Chapter 4
Elizabeth's POV
The damp air, thick with the acrid stench of refuse, hung heavy in the alley, making me wrinkle my nose in disgust.
The murderous intent in those ink-black eyes hadn't faded; they were fixed on me, calculating. I didn't dare move, letting him assess me as if I were a puzzle he was trying to solve.
Nearly a full minute passed before the crushing, non-negotiable pressure he exuded finally began to recede, granting me a sliver of air.
A large hand, its knuckles sharply defined, seized my arm, using me as leverage to pull himself up from the heap of trash. Moonlight glinted off his silver mask, casting him in an aura of mystery and danger that was both terrifying and magnetic.
"How much?"
"I don't want money."
I looked at him. He was disgustedly patting the dust off his body and glanced unnaturally at the garbage dump nearby, which made me feel inexplicably guilty.
He turned his head at my answer, his dark eyes flashing with undisguised contempt. "You weren't just waiting here for an opportunity?"
Though his voice possessed a rich, pleasing timbre, the words themselves were like shards of ice. I clenched my fists at my sides, the fabric of my dress digging into my palms. "If I had a choice, I certainly wouldn't have chosen to be in the middle of this."
This man was from the Windsor family, which meant his pursuers were anything but ordinary. I was just a normal person, someone who should stay as far away from such conflicts as possible. If it weren't for the child growing inside me, if I weren't willing to gamble everything on this one desperate chance, I would have rationally chosen to walk away and pretend I had seen nothing.
My response seemed to catch him off guard, stunning him for a couple of seconds. It was clear he hadn't expected me to genuinely want nothing in return.
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the far end of the alley.
Were the assassins back? A knot of anxiety tightened in my stomach.
"Don't worry. They're my men," the man's voice was unexpectedly softer, almost reassuring.
I hesitated for only a moment before acting. I lunged forward, grabbing his tie and pulling him down toward me until our faces were inches apart. "I saved you because I have a certain connection to the Windsor family," I whispered urgently into his ear. "But don't you forget that I'm the one who saved your life."
Without waiting for his reaction, I released him and spun around, striding quickly in the opposite direction. Now that he was safe, there was no reason for me to linger. I could only hope that this reckless act would be enough.
I didn't look back. I didn't see the way his gaze locked onto my retreating form, following me until the darkness completely swallowed me from view.
Back at the Smith family estate, I had barely slipped off my shoes when two figures materialized to block my path. I looked up to find two faces, crimson and distorted with fury.
Cleo's hand shot up, aimed for my face. "You're the one who tampered with the bird's nest soup!"
I dodged back, catching her wrist in mid-air and flinging it away with more force than I intended. "You need evidence to make accusations like that," I said, my voice cold. "Maybe Ms. Johnson is just too delicate. Mom, do you realize what you're saying could be considered slander?"
I was Aiden's fiancée, yet Cleo, my future mother-in-law, was absurdly doting on Bianca in public. Wasn't that just her way of broadcasting to the world how insignificant I was in this family? And honestly, if she hadn't been fawning all over Bianca in the first place, none of this would have even happened.
Jessica steadied her mother, her own face a mask of rage. "Something was added to that soup! Who else in this house has a heart that black? Elizabeth! You think just because Aiden spoils you, you can do whatever you want in this house, don't you?"
Behind them, a line of house staff stood with their heads bowed, their eyes fixed on the floor, refusing to witness the drama.
Cleo took a deep, steadying breath, but her tone remained severe. "When you do something wrong, you accept the punishment! Even if Aiden were here right now, I wouldn't let him protect you. Elizabeth, get over there and kneel!"
The butler stepped forward, presenting a wooden ruler to Cleo. She weighed it in her hand, her eyes filled with a venomous hatred as she glanced at me, as if imagining the satisfying crack it would make against my skin.
In stark contrast to their theatrical outrage, I remained unnervingly calm. I simply walked past them, heading for the stairs, ignoring them completely.
Cleo, incandescent with rage, shrieked at the maids nearby. "Grab her!"
Two of them moved to flank me, their movements hesitant. They formed a symbolic barrier, clearly too intimidated to actually touch me.
My patience finally snapped. I turned back to face them, my voice low and cutting. "I said, you need evidence. Even if you want to punish me, you have to prove I did something. Did any of you actually see me do it with your own eyes?"
"Who else could it be?" Jessica retorted immediately. "I see what you're doing, you're just trying to stall! Well, I'll have you know, Aiden is working late tonight. He's not going to come running to save you like last time!" She added, a smug tilt to her lips, "Just get on your knees and accept your punishment, and we can put this behind us."
My gaze shifted to the bodyguards standing silently by the wall. "Those security cameras aren't just for decoration, are they? If you want to know what happened, why don't we just pull up the footage?"
At the mention of cameras, the color drained from their faces.
Cleo advanced, brandishing the ruler. "How dare you bring up the cameras? They've been broken for days! You must have done it!"
"Stop." I pushed past the maids and held up a hand to halt Cleo's advance. "Without proof, it's slander. If you keep pushing this, I'm calling the police." I pulled out my phone, my expression glacial.
"Who do you think you're scaring?" Cleo sneered, taking another step closer. "If you want to marry into the Smith family, you follow our rules!"
I narrowed my eyes, a hint of mockery lacing my tone. "Did you forget? I haven't been officially married in yet. Ms. Brown, I had no idea your family was so… traditional."
The shift in address—from the informal Mom to the cold, formal Ms. Brown, shattered the pretense of our future mother-and-daughter-in-law relationship, replacing it with the tense air of a standoff.
Jessica started to say something else, but I cut her off with a sharp command. "And you. You clueless little fool. Shut up."
"How dare you talk to me like that!" Jessica's eyes instantly welled with tears.
I ignored her and turned, ascending the stairs. There was a time, when Aiden and I were happy, that I had treated Jessica with endless kindness. All it had earned me was her contempt and betrayal. I wasn't going to tolerate it anymore.
Later that night, Aiden slipped quietly into the room. I lay with my back to the door, feigning sleep. The very thought of his touch now made my stomach churn, and I knew I had to find a way to keep him at a distance.
The mattress dipped on the other side of the bed. He pressed his body against mine, wrapping an arm around me from behind. "I heard you had a fight with Mom today," he murmured into my hair.
I fought back the wave of nausea, carefully schooling my expression and my voice. "No," I replied flatly.
A fight? Did he mean her one-sided tirade? The three of them were clearly a united front. In his heart, Aiden had probably already decided I was guilty.
"Is that so." He leaned in closer, trying to press a kiss to my cheek. I turned my head just in time, a subtle but deliberate evasion.
He loosened his hold. "Bianca had a bit of an episode at the party. Mom is very protective of her, so she was just on edge."
"Did Mom tell you why we argued?" I asked, my tone even, and I watched as his gaze flickered away. He clearly hadn't expected such a direct question.
I pressed on. "Do you also think it was my fault Bianca was humiliated in public?"
Aiden immediately waved his hands in dismissal. "No, no, of course not. You would never do something like that. Bianca's always been fragile. Mom was just overreacting."
Looking at his tender, concerned expression, I might have almost believed him if I didn't already know the truth. It was almost impressive, how committed he was to the performance. The lengths he would go to just to get my bone marrow for his true love, Bianca.
"It's getting late. Let's just get some rest, okay, Elizabeth?" He moved in again, his warm breath ghosting over my ear, carrying an unmistakable, intimate suggestion.
My stomach churned violently. Just before I was about to vomit, I suddenly pushed him away, put my hand on my lower abdomen, and said with a feigned look of grievance. "I'm pregnant," I said, my voice trembling slightly. "The doctor said it would be best if we slept separately for now."