“Enjoy the soft mattress tonight. Tomorrow. I start breaking what's left of you.”Ronan steps back after that.His massive frame moves away from me, and the sudden loss of his warmth makes the bedroom feel freezing again.My jaw throbs where his fingers gripped me.Ronan turns on his heel and walks toward the door without a single glance back. He opens it, his voice ringing out to the guards waiting in the corridor.“Clean up the mess. Lock her in. If she steps one foot out. Your heads roll.”“Yes, Your Majesty,” the guards reply in unison.The heavy doors shut with a firm click. The sound echoes through the quiet space, feeling like a final judgment.The moment he is gone, my knees give out. I collapse onto the edge of the desk, my breaths coming in ragged, shallow gasps.The adrenaline that kept me standing evaporates, leaving behind a wave of pure agony.My shoulders burn where Alicia’s nails dug into my flesh, and a sharp, throbbing pain shoots up my leg.I look down at my foot; a
Read more