The rustle of leaves in the Grand Duke’s private woods was swallowed whole by Elena’s ragged breathing.
Her back was pressed hard against the rough bark of an oak tree, while Alexander’s imposing frame trapped her without a sliver of an exit.
“Please, Your Highness…
Let me go…” Elena whispered raspy, her bloodshot eyes pleading with sheer desperation.
“If Lady Clementine or anyone else sees us–”
“I don’t give a fuck about Clementine, Elena, or anyone else in this fucking world,” Alexander cut in coldly.
His free hand reached up, brushing aside the damp strands of red hair clinging to her sweat-chilled forehead.
“And you know damn well that no one in this mansion would dare question what I do in the shadows.”
Elena jerked her face away just as his lips grazed her jawline.
That small act of defiance drew a low chuckle from him–a dark, rumbling sound that sent terror firing through every nerve in her body.
He didn’t force another kiss.
Instead of brutal physical contact, Alexander reached deep into his coat pocket.
He pulled out a small object, dangling it right in front of her eyes.
Elena’s gaze snapped to it.
A worn, silver pocket watch with a faintly rusted chain.
Instantly, the blood in her veins ran cold.
“Th-that’s…” Her voice caught violently in her throat.
“The pocket watch belonging to the Marquess?
Your first love, the hero of your life?” Alexander smirked, gently swaying the watch before her deathly pale face.
“Your poor, pathetic father…
The old fool was still holding onto this cheap trinket, pawning it off in the capital’s black market just to buy his cough medicine last week.”
“How…
How on earth do you have that?!” Elena shrieked softly, lunging forward to snatch the watch, but Alexander effortlessly lifted his hand out of reach.
Her short, plump frame made it impossible to maneuver, let alone land a decent jump.
Alexander let out a dark laugh at her utter helplessness.
“This world is microscopic for a man with money and power, Elena,” Alexander whispered, leaning down until his warm breath fanned against her ear.
Elena shuddered.
A sudden heat flushed through her skin, but that was precisely what she loathed—the sickening way her body betrayed her, responding to the Crown Prince’s vile temptings.
“Your frail father is all alone in the capital, utterly defenseless.
It would take nothing for me to send a thug or two to his squalid little shack.”
“Don’t you dare touch my father!” Elena slammed her fists against Alexander’s chest, acting on pure, reckless desperation for the first time.
“He has nothing to do with any of this!
Don’t you dare lay a finger on him, you monster!”
Alexander simply smiled, savoring her panic.
He caught both of her wrists in a vice-like grip, pinning them tightly once more.
“The choice is entirely yours, my little pig,” Alexander said, his tone casual yet dripping with venom.
“Be obedient.
Serve me without resistance, moan for me, and let me taste something entirely new with you.
Agree to this, and your father will receive the finest medicine and a luxurious life in the capital.
Hell…
I might even rebuild a little kingdom for the Marquess.
But if you keep playing the sweet, pure maiden…”
Alexander trailed off, his gaze darkening with a predatory glint as his fingers squeezed the silver watch until the metal groaned.
“…Tomorrow morning, the only news you’ll receive is that your father was found dead in a dreary capital alleyway–lonely, with no family by his side.
Your bullied brother and your mother, who can’t even step outside freely, will be far too late to even attend the poor old man’s funeral, my sweet Elena.”
Tears spilled uncontrollably from Elena’s eyes, scalding her swollen cheeks.
Every word dripping from his lips was no mere bluff, it was an absolute guarantee.
Alexander was simply a far more ruthless version of Clementine, a man who executed his cruelty without a second thought.
Her body trembled violently, no longer from physical pain, but from an abyss of despair so deep it suffocated her.
Every wall of defense she had painstakingly built crumbled in an instant.
Alexander wasn’t just torturing her body, he was holding a blade directly to the throats of the people she cherished most.
“Why…” Elena’s sob broke through silently.
“Why me?
Why are you so bent on destroying me like this?
I never did anything to you!”
Alexander let out a soft laugh, his thumb gently caressing her chubby cheek with a touch that carried a clear, deadly threat.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.
But your body…
it practically begs me to take you.”
“No!”
Alexander stared down at the broken girl before him.
A twisted sense of satisfaction burned in his chest as he watched her fierce defiance dissolve into complete ruin.
“Let’s just say…
because you’re the one thing I can’t buy with money or a throne, Elena,” Alexander admitted candidly, wiping a tear from her cheek with his thumb.
“And I thoroughly detest possessing anything I can’t control.”
He released his brutal grip on her wrists, letting her collapse into a heap on the damp forest floor.
Alexander tossed the silver pocket watch straight into her lap.
“Think long and hard about my offer, Elena.
I’m giving you until tomorrow night–my final night in this mansion,” Alexander stated, turning his back on her.
“Come to my room willingly.
Or I will personally collect your father’s soul.”
Alexander strode away, vanishing into the dense canopy of trees.
He left Elena sobbing hysterically in the middle of the woods, clutching her father’s old pocket watch tightly to her chest, her heart aching as if it were about to burst.