Page 73 of The Heart of a Villain

He continues to deliver his blows, although he must think he’s saving me. “I’m giving back what I’ve stolen from you. Freedom. You’re no longer my captive.” He comes at me swiftly, palming my head and plastering his mouth to mine, while I slap his chest, trying to rip my lips away, not welcoming his kiss after his cruel orders. “For the first time in my adult life, I’m putting someone else’s well-being above mine,” he says against my lips, while I’m fuming, refusing to listen to the anguish in his tone as my soul breaks into tiny little pieces. “Go live your life, princess. You don’t belong in my darkness.”

“We aren’t in a fairy tale,” I whisper to him, finally managing to push him away as he stumbles backward. “I don’t need your romantic gestures. You don’t respect my feelings and think I will easily leave while my father is on his way? I will stay.” I raise my chin high. “And you can’t make me leave.”

My bravado is short-lived, though.

“Per my orders, you will be dragged to the boat, kicking and screaming, should you not comply with my commands.”

I grab the pillow and throw it at him, but he dips away.

“Rain is already on the way back to Houston. Goodbye, princess.” With this, he walks to the door but pauses by it, saying without turning to me, “The master bedroom was burned down, and only ashes remain. I never wanted to renovate it, as it’s too painful. You won’t find any diary in there, so settle your mind.” He presses on the handle, and the stupid part of me pushes through the surface of fury and pain.

“Rush!” I call his name, fisting the blanket hard. “Don’t do this.” How many times does a man need to be cruel to a girl to get a hint?

Yes, the Beast let Belle go, but she begged him to. I don’t want to leave. I want to fix all this mess with the only thing I have in my arsenal.

Love.

However, he stays deaf to my pleas. “You deserve better.” Then he half-turns, drinking my image in as if memorizing my features, his gaze swiping over me lovingly and making me weep inside. His grip on the handle is so strong his knuckles turn white. “Goodbye, princess. You shall never see me again.”

My heart plummets at this, realizing what he’s doing, and he leaves, shutting the door firmly while I race after him, only to halt my movements in the middle of the room.

And then drop on my ass, crying into my hands because there is nothing I can do, and I feel so hopeless.

Because as things stand now, Dad won’t forgive Rush, even if I’m free and well. So either way, someone will die.

I cry my heart out, hating this pent-up pain and wondering if that’s why poets claim that first love is the worst torture a human experiences, for usually it always ends badly.

This soul-crushing feeling, as if everything inside you is destroyed, and yet the world operates as usual, oblivious to the challenges fate has thrown your way.

Picking up a pawn, I put it forward as tears fill my eyes and sigh in resignation when Dad’s bishop eats up my knight with his next move, signaling his victory. “I lost.” Tears stream down my cheeks. “Again.”

Dad wipes my cheeks and then grips my chin, tilting my head back while he gives me a smile. “If you lose, you can win again.”

My brows furrow in confusion. “How?” I glance down at the chessboard. “I can’t change my moves now.”

“But you can always play a new game.”

Yes!

I’m about tired of all the men in my life, Dad included, making decisions for me, even if their warped minds are telling them it’s for my own good.

With this determination filling my cells, I quickly get up and jump into the shower, taking it in record time and throwing my hair in a bun.

I noticed a purple summer tracksuit along with sneakers waiting for me on the bed and put it on. For the first time since coming to this island, I get to wear something comfortable.

Rushing downstairs, I go to the dining room, where Jesse and Lavender are also in tracksuits while eating breakfast, as Willian and George shout, their voices booming through the hallway.

“Pack all the stuff!”

“Gently! It’s silver.”

“This is a family heirloom! Careful with it. A little more respect.”

The men huff and puff, dragging various suitcases outside, and I inform the two butlers busy with crossing something off their list, “I’m not going.”

William sighs. “We have orders, you know, young lady.”

“Yeah, and I don’t care.”

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