Chapter 3 Alone With The Duke

Luna swallowed hard around the sudden lump in her throat, utterly clueless as to what to say or do. This man… this towering, imposing noble who had somehow just become her lawful husband, radiated a dark, suffocating intimidation.

“Do you have something to say?” his deep voice resonated through the quiet room.

Luna remained frozen. A thousand frantic questions swirled in the chaos of her mind, yet her lips refused to part. She didn't even know where to begin.

Rex closed the distance between them with slow, deliberate steps. He raised a hand, his rough thumb lightly grazing her lower lip. “Use your mouth if you wish to speak, and do not make this difficult for me,” he murmured, his long finger gently but firmly nudging her chin upward.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Luna furrowed her brows, a spark of defensive annoyance flaring through her fear.

The man named Rex took another predatory step, closing the gap until mere inches separated them. He leaned down, bringing his face level with hers to compensate for their stark difference in height. “What do I mean?” he echoed darkly, tilting his head with dangerous grace.

Luna instinctively stepped back, retreating until the cold, solid wall at her back halted her escape. She held her breath, trapped under the suffocating intensity of Rex’s unwavering stare.

“What I mean is…” Suddenly, without granting her a second to brace herself, Rex’s strong hands gripped her waist, effortlessly lifting her feet right off the floor. Luna gasped in sheer shock, her hands instantly flying up to clutch his broad shoulders to anchor herself. Beneath the fine fabric of his shirt, his body felt like solid granite, forcing her to lean against his warmth just to keep from falling.

“What are you doing?!” Luna exclaimed, her voice pitching up in a volatile mix of shock and indignation.

“Do not do anything foolish ever again…” he breathed against her ear. “…not if you wish to live.”

Then, in one powerful, fluid motion, he carried her the short distance and deposited her gently back onto the center of the bed.

“What kind of foolish thing?!” Luna stared up at him, her eyes wide and wild. Still struggling to process the sheer dominance of his actions, she watched as Rex lazily brushed off his fine coat. He looked like a man who had just picked up a stray, shedding kitten, a faint shadow of irritation tightening his handsome features. He cast her one fleeting, icy glance before delivering his chilling reply. “You were nearly burned alive at the stake. Have you already forgotten?”

“BURNED?! But why?!” Luna shrieked, her voice cracking in pure horror.

“Ask yourself that very question,” he retorted sharply.

None of this made a single shred of sense. She had only ever wanted to escape her torment and live in peace, and yet here she was—awakening in the battered body of a woman named Lyra, bound to a terrifyingly powerful husband who seemed to actively despise his own wife.

“Don’t touch me again,” Luna muttered awkwardly, tearing her gaze away to stare at the heavy bed drapes.

“Do you honestly believe I find joy in touching you?” He stepped closer, his lips curling into a dark, mocking smirk. “Were you not the one constantly begging for my touch?”

Luna’s head snapped back to him. “Well, not anymore!” she spat defiantly.

Rex let out a harsh, incredulous snort. “How very strange… today is actually the first time I have ever laid a hand upon your body. And this sudden aversion of yours… it is truly quite unexpected.”

Luna’s eyes practically bugged out of her head. “The first time?! You are my husband, are you not?! What kind of husband has never even touched his own wife?!”

“The first time… I have touched your body in such a manner,” he murmured softly. His dark eyes swept over her fragile form, his gaze heavy with an emotion Luna could not even begin to decipher.

Luna felt like she was teetering on the edge of sheer madness. Just what kind of man is this?! She truly could not fathom the dark, twisted world she had just been forcefully dragged into.

If this frightening Duke was indeed her husband, why was their marital dynamic so incredibly fractured and bizarre? And if it was true that this was Rex's first time willingly touching Lyra, then how had the real Lyra behaved around him all these years?

“If I had not touched you to pull you from those flames, would you have simply chosen to perish? Is that what you mean to say?” he challenged, his voice dangerously low.

Luna was struck dumb; not a single syllable could bypass the lump in her throat.

Rex leaned over the bed, his strong fingers clamping firmly around her jaw, forcefully tilting her face up to meet his dark, unyielding stare. “The only reason you are still drawing breath… is because of me. So I suggest you think very carefully before you dare tell me not to touch you again. Do you understand?”

Terrified, Luna gave a stiff nod.

“This sudden, defiant attitude of yours…” he mused, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “It is nothing like the Lyra I know.”

Luna’s heart felt as though it had abruptly stopped beating. Should I tell him the truth? Or is it safer to just play along and pretend to be her so I can survive?

"Answer me this," he demanded, his voice dropping to a low, possessive rumble. "Do you love me?"

Thump…

Her heart hammered against her ribs, threatening to explode. The bruising grip on her jaw, the terrifying demand for love, her vulnerable body pinned half-reclined upon the mattress—it all brutally mirrored the traumatic nightmare of the night before. A cold sweat broke out across her trembling palms. The phantom sensation of Arden’s hands closing around her windpipe flared in her mind, choking the life from her all over again. No matter how hard she tried to shake the memory, the suffocating trauma violently dragged her beneath the surface, stealing the very air from her lungs.

“Answer me.” Rex’s commanding voice pierced the panic.

“I…” she choked out, tears stinging her eyes.

“Do… you… love me?” Rex repeated, the deep, rumbling cadence of his voice vibrating in the quiet room as his fingers unconsciously tightened their grip on her jaw.

“Ugh… y-yes,” she gasped, the desperate words tumbling from her lips in a blind panic. “Yes, I love you, honey…”

Rex’s lips curved into a dark, satisfied grin. He released her jaw abruptly, gently but firmly shoving her shoulder until her back hit the soft mattress. He stood tall once more, an incredulous snort escaping him as a faint, enigmatic smile played upon his handsome features. Luna stared up at him, her chest heaving, utterly incapable of deciphering the meaning behind that terrifying smile. But didn't I give him the right answer?

If she truly were Lyra, wouldn’t she have answered exactly the same way?