Chapter 63 ~ Over my dead body

Chapter 63 ~ Over my dead body

ELLA

The engine of Adrian’s car purred as we navigated through unfamiliar streets. I glanced out of the tinted windows, trying to make sense of our destination, but the buildings didn’t look familiar.

It definitely wasn’t the route to his mansion or the safe house.

“Adrian, where are we going?” I asked, curiosity laced with a hint of concern. The question hung in the air, but he remained silent, his attention fixed on the road.

I pressed further. “Adrian, you can’t just take me somewhere without telling me. What’s going on?”

He still ignored me, like I was speaking nonsense or like he’d gone deaf. “Look, if you want to commit suicide, do it on your own. I don’t know about you, but I’ve started liking breathing lately.”

“Shut up. No one’s doing anything like that,” he snapped, clearly irritated.

“You didn’t think I’d be a talkative one when you picked me, did you?” I asked, and he actually chuckled before replying,

“I did. I just didn’t think I’d let you get away with it.”

I turned my head and screamed silently like a child before facing him with a straight expression.

“Do you regret it?”

My heart beat erratically as I waited.

Somehow, what he would say next mattered too much.

“I’m marrying you, ain’t I?”

“I thought that was just a way of distracting Lila,” I said, shocked he was actually serious.

He stopped at a red light and turned to face me. “No, it’s not. We have a wedding in five days.”

What the hell?

“When were you going to tell me about this?” I asked, anger spiking through my chest.

How could he make such a massive decision without even talking to me? I got that he was the king and all, but even kings should show basic human decency when it came to marriage.

“I just did,” he replied, pressing the gas as the light turned green. If he hadn’t been driving, I would’ve clawed his face.

“Did you even mean it?” I asked, my voice unsteady, tears threatening to fall.

“Mean what?” he responded with that same cocky tone that made me want to scream.

He really was a bipolar devil, this one.

“When you said you loved me,” I said, even though I knew he remembered it clearly, he’d said it like it was etched into his blood.

“Yes. I did.”

That was it? Two words? That was all he had to offer after saying something that had unraveled every wall I’d ever built?

Anger rose in my throat, but I swallowed it down. I refused to cry in front of him. Not now. Not ever again.

In that moment, I made a decision. Adrian would never see me cry again.

I didn’t bother pushing further. What was left of my heart was too close to crumbling, and if I kept going, I’d be ruined completely.

Because when you start enjoying sleeping with the devil, he starts taking pieces of your soul.

The gravel road crunched beneath the tires as Adrian steered us toward a secluded Italian-style house.

Tall trees lined the path, casting dappled shadows that danced with the breeze. The scent of blooming flowers filled the air, soft and deceivingly peaceful.

As the car pulled up, a slender blonde woman stepped out of the house as if she had known we were coming.

Did she?

She had a reserved presence, one that added an air of elegance to the surroundings.

Adrian stepped out of the car, leaving me behind with a growing sense of unease.

He walked over to my door and opened it, silently offering his hand. I wanted to ignore him, to act like I didn’t notice, but I couldn’t.

I didn’t want this beautiful woman to find a weakness in me and use it against me. It was pathetic, but I was jealous and that jealousy twisted into a quiet rage at the thought of the two of them being intimate.

“Adrian,” she greeted him with a perfect, white smile, wrapping her arms around him like she owned the moment.

He hugged her back, but not as closely as she clearly wanted. I tsked under my breath at the sight.

“Isabella,” he said flatly, giving her nothing. Then, without glancing at me, he commanded, “She will stay here.”

Of course. King Adrian never asked he took. I was living proof. The way he’d taken me from behind like I wasn’t even a virgin, like he’d known and still didn’t care. He took what he wanted and never asked.

Now he wanted to take my life by making me marry him, again without asking. The poor blonde just nodded, not even bothering to ask who I was or why I was staying. Italians and their damn obsession with tradition.

I watched them exchange hushed words, too quiet for me to hear. It was like they were passing coordinates to a powerful weapon, not just talking. I could never get used to this life and honestly, I was fucking exhausted.

Adrian returned to the car and pulled me with him, his face unreadable. I opened my mouth, ready to insult him without caring about the consequences, when he simply said,

“Stay here for a moment, Ella,” before disappearing again.

This man was seriously trying me today. If he just told me what the hell we were running from, I’d cooperate.

But no…he seemed to enjoy me being a pain in the ass.

After what felt like forever, he slid back into the driver’s seat without a word. The silence snapped something in me.

“What the hell is happening?” I snapped.

His jaw clenched, that tic of irritation flashing through him. For a second I thought he’d ignore me, but then his eyes met mine, guarded and cold.

“I need to handle something. You’ll be safe here with Isabella. Trust me.”

Trust him? Over my dead fucking body.

The mention of her name only fueled the fire inside me. “Who is she? And why am I being left in the dark again?”

His expression didn’t change. “I can’t explain everything now. Just trust me.” The engine roared to life. Then he turned to me with that maddening calm and said, “I’ll be back for you, my little spitfire.”

My stupid cheeks warmed at his words, and I hated that reaction. Before I could embarrass myself even more, I opened the door and stepped out.

He drove off without another word leaving me behind with a stranger who clearly wanted to be in his bed and claimed I’d be safe here.

I doubted it. But like some obedient little robot, I walked toward her as she stood by the door, wondering how the hell I’d sleep tonight.