye he’s lifting me out of the bed by my throat. My hands grip around his as I struggle to breathe; my feet dangling off the floor as I become lightheaded.

“Now I’ve tried being nice to you, but I warned you about behaving. I can do so much worse than kill you, Mei. You see, I need you alive,” he says with a smile on his face, but quickly his smile disappears, and his expression turns cold and vicious. “But I don’t need you in one piece.”

Before I know it, he’s throwing me across the room wh