Chapter 42BRIANNA’S POVI gulped and my lips parted slightly in shock on hearing Catherine’s last words. I knew I had told Sebastian to let me go. I had told him to just say the word and I’ll be out of his sight and castle forever. Mentally, I had prepared for it. But now that I was faced with it, I realized that I never thought of where to go. This wasn’t my kingdom. I didn’t even know my way around it.“But…but I don’t know where to go?” my voice grew small and brittle. “I don’t have any other place aside from this castle. I don’t even know my way around this kingdom.”“Oh, honey,” she taunted, her lips twisting into a grim, mocking smile. “I’m terribly sorry, but I have to admit that I don’t give a fuck about your next destination. That’s entirely your concern. Slums, sewers, the wilds or why not under a bridge? It’s all the same to me, you see? The only thing I do care about is this: after my dinner party tomorrow, I don’t want your presence polluting this castle. I have zero tol

Chapter 44SEBASTIAN’S POV“I’ve conducted a thorough examination, covering every possible diagnosis. I want you both to know that there is nothing medically wrong. Nothing is preventing you two from conceiving. Your fertility is intact. So you can go ahead and set aside any concern or fear you have,” the doctor's reassuring words that day echoed involuntarily in my head as I curled the bottle tight around my fingers, seething with mounting rage.Several months after our marriage, we found it difficult to conceive. No matter how much time we spend in bed. Or trying the absurd remedies and practices a friend had suggested or the one Catherine had seen online.I had thought something was wrong with one of us. I was plagued by thoughts of potential issues, whether it was my sperm count, Catherine’s egg viability, or even a hidden STI. But after we visited the doctor, he carried out his diagnosis and assured us nothing was wrong with either of us. That had calmed me. Ever since then, I ha

Chapter 46BRIANNA’S POV“Brianna… Brianna?” Sebastian called out, his voice a sudden jolt that drove me back to reality.“Yes,” I breathed, regaining control. “Sorry about that.”He stared at me. A bit confused. Curious. As if to see through me. To know what I was feeling and thinking.I blinked more than usual to avoid his curious, exploring gaze. Then it suddenly dawned on me that I shouldn’t be sitting that close to him. The door wasn’t locked and Catherine could burst in at any moment with that horrified face of hers and confirm her suspicion on us.Moreover, I had a bus to catch, and as the night was growing late, time was slipping away. If I didn’t leave the castle within the next thirty minutes, I might miss it. On top of that, I hadn’t yet figured out how I was going to get the fare for the journey.I tried to stand. But he held me back to my greatest surprise.“Please stay with me,” I saw the heart-rending tenderness of his gaze. They were begging me. They were needy. But I

Chapter 48BRIANNA’S POV“Please let me go,” I fought against Sebastian’s guards' unyielding grip as they escorted me to an underground part of the castle I’d never seen before. What was with these castles and secret underground passages? “Please…you can’t be doing this to me. Please…not again.”“Sorry miss,” one of them said. “We only answer to Alpha Sebastian.”In one quick motion, he pulled out a long handkerchief from his pocket and tied it over my face. The other guard held me still while he did this. It made me quiet, with only my muffled sounds heard as the kind of tears I hadn’t experienced since coming to this castle streamed down my cheeks.Sebastian couldn’t be doing this to me. I thought he said he wouldn’t hurt me. I thought he was different from his fellow Alpha kings at that auction hall. That he was nothing like Hermes. But I was wrong to think that. He was proving not to. Now he was really hurting me.The guards stopped in front of a closed door. One of them let go of

Chapter 50BRIANNA’S POV ****Trigger warning: Explicit scene. Viewer discretion is advised.****The doctor’s body was taken away, and the bloody mess was cleaned up by the guards. During this time, Hermes stood by the window, drinking wine and occasionally giving me wicked devilish looks. By the time the guards were done, he had already finished an entire bottle of wine.I was still shaken by the memory of the doctor’s murder, the images replaying in my head over and over again like a horror movie. Hermes said he’d punish me most painfully and dreadfully. Seeing him kill that doctor who was a good man and had only tried to help me had already done more than enough pain. He had succeeded. Then why didn’t he want to untie me and let me go back to my room? My muscles were already sore and overworked from the impact of struggling under the ropes. I needed to get the hell out of this room.I wanted to talk desperately, but the napkin in my mouth stopped me, causing me to mumble. Hermes, n