Chapter 28
Elizabeth's POV
The door wasn't closed properly. I stumbled into the room and fell heavily onto the floor, my brows furrowing in pain.
Hugging my bruised knee, I looked up and saw a group photo hanging on the wall directly in front of me.
It showed a young couple, their smiles wide and brilliant as they stood together beneath a large tree.
I blinked, a flicker of recognition stirring within me. The couple looked vaguely familiar, and when an image of Alex's face flashed through my mind, the connection clicked into place. His features were a clear echo of the two people in the picture. Their identity was not difficult to guess.
These must be Alex's parents.
I took a moment to steady myself, then slowly rose to my feet, drawn toward the photograph for a closer look.
The print had the faded, warm tones of an older era, suggesting it had been taken when they were young.
"What are you doing?"
A furious roar exploded from behind me, freezing me in place. A chill snaked its way up my spine, cold and sharp.
Alex's voice, utterly devoid of emotion, emanated from just over my shoulder, and the sheer weight of its frigid pressure stole the courage I would have needed to even turn my head.
He moved behind me, his hand clamping around my throat with a swift, brutal certainty.
The world narrowed as the air was squeezed from my lungs. "Don't… please don't hurt me…"
The violent images from earlier today replayed in my mind's eye—Alex, when enraged, moved with a speed and ferocity that left no room for mercy, no chance for escape.
"Elizabeth, do you have any idea where you are?"
His voice was a flat, chilling monotone. The immense pressure radiating from him felt like a physical weight, an invisible hand pressing down on my shoulders, pinning me to the spot.
I quickly looked around, and in the dim light, what I saw was an ordinary bedroom.
Where was this place?
"Who gave you permission to come in here?" His tone was laced with a thick, undeniable threat that triggered every instinct to flee. The arctic aura emanating from him was so intense that it paralyzed my thoughts, making it impossible to form a complete sentence.
From the doorway, two stifled gasps cut through the tense silence.
It was Lisa and Anna. They stood frozen on the threshold, their faces masks of shock, yet they dared not take a single step into the room.
"Don't… I… I'm pregnant," I stammered, desperately seizing on the one thing that might grant me a reprieve.
Surely, for the sake of the child, he would let this go.
At the mention of the baby, a cold, humorless laugh escaped him. He then shoved me away with a sudden, violent force. The atmosphere in the room shifted, becoming charged with an unbearable iciness that signaled a deeper, more dangerous level of his anger.
I stumbled backward and collapsed near the doorway, where Lisa and Anna quickly reached for me, their hands extending but their feet remaining firmly planted outside the room.
"Ms. Spencer," Lisa whispered, her voice tight with urgency, "this was Mr. Windsor's parents' bedroom. They passed away. How could you just come in here?"
My mind, slow to catch up, finally processed her words as I looked at Alex's back. He stood perfectly still, a rigid silhouette against the dim light, but the air around him vibrated with a low, menacing pressure that felt like it could swallow a person whole.
"Ms. Spencer! Apologize to Mr. Windsor, quickly!" Anna urged, her voice trembling with panic.
Still reeling from the shock, I stared blankly at Alex's back, which seemed to be trembling almost imperceptibly. I couldn't make sense of the situation.
Apologize? For what?
I had never met his parents since arriving here. It was an elder's room, yes, but I had merely taken a wrong turn. Why was the reaction so severe?
Lisa gave my arm a sharp tug, and when I saw the tears welling in her eyes, a dreadful understanding began to dawn on me.
Could it be that…
"Tie her up," Alex said suddenly, his voice so cold it seemed to crack the air.
The color drained from Lisa and Anna's faces. They pulled me out of the doorway and, with the help of other servants who had appeared, began to restrain me.
"What are you doing? Let go of me! Let me go!" Too many hands held me down. I struggled, but my resistance was futile. Within moments, my arms were bound tightly behind my back.
Alex advanced on me, each step deliberate and heavy. He seized my chin, forcing my head up. "Elizabeth, you are determined to be disobedient."
His gaze was a clear pronouncement: his tolerance had reached its absolute limit, and he was done making allowances.
"Lock her in her room. She is not to come out without my permission." With that final command, he released me and strode away without a backward glance.
The door to his parents' room clicked shut, sealing it off once more.
I was escorted back to my own room, my hands still bound.
I pleaded with Lisa to untie the ropes, but she only looked at me with an expression of profound distress.
Once the other servants had retreated, I finally asked, "What was all that about? I just walked into the wrong room. Why is he so furious?"
Lisa hesitated for a long moment before leaning in close, her voice a conspiratorial whisper. "Ms. Spencer, Mr. Windsor's parents died in an accident. It has always been a deep wound for him. And you walked right into that room."
My brow furrowed as I fell silent, the pieces clicking together with a painful finality.
Alex's parents were gone.
Having navigated that same abyss of loss myself, I knew its crushing weight all too well. A wave of regret washed over me, and I lowered my head in shame.
Anna added, her voice still shaky, "A maid once wandered in there by mistake, and Mr. Windsor threw her out of the villa immediately. The fact that he only had you tied up and sent back to your room, he's already sparing you because of the baby."
Lisa nodded in fervent agreement. "Exactly. So please, Ms. Spencer, don't do anything else to provoke him. You might not be so lucky next time."
Though Anna had only said the maid was "thrown out," the flicker of fear in her eyes told me the reality was likely far worse. The things an enraged Alex was capable of were undoubtedly more terrifying than I could imagine.
"I didn't know, he must have loved his parents very much."
"Of course he did," Lisa said as she worked to untie the ropes binding my wrists. "Which is why you need to be careful. Don't cause any more trouble until he's had time to cool down."
Recalling the pressure of his hand on my throat, I was certain that in that moment, he had genuinely wanted to kill me. If not for the child I was carrying, he would not have let me off so easily.
"I understand," I said, pressing my lips together. "It was my fault. I'll stay in my room. If you get a chance, could you please tell him I'm sorry?"
Amidst my fear, a strange sense of relief settled over me.
The fact that Alex could be so wounded by the memory of his parents proved he was, after all, a man of flesh and blood.
I had trespassed into the most sacred part of his heart; an apology was the least I owed him.
Lisa and Anna exchanged a troubled look. "That's a forbidden topic in this house, I'd advise you not to bring it up again, ever."
"So I'm just supposed to stay locked in here forever?" I countered, but sighed at their pained expressions.
Being a prisoner was not what I wanted, but I was the one who had provoked him. I had to find a way to make amends.
"You should get some rest, Ms. Spencer."
Seemingly unwilling to discuss it further, Lisa and Anna spoke their parting words and left, the sound of the key turning in the lock echoing behind them. I was trapped.
My gaze fell upon the design sketches spread across my desk. I would apologize in my own way, and perhaps, I could find a way to soothe the beast I had awakened.