Page 90 of Deadly Vows

“I can’t hear you,” he says wickedly, his tone sultry as he finds joy in my torture.

“Ngh, Please, Alexander,” I choke out.

The world slowly blurs around me, and my struggle dies down as I slowly lose consciousness. Panic hits me with an intensity I can’t fathom as I come to the realization that he is going to kill me. There is no time to plan an escape. There is no time to stall. He’s going to kill me right here, right now.

Suddenly, he lifts me off the ground, roughly pressing me against the counter. I cry out as it digs into my back, but he hits me again.

“Quiet,” he snaps, forcing my gaze to his.

He studies me intensely, having an inner battle with himself. I tense as he presses himself against me, his erection straining against my inner thigh as he glares at me.

My panic intensifies, and I press against his chest, but he quickly grips my hands between his, holding me roughly. He leans into me, his lips lingering over mine, and when he presses himself harder against me, his lips mash against mine.

I struggle, moving my head as I try to break him away from me, but I am weak and injured. Tears burn my eyes as I squeeze them shut, just as a wave of nausea washes over me. He sensesit, quickly pulling back as I heave clear liquid between us, my disgust prominent.

Instead of anger, he chuckles, gripping my chin between his forefinger.

“If you continue to push me, I can’t be held responsible for what will happen to you,” he says.

His words are chilling as he steps away from me, and I collapse as my legs are no longer able to hold me up.

Alexander stands over me, licking his lips as he does.

“I am a patient man… but you are testing me, Elise,” he says.

He finally leaves the room after a moment, plunging me into silence. I stare at the ground, my breathing coming out in faster pants until tears are rolling down my cheeks. I place my hand over my mouth to prevent my sobs from echoing over the walls. I don’t want him to hear me—to know he’s affected me in this way.

I hate my father for forcing me into a world like this—a world where women are currency and men have no tether to reality. And I hate him even more for plunging our family into war with the Pasquinos, further digging the hole he had already placed us in. All of this is his fault. Ari, me, even Enzo—everything that has happened to us is because of my father’s greed—even my mother’s death.

I haven’t had the mental capacity to think about it. To even think about the reason I’m in this mess. Luca may have ended her life, but it was my father who asked for their help in doing so. My family is cursed. From the moment my father decided to enlist the help of a family he planned on using for power in the future, he cursed us. And now I am paying the price for it.

I tense when I feel hands around my shoulders, and I look into the servant’s eyes. She watches me with a pity-filled gaze as she helps me up, but she looks away as soon as she senses I am about to speak. She is as much a prisoner as I am.

“Eat, Elise.”

My eyes remain on the plate in front of me. What he doesn’t know is that ever since the beating he gave me hours ago, I have been unable to open my mouth properly. I couldn’t eat even if I wanted to. And as I stare at the plate, nausea settles in my stomach. I have no appetite.

I shift my attention to Alexander, grimacing as I try to open my mouth.

“I…can’t,” I murmur.

He glares at me in response, and the longer he does, the faster my heart beats.

He suddenly stands, sitting right next to me, and he eyes the newest bruising forming on my face. He reaches for my face, his hand hesitating as I flinch away from him, closing my eyes as more tears form, falling down my cheeks.

He laughs, lowering his hand.

“You think I am the monster, Elise. But I am not. You married the true monster,” he says.

I slowly open my eyes, my gaze remaining on my plate as I try to stomach this man’s proximity.

“Why do you think you are here? Do you think you would have been taken to that auction house if you were anyone else? Your husband is a dangerous man in this world. You marrying him was a mistake,” he says.

I’m trembling from how close he is, but that doesn’t stop me from laughing.

“You…think…I don’t…know that?” I murmur.

Alexander’s gaze is frightening, but he laughs as well.

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