Chapter 4 3.1
The last trace of defiance drained from Daisy’s face.
“Please…” The word slipped out before she could stop it. The instant it left her lips, regret settled in. Begging had been a mistake, and judging by the look in Lorenzo’s eyes, he intended to make sure she never forgot it.
He closed the distance between them with slow, deliberate steps, like a predator that already knew its prey had nowhere to run. Every instinct screamed at her to retreat, but her feet refused to move.
Before she could draw another breath, his hand tangled in her curls.
He jerked her head back with enough force to make tears sting her eyes. Pain shot through her scalp, but she bit the inside of her cheek, determined not to cry out. She wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.
Lorenzo leaned close enough for her to feel the warmth of his breath.
“You have two choices,” he said, his voice calm enough to be terrifying. “You do what I say, or I summon the guards to do it for you.”
His grip loosened just enough for her to move.
Her shaking hands found the ties holding her top together. One by one, she untied them, her fingers clumsy with fear. The remaining pieces of clothing followed until they rested in a heap at her feet.
She fought the urge to cover herself.
Humiliation burned hotter than the candlelight surrounding them, but beneath it was something even worse.
Helplessness.
Her thoughts spiraled until one question drowned out all the others.
She lifted her eyes to his.
“Why am I being punished?” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Lorenzo regarded her without speaking.
She searched his expression for even the smallest hint of mercy and found nothing.
“If you wanted revenge…” Her throat tightened around the words. “Why didn’t you keep my father alive and tortured him? Why am I paying for what he did?”
Silence stretched between them.
At last, he reached out, his fingers brushing lightly along her jaw before tilting her chin upward. The touch should have felt gentle, but somehow it felt colder than a blade.
His blue eyes locked onto hers.
“Tell me something, Princess,” he said quietly. “Why me?”
Confusion flickered across her face.
“I… I don’t understand.”
“No?” His expression didn’t change. “My father wore the crown when your father invaded my country. My mother died next to him like the loyal wife she was. She fought till the very end. My younger sister…” His jaw tightened for the first time. “She was pregnant with her first child.”
The room seemed to grow colder.
Lorenzo’s gaze never wavered.
“I was still a child when those fucking soldiers slaughtered every member of my family and dragged me away in chains.” His voice remained eerily controlled, making every word cut even deeper. “So tell me, Daisy… why didn’t they kill me along with my family? Why was I the one they spared?”
Her breath caught.
She hadn’t known. No one had ever told her about his sister. No one had ever told her about anything!!
The image alone was enough to make her stomach twist and churn.
“For years,” he continued, “I woke up asking myself the same question you’ve just asked me.”
His eyes hardened until they seemed carved from ice.
“‘Why me?’”
Daisy couldn’t answer.
What could she possibly say?
She hadn’t ordered the massacre. She hadn’t even understood the full extent of her father’s cruelty until now. None of that mattered. Standing before Lorenzo, she carried his blood in her veins, and that was all the proof he needed.
She lowered her gaze, swallowing against the tightness in her throat.
His eyes followed the movement.
A humorless smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Do you know what angers me most whenever I look at you?”
Daisy could only shake her head, her fear leaving her unable to speak.
He caressed the collar on her neck the collar that branded her. “You’re the only child he has. How stupid!. Why only one? Why did he not have a son? The evil ones always know how to keep their bloodline limited. On one side that’s very smart but on the other… HAHA, you’re not enough for what I have in mind, Daisy. You alone cannot take all my hate and anger. That man really is evil for letting you suffer alone! You alone cannot take all the pain and demons I have to unleash.”
A cold feeling spread over Daisy’s body with each sentence he spit out. Each of them emphasized feelings that had grown for years, feelings that he kept deep inside him.
His lifeless eyes finally looked at her again. “You, Daisy, might not be enough…but for now you’ll do. Now, spread those legs and get the fuck on my bed before I blow out your brains and have them scattered on my walls.”
