He dropped the warning, scooped me up, and turned to leave without a second glance. "Help Lucille up and follow us," he added coolly.
"No! Theodore, come back! You can't just leave me like this!" Isabella's voice cracked behind us, frantic and hysterical. "Natalie, I swear-I'll make you pay, you bitch!" She was bawling like her world had just ended, kneeling on the ground. But Theodore didn't so much as flinch. It was like she didn't exist.
I leaned into Theodore's arms, shot Isabella a smug little smile over his shoulder-cold, daring, enough to flip a switch in her. She must've been on the verge of a meltdown.
When we got to the car, Lucille still leaning on the driver, Theodore bent down to put me inside. But I suddenly grabbed the car door, planted both feet firmly on the ground, and stood up straight. I glanced at him, took Lucille from the driver with a flat, calm tone. "Thanks."
I walked past him barely two steps before he caught my wrist from behind, grip tight, eyes dark. He looked toward the driver, who instantly moved and pulled Lucille away from me.
"I'll get Miss Green home safe," the driver said smoothly.
Lucille caught on quick-something was off. She winced as she tried to stand straighter and held onto me stubbornly. "It's fine, we'll go back on our own. Come on, Natalie."
Theodore's gaze turned ice cold. The driver stepped forward and struck the back of Lucille's neck-quick and sharp. I wasn't fast enough to stop it. Lucille collapsed instantly.
Was he seriously going that far?
Before I could even react, he spun me around, threw me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing, and shoved me into the backseat. Slammed the door. Done.
"You jerk, let me out!" I fought to open the door, pushing against it with everything I had.
His hands slammed down, pinning the door shut. He leaned in, tall frame casting a shadow, eyes locked on me with that mocking, hollow stare. Under the streetlight streaming through the window, I could feel how awful I must've looked-face swollen, one cheek blazing red, eyes puffy with tears, blood crusting at the corner of my mouth. I turned away, unable to stand the way he looked at me.
"Let me go," I said, voice low. "Whatever game you're playing, I'm done."
The tension in the air dropped several degrees. He got closer, voice tight, lips curling with sarcasm. "So? Everything went just the way you wanted. You gonna thank me now?"
That hit a nerve. I glared at him, eyes burning. "Thank you? Are you serious, Theodore? Thanks to you, I just got beaten half to death by the people who raised me. Everyone thinks I'm the evil sister who trashed her sibling's wedding out of jealousy. My name's dirt now-probably even worse than Isabella's. So yeah... thank you for that."
I was spitting fire, not even realizing my words were cranking up his fury. His voice dipped lower, sharper. Face right in mine.
"You made your move. Now deal with the fallout. You played this game right under my nose-don't act like you didn't see this coming."
Right after he finished speaking, he leaned in and caught my lips in a kiss without any warning. I yelped from the pain, but the driver, who had just arranged for Lucille to be taken in another car, acted like he was blind and deaf. He started the engine, and the car merged onto the main road.
Cold sweat trickled down my forehead as I kicked my legs uselessly. Theodore fixed his sharp gaze on my tear-filled eyes and warned, "Natalie, move one more time and I swear I'll go all the way."
The memory of how things had gone before made my body stiffen. I froze, biting my lip hard, tears blurring my vision even worse.
I had thought I had this man figured out. But the more tangled we got, the more I couldn't make sense of him.
He was like some puppet master, towering above everything - relentlessly humiliating me and acting like he couldn't stand the sight of me, yet somehow always showing up the moment I was about to fall apart.
I didn't say a word.
Theodore stared at my pale face, drawn tight with pain. His eyes darkened, and without a word, he clamped a hand behind my head to stop me from moving. Then his kiss came crashing down - relentless and burning. In an instant, his scent was all over my lips and cheeks.
The car soon pulled into a high-end villa district and stopped in front of a chic European-style home. Theodore slammed open the door, pulled off his suit jacket and draped it over me, then shoved me onto his shoulder and carried me inside.
Saying I wasn't scared would be a total lie.
Dangling over his shoulder, I panicked, kicking hard. "Put me down, Theodore! Are you out of your mind? Do you even hear yourself?!"
He completely ignored me, lugging me upstairs, threw open a bedroom door and tossed me straight onto the bed without a word. My face, which already had a bruise, got aggravated by the rough movement. The pain was sharp enough that I gasped, then cursed, "Theodore, are you seriously trying to take advantage of someone like this? Are you even a man?"
He was still standing at the edge of the bed. Hearing that, he whipped around and shot me a cold glare. His hand went to his tie, yanking it off-but instead of doing what I feared, he turned to the wardrobe and rummaged through it for a bit. When he came back, he sat down on the edge of the bed, holding a small first-aid kit.
The moment his hand touched my swollen cheek, my whole body tensed. His fingers were gentle, which only made it all hit harder.
Theodore's eyes didn't leave the bruises Hubert had left on my face. There was something unreadable in his dark gaze.
Eventually, he opened the first-aid kit, grabbed a cream and some cotton swabs, and started applying it to my face. The cool touch made me flinch in shock, completely caught off guard.
My heart pounded like crazy.
I stared at him, wide-eyed and speechless. Tears welled up again and slid down my face before I could stop them.
All that pent-up frustration and heartbreak just hit me like a wave. He suddenly paused, then reached down and lifted my leg. Bruised and scratched, the skin was red and swollen, still bleeding in places.
He let out a low, mocking laugh, a trace of contempt flashing through his eyes as he said in an icy voice, "So this is what all your scheming got you. Happy now?"
I froze. Whatever strange warmth I'd felt a second ago just turned to ice.
He glanced at my startled face, something dawning on him. Then his lips pulled back in a cruel sneer. "Oh? Don't tell me you're catching feelings? Natalie, you've clearly watched way too many trashy soap operas. Don't worry. No matter how desperate I get, I'm not so far gone that I'd want someone like you."
As he spoke, his eyes swept over me with blatant mockery, sizing me up like I was some stray animal on the street. That look-cold, smug, without even a hint of pity-was like a rich guy sneering at something pathetic, not worth a second glance.
