I barely nod, watching him intently. Our eyes hold for the longest time, and something swims inside of his. He’s angry, yes, but there is remorse there. The guilt—it’s eating him alive.
Despite my bad behavior and foul mouth, he hates what has been done to me.
When he finishes up, he drops the sponge and then leans forward. His mouth is less than an inch away from mine, and he studies me carefully.
“I will make sure they beg for your forgiveness and then die a vengeful death for their disobedience and lack of respect.”
I bob my head.
“I mean it, Gianna. I won’t be easy on them. I will make them fucking suffer.”
“I know,” I whisper. And really, I do know. I’ve witnessed his wrath firsthand.
He sighs and draws back, standing to his feet. He walks to a cabinet and grabs a small black box. Opening it, he digs through it and takes something small out. “I think it’s time to explain some things to you,” he murmurs as he places it back on the shelf inside the cabinet.
“Things like what?”
He comes back in my direction and when he lowers his hand, he places the object down on the edge of the tub. I look down at it, and when I see the familiar diamond ring, my chest squeezes tight. “About your ex-husband…” he says.
I freeze for a split second, pulling my line of sight away from it. “What about him?”
“You’ll find out as soon as I take care of this. I need to send someone to clean that mess in the cellar. I will be back, though. Just make sure you stay in this room—my room. Don’t go anywhere else.”
He steps forward and tips my chin, stroking my hair back. Sincerity runs deep in his brown irises. He feels awful, I think. That’s what it seems. His devotion is too fierce.
He feels bad that Pico took from me, something that I will never get back. He’s probably fueled with jealousy and spite.
“I have no doubt that you fought.” His voice is low and even. “You are your father’s daughter and one thing he told me and my family is that, boy or girl, he would never raise a coward.”
A coward, I am not.
He pulls away and stands up straight.
I want to thank him, but for what? I was still taken.
I felt so weak down in that cellar. So vulnerable and…used.
I already want to forget it, but it’s too fresh in my mind. His hot breath, his greasy sweat, his disgusting mouth on my skin. I squeeze my eyes shut, lowering my head.
“I will be back as soon as possible, niñita. Wait for me.” He pulls his hand away and plants a kiss on the top of my head, exhaling deeply. He walks towards the door, glancing back once. “Don’t leave this room,” he commands lightly. “I mean it.”
“I won’t.”
He nods once, and with slight reluctance, he finally walks out of the bathroom while stripping out of his bloodstained shirt. When he’s gone, I fear the loneliness. The quiet. I hope he really does come right back. I need his protection.
I look at the ring again, blinking slowly. I stare at it for a while. He’s giving it back, but the question is do I want it?
The past. The memories. The heartache.
I flick the ring and it clinks loudly on the tile floor. I then sink down lower in the tub, staring at the water. My knobby knees are quaking. My hands are trembling.
I accepted my fate.
There is no turning back now.
I sink down further, until the water has enveloped me whole. I stay this way for nearly one whole minute, not breathing. Not thinking. Not moving.
Eyes shut.
Airtight.
Heart booming.
And then I rise.
I gasp.
Water falls past my lips. I taste blood.
And I know…I know what I have to do.
I must become the woman to match Draco’s exterior.
The one thing I’ve learned is that weak people don’t last. And maybe he was right. Love is useless. Compassion is pointless. Mercy is redundant.
I’ve been kind.
I’ve understood.
I’ve been helpful.
I’ve been trying to stay positive, even through the worst of times.
But no more. I have accepted my fate. And that fate is to become just as dangerous and ruthless as Draco Molina.
My new partner.
My new king.
He can have all of me, just as long as I get to call the shots. Mind, body, and soul—it’s all his. He can take it and cherish it because there is no looking back for me.
Toni…he is my past.
Daddy, he is in my heart. But Draco is right. He’s gone too.
I am his heir.
I was passionate. Passion was what I knew. Passion and hope were what kept me going. But passion and hope have constantly fucked me over.
This princess is ready to snatch up the big crown and become the one thing she was deathly afraid of.