Chapter 4

Chapter 4

My heart thumped. 

Sweat trickled down the side of my face.

Both of my legs were so tightly shut and I didn’t care about the pain starting to run up my bones. I pressed myself against the car door and kept my eyes closed, counting the time until I could get out of this suffocating space with him.

Just like I’d expected, he didn’t acknowledge me and I didn’t know if that made me feel better or worse especially since I knew he was fuming.

The air around him exuded nothing but control and power. It was almost like every breathe he took seized mine into the confines of my own body and I couldn’t get it out. 

It was taking longer than ever to get to wherever we were headed and I dared not to turn my body in his direction, even though I’d been glancing at him secretly. His jawline was set in a hard line and I could almost taste the anger on my lips from just staring at it. 

His posture was as straight as a ruler as he looked straight ahead, almost not blinking at all. He looked like a rock sitting next to me who was a wreck of nerves and tiredness. 

It reminded again just how much I hated this body. I wondered if that’s why it felt like he loathed his wife. Maybe he thought her too frail to be his Queen? If that’s the case, then he would have killed me if I was ever in her shoes.

The thought of being married to him sounded horrendous until I realize that I’m in fact, married to him. Only in the body. 

My body violently jerked forward and my forehead collided with the back of the passenger seat. Pain shot through my entire body and my vision blurred for a milliseconds. The car had hit a bump on the road and I was too lost in my head to have taken caution.

I managed to push myself back into the car seat, my body buzzing with an incoming ache. The car remained quiet, with just the sound of the trees swooshing against the closed windows being heard. I bit back a hiss and swallowed, chiding myself to keep my full attention on the road.

How I managed to remain in one piece when we finally made it to a big, green gate was still a mystery to me but I could only be thankful that I did. This body was starting to get weaker than It was and it looked like I may not be able to fully make it inside by myself.

We finally came to a stop in what I assumed was a garage. A man appeared from nowhere and opened the door for him. He ignored the man’s greeting and stepped out, heading straight for another large, green door.

The man offered me a hand and I took it, stepping down carefully so I didn’t fall into him. Just like I thought, I was truly unable to walk without support. Two strange women stepped out from the back of the car and greeted me with a bow before helping me inside the house.

They carried me inside and up the long trail of stairs until we got to a black door. It was so dark that I already knew what room it was. Trying as hard as I could to drag in a sharp breath, I walked into the room with them and immediately they helped me sit on the bed, they bolted out.

My body shook in reaction to the cold and I rubbed my arms together, ignoring the silent warning ringing in my head for me to get out. The room was so vast that I knew i could easily lose my way. An endless, scary alleyway started from the edge of the bed where I was seated, disappearing into the darkness. 

I looked beside me and almost jumped out of my skin when I saw him sitting on a large sofa with his legs perfectly crossed over each other, his eyes firmly on me.

Suddenly, the air became thick with tension and I felt like I was breathing in granites.

“One minute.” His voice echoed through the room, quickly reminding me that I was now in his presence.

Alone. I was alone with him. 

I remained silent, analyzing what he meant. Before I could fully wrap my head around his words, a strong arm wrapped tightly around my neck, knocking every bit of air from me. My eyes widened in horror and I looked up to see him staring down at me, his fingers applying more grip to his hold.

Tears quickly slipped out of the corners of my eyes and I could feel the life slowly slipping out of me. I scratched at his hands, sending as much punches as my body allowed to his chest but he remained unmoving, his eyes still an empty void.

My punches slowed down and snot leaked from my nose as my eyes began to close. The room was spinning, fog clouded my vision and I knew I was about to be unconscious when he suddenly let go of me.

I wheezed, choking on my own spit and falling forward to the floor as I dragged in breaths. My palms desperately grabbed at the floor for support, my nails scrapping through the center rug in the middle of the room. 

My neck was on fire as my coughs filled the room for a moment until I could gather myself. I’d barely stopped choking when I felt a sharp pull on my hair as he yanked it backwards and a scream pierced through my throat, pain shooting through my entire body.

I grabbed onto my head and bit hard into my bottom lip until I felt the metallic taste of blood invading my mouth. 

He pulled me up to my feet and led me down the alleyway I’d been staring at, his posture never cracking at all.

This man was going to kill me.

“I gave you time.”

The last thing I heard was my screams filling the walls of the room as he dragged me into darkness.