Page 71 of His Beloved Princess
"You're Sebastian Thorn's assistant, who overnight turned into his girlfriend. You're his subordinate," she clarified, her cocky expression making me sick. "Was he threatening you, too? Or is he paying you for your services?"
"Okay, that's enough!" Andreas roared from behind me, making me wince. But I wasn't ready to leave this matter unsolved. They started it; it was my duty to finish it.
"Wait a moment," I interrupted him before he could say anything else, returning my attention to the blonde reporter. "What is the problem with me being his subordinate and his girlfriend?"
I intentionally ignored her remark about Bastian paying me for my services because I wasn't sure I could control myself if she repeated something so stupid. The last thing I needed was to end up at the police station because I clawed her eyes out.
"It can be interpreted as sexual harassment if he used his position and power over you to push you into a relationship," she said, expecting a response from me. Still, I only frowned, not saying anything because everything finally clicked into place.
Bastian didn't just ask me to marry him out of pure love; he shielded me from this. He knew about it. It had to happen before our accident, and he knew the law and the consequences. Our relationship was taboo in many ways, and he wasn't only fighting to get me back; he was also protecting me and his reputation from this outrageous accusation. Marriage was the best thing he could do to deny Sarah's nonsense.
"Bastian didn't push me into anything," I stated after a few moments, gathering my thoughts. "We are together because we love each other."
"Then why do you have a contract with an expiration date, Miss Hernandez?" she countered, knocking the air out of my lungs.
"There is no expiration date on our relationship," I uttered as calmly as possible, but even I heard that my voice trembled. They caught me off-guard, completely unprepared. “And I think it’s time to correct you in addressingme.”
At that very moment, I made up my mind. I would play by Bastian’s rules. I always trusted him and would never allow anyone to attack him while he couldn’t fight back.
“A few days before the accident, Bastian and I got married,” I announced. Gasps and murmurs were heard throughout the room. “I’m not his assistant anymore; I’m his wife. So next time you want to talk to me, ask for Mrs. Thorn.”
The entire place exploded with another round of questions. Some reporters yelled my name to get my attention, but I only focused on the man and woman before me. I was inquisitive about how they got the information about the lawsuit and my contract with Bastian. I’d shocked them with the announcement and temporarily distracted them from the sensation they sniffed out.
But I didn't forget. I was more committed than ever before to kicking the ass of those responsible for this fiasco. Andreas was on my radar, and I would not back off until he told me everything.
34
A Confrontation
Electra
"What the fuck was that?" I yelled the moment I burst through the conference room door, where everyone had already gathered. The eyes of Fredy, Peter, their father, Derek, and Rosalind were on me, but I didn't care about their shocked gazes. My anger was directed towards the only person who was glaring at me like I was some annoying bug.
Fucking asshole!
"Calm down, Electra," Andreas said in a fake, sweet tone, making me almost explode with rage. That imbecile let me go in front of the entire country without proper preparation or knowledge about what was happening, and he was about to lecture me! Not in a million years.
"I demand an explanation!" I held his hard stare, breathing like I'd just run a marathon. The blood in my veins was boiling. I was barely keeping myself under control. I’d never been so pissed. "Why didn't you tell me about the lawsuit? Why the hell did you withhold that information when I came to you?"
"Stop yelling at me, Electra!" he growled, giving the impression of a lion ready to strike. "I won't deal with yourhysterical episode."
"Hysterical episode?" I hissed, fisting my palm. My entire body was in fight mode. "You made me a pawn in your stupid game! You lied to me. Everything Bastian ever worked for is at stake here, and you dare to call me hysterical?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rosalind open her mouth. She would’ve probably stood by Andreas’s side, but Mr. Thorn stopped her before she said a word. No one interfered in our argument, and I was glad for that. I wasn’t in the right mind to deal with them all.
“You should’ve left the stage exactly like you were instructed,” Andreas spat, his icy eyes showing so much anger they almost matched mine—almost.
“I’m not a robot. A machine you can program and have under control!” I inhaled a sharp breath, unable to hide the tremor in my body. No one could ever infuriate me to the point where I almost lost it. But my protective instinct over Bastian and my love for him were stronger than anything I’d ever felt. He was under attack, and his idiotic brother hid it from me when it was my job to shield him and take care of him.
“Whether you like it or not, Electra, we will deal with it by my rules,” Andreas announced in a tone that didn’t take any objections, but I was done being a crying, broken girlfriend. I was one of them. I was Bastian’s wife. My word was equal to theirs.
“Yeah? Like you’ve been dealing with it till now?” I raised my eyebrows at him, his expression darkening. Undermining his position and doubting his work was dangerous, but he crossed the line, and I wouldn’t allow him to do it again.
“My job is to protect Bastian and this family from vultures like Sarah Pearson and her minions,” he snapped, walking around the table. He was moving towards me like a hunting lion, slowly and steadily. His eyes never left my face.
“And how’s it going so far, hm?” I turned to face him, noticing there was about a foot of free space between us. He was much taller than me, but I didn’t let him intimidate me. He messed this up. “Reporters know about my contract with Bastian. They are listening to that bitch’s lies, and you did nothing to stop it! Instead of crushing her with everything you have, you sent me out there to make a fool of myself!”
“You little piece of...” He gulped down any insults that came to his mind because, surprisingly, even when I was yelling at him as a lunatic, he didn’t let his temper get the best of him. I admired his self-control. “Two hours ago, you didn’t even know your name; that’s how lost you were, and now you’re telling me what to do!”
