“Episode 13”
With a Parisian face filled with disgust, he pushed me against the wall of the anteroom.
In the pitch-black darkness, his longing-filled eyes gazed at me.
“Oh, innocent Isabella, have you only just realized?” His long fingers slipped under the hem of my dress. Then, relying on touch in the darkness, he fumbled for the dress hooks.
One, two, three.
While he was so meticulous in dressing me, he quickly undid three hooks in succession.
“Ah…!”
Intermittent, gasping breaths, like a hungry beast, settled on my neck.
Devoured.
That was the only thought in my mind.
“Ethan, are you really okay with this?”
“…What do you mean?”
Pushing slightly against his tight chest, I spoke.
“I may be naive, but isn’t this something done with a loved one? Isn’t it?”
His hand, which had been snugly around my waist, paused for a moment. After listening to my words, perhaps now having a change of heart, he pressed his lips to my neck and remained silent for a while.
“How pure and flawless you are…”
I shivered at his low whisper. When I tried to step back, a sudden sharp pain shot through my neck.
“Ah!”
In an instant, his hot breath sucked in my tender skin above my collarbone. Uncontrollably, a moan escaped between my parted lips.
“Unfortunately, you trusted me. I, like Simon Britton, am just a greedy man.”
He lifted his tongue to caress my neck, delving into the crevices of my cartilage. As his hot flesh reached the edge of my ear, heat surged from the depths of my heart.
Oh, if I didn’t spit out these words right now, I felt like I would lose my mind.
“Oh…!”
“I know how men take advantage of women’s bodies.”
He lightly sucked and then gnawed again. His breath felt like it could melt my skin wherever it touched.
“Why…?”
Being so close and yet not receiving a single word of ordinary courtship felt terribly painful.
Just as I was about to say something, his tongue gently traced the contours of my ear, sending shivers down my spine.
“Ha, ah…!”
“I don’t know about you, but at least I would be delighted if you were the one I mixed my body with.”
I trembled pitifully, offering my neck like prey to a predator, my body trembling.
I didn’t want to end up like this with you, but tears welled up from the subtle sensations that had taken over my entire body.
“In the end, aren’t you the same? You seem to like my face very much.”
I closed my eyes tightly at his gentle whisper. The word “waltz” felt strangely foreign to me.
“Quickly, grab the wall.”
“Uh…”
“Relax, loosen up.”
I shook my shoulders and looked into his eyes. To him, I was nothing more than a sickly parrot, always looked down upon with pity.
But within the unlit confines of the anteroom, his eyes were writhing violently like a beast with its prey in front of it.
“Ethan, you will regret this.”
As I protested with a fearful face, he squeezed the hand he held even tighter.
“If I were to regret it, I would have stopped long ago. So all you have to do is surrender yourself to me. Like when we waltz.”
Like when we waltz. He raised the corners of his lips gently. The word “waltz” felt so oddly unsettling.
“Just in case, I’m curious, but you don’t want to be held by any other man than Simon Britton, do you?”
My eyes widened at the familiar name that flowed from his lips. It was a name I never wanted to hear in this situation.
The cruel Ethan Holden. He kept reminding me of my situation with his cruel lips.
Yes, my body was solely meant to be surrendered to the Britton Marquess. But…
“…That’s not it.”
I retorted, standing with my last bit of courage before the predator who bared his fangs.
“I just don’t want to be exploited again by a man who doesn’t even love me. I’ve had enough of such miserable experiences.”
I knew better than anyone how wretched and terrible extramarital affairs could be, so I didn’t want to repeat the same mistake.
“I understand what you mean. You’re craving an overflowing amount of affection.”
As his fingers gripped my wrist tightly, the strength slowly drained from them. I looked at him, soothing my wrist where the tingling pain spread.
Lowering his voice to a whisper, his lips playfully traced a curve.
Before I could even wonder, he clenched his fist tightly and slammed it against the anteroom wall.
“What if we get caught…!”
For a moment, the confusion lingering on my lips was buried under his palm.
As I blinked with my lips sealed shut, he repeatedly pounded the anteroom wall with his clenched fist.
Thud, thud, thud.
Amidst the irregular friction sounds, his rough breath mixed in.
“Isabella, all you have to do is quietly nestle in my arms.”
With each firm contact of his exposed skin against mine, my vision flashed white.
Thud, thud, thud.
It became unclear whether he was relentlessly pounding the anteroom inner wall or if it was my heart pounding to burst.
“Ah…”
The lewd whispers filled the anteroom. As his hot breath settled on my ear, the muscles of my body, which had melted under his caress, tensed up again.
I exhaled against his palm, blocking my lips. When I looked up with teary eyes, he awkwardly withdrew his tongue, retreating his lower body.
“Don’t look at me like that. Even I have difficult times to endure…”
His relentless movements with his arms ceased. Then, he wiped his sweat-drenched hair and pulled me closer, embracing my waist.
“Come here. Closer.”
It was a palpable warmth. As I buried my face in his chest, his fingertips gently sifted through my hair.
The touch, tracing my scalp, sent shivers down my spine. Unconsciously, I tensed at his touch, and a faint smile spread across his lips.
“Excuse me, but is someone in there?”
A deep voice echoed from beyond the tightly shut anteroom door. Shrinking in fear, he leaned closer, gently pressing his lips against my eyelids.
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle everything.”
Before I could utter a word of protest, his muscular arm wrapped around my waist. In the blink of an eye, he lifted me up.
As he effortlessly swung open the anteroom door, several startled servants stared at us with pale faces.
“I apologize for the interruption during your busy time. Although we cleaned up, it seems like some more cleaning is needed.”
He spoke with desire-laden lips. His disheveled uniform jacket and untied dress exuded an eerie atmosphere.
As he scanned the surroundings with lustful eyes, the bewildered servants, who had just realized the situation, made way for us with widened eyes.
He embraced me and leisurely walked towards the back door of the ballroom.
Enveloped in Ethan’s sturdy embrace, I stared at his face illuminated by the moonlight. His neatly combed hair was now disheveled like a man who had engaged in passionate lovemaking.
“…Tell me. Was this all planned?”
“What answer do you want, Isabella?”
As he buried me deeper into his chest, his lips curled upwards.
“I’ll give you the answer you want to hear. Just speak up.”
His lips, once filled with desire, were now parched. His eyes, once burning with possessiveness, cooled down as if doused with cold water.
“Ethan, I want to know your true feelings.”
As the coachman pushed the carriage door, Ethan leaned back, resting his chin lazily.
“Isabella, giving meaning to every little thing will only give you a headache.”
His voice was infinitely soft, but his subtly mocking tone made my brows furrow involuntarily.
“One thing I can tell you is, I am not a man so petty as to cling to a beloved lover in an open place. Does that satisfy your curiosity?”
That wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear. His large palm descended onto my tousled hair, now standing on end.
I knew his gaze as he looked down at me. It was the gaze of someone looking at a caged parrot.
“Well then, we’ve done our best. Now all that’s left is to wait for the scandal to spread through people’s mouths.”
As his words trailed off ominously, the carriage moved. I watched the receding view of the ballroom through the carriage window.
Then, with a few vulgar words, I threw away the fragile hope that had nestled in my heart. In its place, a heavy resignation settled in.
