The Princess And Her Alpha Bodyguard

3~ THE LETTER OF HOPE

"That is enough of your spoiled act, Laelia Adelaide," he said in an icy tone as he threw me to the floor like one tossed away an unwanted thing.

"Finally, you decide to reveal your true colors." I pulled myself up and sat on the floor. I didn't want to look pathetic like I was crawling before him. "Why bother chasing everyone out? They are all your people. Even if you kill me before them, they won't bother to help."

"You're right. They won't. But I still have the gentleman's reputation to uphold. I won't fall for your cheap trick." He folded his hand across his chest as he looked down at me.

"What trick?" I feigned ignorance as I glared at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"In fact, you do. You wanted to provoke me and made me lose my composure in front of those servants."

"You're overthinking."

"Really? Then care to explain why your voice is shaking?"

Damn it. A small voice scolded me inside my head.

"You're still too young and weak to see the way the world work, Lae." He shook his head.

"You barely have two years on me. Don't act like you know everything."

"But I do," he said in a small voice. The expression in his eyes changed from impertinence to sadness, making me wonder if it was only my imagination. "That's enough for today. I don't have time to explain to you. I'm only here to remind you of one thing." His arrogance returned. "You are no longer a princess. You are merely my puppet. So, don't try any funny thing. Or else—"

"Or else what?" I stood up, ignoring the pain in my thigh when I landed on the floor. "Will you kill me? Then let me also remind you of one thing. When I die, I'll become a vengeful ghost, and I'll come back to haunt you. I won't rest until you are dead, Iory."

"Kill you?" He sneered and took a step closer. "How could I have the heart to kill my fiancé when she is the number one beauty?"

"Stop this deceitful act at once. It's disgusting." I spit on his face. Hearing the word fiancé from those lips filled me with abhorrence.

He closed his eyes with reflexes. "Wow. Feisty," he said, lifting his right hand to wipe off the saliva. "I love it. I always find it entertaining to tame the untamable animal. I still remember the first day they brought me the feral horse that no one dared to go near. But you know what? It only took me three days to ride it."

"Are you comparing me to that horse?" I frowned.

"Nah, you're overestimating yourself. You are way lower than that horse." His lips curved up into a lopsided grin.

"What did you say?" I balled my hands into fists in anger. I wanted to slap him hard, but I knew he would just grab my wrist before it could land on his face.

"I don't have to spend days. It'll only take me less than twenty hours to ride you." He ran his tongue over his lips, wetting them as his eyes roamed over my body as if he wanted to undress me. "Have you forgotten? We have two ceremonies today. One is your coronation, and another is our wedding." He stepped closer until I could feel his hot breath on the bridge of my nose. Then, he hooked his index finger under my chin and lifted my face to his level. "What do you think happens after we wed?"

"You're sick," I shoved him away, wanting to put distance between us, but he grabbed both my wrists with one hand, keeping them on his chest.

"Even if I don't love you, I'm still a hot-blooded man. My tongue craves for the taste of your skin. It desires to lick every part of your body other than those heart-shaped lips. As for the lower part of my body, it screams for a warm and wet place to penetrate. I am curious..." he trailed off and ran his free hand down the curve of my torso before resting on my waist. "Is the hole of the number one beauty any different from all those maids?" He moved his hand further down to the front, but before it reached a place between my inner thighs, my leg reacted instantly.

"Get your dirty hand off me." I kicked his shin, expecting him to yelp in pain, and let go of my wrists. But he stood his ground as if nothing had happened.

"What a waste. Even though I put you in the dungeon these past few days, I still provided enough food. How come there was no strength in your body? I could barely feel your kick." He sighed. "Don't blame me if I break you tonight. I tend to be violent in bed, just for the record."

"Stop daydreaming! I won't allow you to touch even a single strand of my hair!" I yelled, hoping to release the rage in my voice.

"Oh, I won't just touch a strand of your hair. I'll grab a fistful of it and yank your head back as I f**k you from behind. Next, I will do it from the front. I'm going to enjoy looking at your horny face when you beg me to go harder."

"There is no way I'll do that." I tried freeing my hands, but to no avail. For the first time, I regretted not learning sword fighting. If I had, I wouldn't look so helpless like I was now. When my mother refused to let me take classes, I should have protested or sneaked out to learn with my brother.

"There hasn't been a woman in this world who doesn't experience a euphoric sense of s****l excitement when she is in my bed."

"I am not those women, and I am not interested. If you dare to do this to me, you are nothing more than a rapist. Forcing a woman into warming your bed? You don't stoop that low, do you?"

"You're right. I don't. No matter how bad I am, I never forced anyone to have s*x with me."

I let out an audible sigh of relief, thinking I was finally safe. Sadly, that wasn't the case.

"But I don't have to force you because you'll obey everything I say, including spreading your legs for me. Willingly. And you know the reason."

"How could you be so cruel? My family and I had never done anything wrong to you." I gritted my teeth and glared at him. How I wish my eyes could release fire and burn him to ashes.

"There are many things in this world that lead me to kill, even if I don't have a grudge. So, if you don't want to be the sole survivor of the Adelaide bloodline, better behave yourself, princess."

"If you dare to touch my eldest brother's family, I swear I'll—"

"What will you do? Look at yourself." He pulled me roughly toward the mirror and made me stand facing it with his hands gripping both my shoulders from behind. "You can't even save yourself. The only thing you can do now is to be obedient. After all, that's what a woman was born for."

I looked up at the ceiling, trying to swallow the unshed tears that threatened to fall. Iory was right. I was no longer who I thought I was. No parents. No power. The only family I had left was my eldest brother, who was away in another kingdom.

"Where is he?" I opened my eyes and asked in a soft voice.

"You should've done this from the beginning." He was referring to my tone.

"I'm sorry. It was my fault. Now, can you tell me where he is?" I hated myself for showing defeat. But I had no choice. I had to save my brother, even if it meant swallowing my pride.

"Say the magic word," he said in a sing-song voice. His eyes stared into mine in the reflection.

I forced a smile. "Please."

Iory let out a pearl of laugher as if he was bathing in his victory over me. "Since you're obedient now, I'll give you something as a reward."

I looked in the mirror to see him sliding his hand inside the pocket of his pants. When he took it out, there was a letter coming along. "A letter?" I asked.

"From your brother. It arrived this morning."

"Give it to me." I snatched the letter from his hand and tore open the envelope in a hurry. When my eyes landed on my brother's handwriting, tears welled up in my eyes. Each sentence lifted the weight off my heart as I read through it, for it reminded me I wasn't alone. I still had a family.

"What's it about?" Iory asked.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and said, "He's sorry he can't make it to my birthday."

"Well, he's lucky. If he had come that day, he wouldn't have had the chance to go back alive. I might have committed another sin by making another woman a widow."

Yes, thankfully, you didn't come that day, brother. I thought to myself.

"What else did he write? Just saying sorry doesn't have to take the entire page."

"You're invading my privacy."

"I don't. The letter was unopened when I gave it to you, wasn't it? You should be thankful already."

"Fine," I murmured and summarized what I had read. "He also wrote that he couldn't get me the gift he had promised to give me on my eighteenth birthday."

"What was it?"

"Do you have to know everything?" I turned to look at him in annoyance.

"I'm your master. Don't answer my question with another one of your own."

"I don't know," I said, turning back to the letter. "When my brother was fifteen, he was lost in the wood during the annual hunting. We searched the entire area for two days, but we couldn't find him. My mother cried so much that day because she thought he was gone. But on the third night, my brother returned with his horse, uninjured and well."

"I've heard about this. He couldn't remember anything for those two days, right?"

"Yes. My parents asked him many times, but his answer remained the same. Ever since that day, he kept telling me he had a big surprise to show me when I turned eighteen. But, until now, I still don't know what it is."

"I never get it either whenever Ralph talks. I thought he was a lunatic when I first met him. Well, come to think about it, maybe he was. After all, he disregarded his status and married a lowly woman."

"Don't insult my brother!" My voice came out louder than I expected. I just couldn't stand him talking about my brother that way. But I knew I had to correct things before they led to something terrible. "I'm sorry," I said, looking down at the floor. I must not get on his bad side today.

"This is the last time. I can't guarantee what I'll do if you lose your temper again," he whispered into my ear with a stern voice.

I nodded. "Do you want to know what he writes next?" I asked, wanting to avert his attention from that accident.

"Go on. Read each word out this time. I don't want to hear the summary."

I moved on to the next paragraph and read it aloud when suddenly, my tongue got stuck at one word. I rubbed my eyes and blinked a few times before looking at it again, hoping I didn't see things.

And no, I wasn't. That word was still there. It was real.

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