3. You are mine

"I am engaged," I announced.

Silence.

Pin-drop silence.

The air surrounding me became suffocating and dark. My throat went dry as I watched him put my costume back in place and slowly turn around to face me.

My eyes widened, and my body pressed against the wall even more when I saw that terrifying beast unleashed in his eyes. The cold wall bit into my spine, but I barely felt it over the suffocating heat radiating from his body.

The muscles in his neck flexed when he tightened his jaw. His fists clenched to his sides, fingers curling so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His emerald-green eyes no longer held amusement; they were now bloodshot red with rage.

He rotated his neck anticlockwise, a gesture he often used to control his anger.

My stomach twisted. I knew I had provoked the Devil himself.

Lub, dub.

Lub, dub.

Lub, dub.

My heart thudded violently with every step Nikolai took toward me. I shivered as chills ran down my spine.

This was a mistake.

I should have let my father handle him. He would’ve dealt with Nikolai on his own.

But now… I am trapped. I caught myself in my own web.

I held my breath when he stopped walking but he didn’t maintain his distance this time. Instead, he towered above me, his 6'4" tall frame confining me.

The sheer dominance in his gaze made me swallow hard.

“Say that again.” His voice was dripping with deceptive softness yet laced with a lethal threat that prickled my skin.

My lips parted, but nothing came out.

His jaw clenched so tightly; his eyes darkened as his patience snapped. Then, without warning, he grabbed my hand and yanked it up.

A small yelp escaped my lips as his rough fingers wrapped around my ring finger. His grip was tight but not enough to break it. Yet I knew he could if he wanted to.

His eyes were dangerously narrowed at the ring on my finger. And judging from the storm brewing in his eyes, it seemed he wanted to...

But he didn't.

Instead, a humorless chuckle rumbled in his chest before his lips twisted into a cruel smirk.

“This?” he scoffed, lifting my hand higher. “You think this little piece of metal will protect you from me?”

He laughed mockingly at me. A painful gasp escaped my mouth when he began pulling out the ring forcefully.

“Seems like your family has a death wish,” he murmured darkly, his teeth clenched tightly.

He was so rough in pulling out the ring that, for once, I thought he would break my finger. He tossed the ring aside, and I saw its diamond break. Before I could react, he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed my now-bare finger.

Slow. Possessive.

A shudder raked down my spine.

“If you or your family think that an engagement will save you from me..." His lips curved into a dangerous smirk against my skin.

"You’re dead wrong."

Abruptly, he wrapped his arm around my waist possessively and pulled me against his chest.

I gasped in surprise.

"Alessia Rossi was, is, and always will be mine."

The heat of his body engulfed me like a blanket. His intoxicating scent wrapped around me like a cage.

His arms felt so protective, so familiar.

Yet, I struggled.

I fought to escape his hold, pushing against his hard chest, desperate to break free, but he didn’t budge. Only I writhed like a fish out of water, while he stood unmoved, unbothered.

"Your defiance is like a drug that feeds my obsession, stoking the flames of hunger inside me!" he stated, tightening his grip, reveling in my helplessness. "You can fight as much as you want, but you have to accept that you can't escape me."

"Nikolai," I hissed, still squirming in his hold. "I have already promised myself to someone else. Let. Me. Go."

"Never!" he roared at my face, his warm breath fanning my skin.

His eyes turned so dark that they petrified me to the core. My heart was pounding so hard that I was sure he could hear it too.

"Engaged, married, or even with his child in your arms," he murmured, his voice dripping with lethal promise. "Nothing will stop me from getting to you."

I froze.

His words seeped into my veins like venom, sinking deep into my bones.

"And if anyone dares to come between us..." His fingers rested on my throat, his thumb pressing against my thudding pulse. "I will kill them. I will tear them apart."

I shivered.

His green eyes blazed not only with passion but with obsessive madness.

"This time I won't hesitate to burn down the entire world if it means getting you back where you belong."

My heart sank in the pit of my stomach at the conviction in his tone.

Leaning down, he inhaled deeply in the crook of my neck, as if calming the raging beast within him.

"You’re in trouble, Princess if you let that bastard touch you," he murmured against my skin. "Because I am envious of even the air that touches you."

The abrupt change in his tone from harsh to soft sent a different shiver down my spine.

A dangerous one.

My body began melting in his arms as his nose brushed against the curve of my neck. My body was burning with desire, and I couldn't understand why.

He smirked against my skin, as if knowing the effect he was having on me.

And then he finally stepped back. I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding for so long.

"Your father has told you that I want to kidnap you and keep you to myself. Right?"

I inhaled shaky breath as I tried to process his words.

"He believes I will lock you up where only I can see you."

He chuckled.

"As tempting as that thought is... I will not kidnap you."

He exhaled slowly, his voice lower, darker.

"If I wanted, I would have done that before. I am not a coward. I would take you with me, right in front of your father's eyes. No force on this earth could stop me."

My heart sank to the pit of my stomach. My head spun, and it felt as if my ears were ringing.

"My family will destroy you before they allow you to get to me," I choked out.

He laughed once again.

"Let them try. I'll make them regret it."

And then he turned on his heels and walked away, leaving me gasping for air.

My subconscious was screaming at me.

'You're doomed’.