Julie stiffened at his words but she maintained her indifference. "Nothing happened."
"Look at me, Juliet." He said firmly. And when Julie refused to obey, Alex took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a brief moment, and opened them again. "Don't make me repeat myself…"Julie finally turned, and she could not believe that even at this moment, the stunning beauty of the man before her still could cause her breath to catch in her throat. Why does he have to be this bewitching?Trying her hardest to keep her emotion hidden from him, Julie looked at him with emotionless eyes.The muscle in Alex's cheek ticked along his jaw but he stayed very still for a long moment, as if he were having his very own internal battle within him while scrutinizing his wife's face."Alright… I won't ask why you're acting like this anymore." His gaze softened. "Why don't you question me instead, wife? Won't you dig and find out the reason why I couldn't spend the day with you?" came his impossibly alluring voice, coaxing her.Julie bit the inside of her lips. Why? Why did he have to be like this? Please… stop Alex… stop doing this to me… I don't want to get hurt anymore…Forcing herself to remember the pain and telling herself that that was just the beginning of the turmoil she was going to experience if she continued acquainting herself to him, Julie managed to stop herself from giving in.She looked into his eyes and had to swallow hard before she could say, "I'm not going to do that, Your Highness. I don't have the right to get upset even if you spend the day with someone else and I don't have the right to question why you can't spend the day with me. So, I won't be doing that because It would be selfish of me to deny you of your needs since I'm the one not allowing you to touch me."Alex did not move at all and they just stood very close as Julie took a deep, shaky breath into her lungs, silently strengthening herself inwardly. The implication of her words struck Alex hard.He laughed. It was a small derisive sound that left his lips as his face became taut. And then, he stared at her in stony silence.For some reason, what she said broke through Alex's veneer of control."So, we're back to this again, huh. You think of me as nothing but a filthy monster, don't you?" he finally voiced out, after a long while. His voice was controlled but bruised and angered. "Alright then, since that's how you see me, I might as well do what you're expecting of me properly and go spend this night with as many women available in this castle." He hissed and then left the room.Running his hands savagely through his hair, Alex clenched his fists tight. He couldn't believe he had just said those words. He could not believe how angry he was right now that he had to force himself to walk out of her presence for fear that he would burst in anger. He just could not believe that she could drive him to the edge of his sanity so easily like that.Damn, why did he say those words? Why the hell was he so angry that she still didn't trust him at all? It wasn't even a month yet since they had gotten married. He should have understood that she was still unable to trust him. But… why can't she still trust him after all this? Damn. No one could ever make him this emotional… no one could make him lose his temper like this better than her… damn, she was driving him insane.Cursing inwardly, Alex nearly smashed a pillar with his fist. Good thing he managed to stop himself because he didn't want to scare her. The thought that she'd probably think there was an earthquake, or some disaster happening ultimately stopped him and he laughed shortly again. He left their chamber because he was feeling the rising anger within him and he did not want to show her his rage. He didn't want her to be terrified of him – not that she wasn't already.He could only curse again. He needed to do something to calm down. This was bad. She's making him act like he wasn't himself!As he walked tensely along the corridor, two young women suddenly approached him. He knew them. They were among the ladies the Duke and the other officials introduced to him years ago."Your Highness, we came to escort you." One of them said, smiling sweetly at him.Alex groaned but he didn't even suspect anything fishy as his brain was much too occupied with Julie and his emotions. Thus, without question, Alex followed the ladies, thinking that duchess asked for him.Meanwhile, inside the chamber, Julie was clutching her robe over her chest. His bruised and utterly offended expression and the anger in his voice… she remembered he wore that same face when she confronted him about Thea. Could it be that she had come to the wrong conclusion again this time around? But those ladies and the duchess' words… that he agreed… was it possible that…Suddenly, her body moved on its own as she rushed towards the door, to chase after him.However, as soon as she was in the corridor, her feet froze as she watched him entering a room with two of those beautiful women.The moment the door closed; Julie felt as though something totally shattered inside her. And it seemed to suck all of her life blood from her limbs until there was nothing left of her.She just stood there, staring at the closed door far off from where she stood, her mind turning blank.Eventually, her feet moved, and she turned to where she came from. She walked silently until she entered their chamber. The door closed silently behind her.Her gaze fell towards the closed windows before she approached it, abruptly shoving it wide open to let the freezing cold wind blow into the room and on her.The tears that had threatened to spill over earlier did not come, only a numbing pain. Her robe fell on the floor and she moved closer to the window as if hoping for the air to freeze the pain in her heart and mind as well.Staring expressionlessly at the space outside, the corner of her lips curved up as she sucked in all the despair, so deep it was making it hard for her to breathe. Oh, Julie… look at the predicament that you have put yourself into…She laughed mirthlessly. The thought that perhaps this was her punishment for trying to break her promise of not falling for him made her feel even more miserable and wretched.Alex finally lifted his head from the thoughts of his maddening wife that were plaguing his mind and realized that no one else were in the room but the ladies who were with him. This made him narrow his eyes dangerously.The bolder one of the two women was already undressing in front of him. "Your Highness, we could tell you're in a very foul mood. Did your wife kick you out of your bed again? Do not worry, we are here to serve and please you, Your Highness." The other woman whispered to him as she caressed his chest seductively. "Let us help you relax." She added as the other woman approached him, naked.Alex felt the rage he was trying so hard to suppress rapidly explode out of him. "Who gave you both the permission to do this!?" he snarled in a wintry, hostile voice."Y-Your Highness, pl-please don't think about anything else and –"His eyes immediately burned red, and aura flamed outwards, causing the women to be knocked back a few steps and they even started to tremble just by th
"Julie…"Not knowing what to do, Alex slowly lifted his hands and reverently touched her face, resting them below her ears. Her cheeks were icy cold it made his heart ache even more but what struck him the hardest were her tears. "I'm sorry…" his voice cracked a little and he then inched forward, erasing the space between them, he buried his face in her hair and held her, almost desperately. "I'm so sorry… this is a misunderstanding. Those ladies. I never allowed it. I never agreed. I didn't even know the duke had called them here." He explained as fast as he could. "Please. Don't cry. I was outside the castle since yesterday, surveying the frontlines in preparation for the war. It was so sudden as I received an urgent report informing that the crown prince was on his way here to siege the city. I only arrived a while ago and came straight to you."Julie couldn't believe what she was hearing. The warmth of him as he hugged her so tightly, the desperate tone he was using, the cracks ap
Shocked with utter embarrassment, Julie automatically reached down and grabbed Alex's hair to stop his face from reaching her most private area. Her face was as red as a cooked lobster as she looked down at him with wide-opened eyes.Alex peeked up at her and his eyes glimmered more startlingly than usual. A hint of devious yet relaxed and hypnotic smile graced the corners of his mouth.Without averting his eyes from hers, he licked her inner thigh, causing Julie to tremble and gasp again. Her hands on his head grasped onto his hair tighter and he took advantage of her disorientation, moving further towards his goal. His breath was hot as he trailed his searing tongue along her soft skin."Don't worry, I'll make you feel good, wife." He said huskily, sounding as though he was soothing her with his mouth and tongue. "Open your legs for me, love…" he coaxed, and she did not know how she ended up doing so when he was not even holding her legs with his hands.She could feel him smiling ag
Reluctantly, he finally eased away and pulled the blanket over her. He was about to stand when Julie reached out and tugged on his robe."Where… where are you going?" she asked, her face suddenly anxious as her fingers tightened on his robe without realisation."I have an errand to take care of." He responded, as his gaze tilted towards the door and the commotion that was going on outside for a long while now."Errand?""Mm. Don't worry, I'm not going to leave again without telling you first." he smiled contentedly and kissed her forehead, causing her colour to rise again. "I'll come back as soon as I deal… as soon as I am done saying a few words to them."...The duke and everyone else involved were waiting anxiously in the throne hall where it was silent and tense as they all stood before Alex.When they were suddenly summoned by the prince with such an urgency, they could not help but feel threatened. Aside from his stubbornness, Prince Alex had been a good and incredibly sensible
Clad in a furry and thick white cloak, Julie stood at the top of the tallest watchtower at the City's entrance. Alex was standing next to her – a sight to behold as well as he stood tall and elegant clad entirely in black – holding her hand, and watching her silvery hair being blown behind her by the gentle cold breeze.Julie had her eyes fixed at the vast snow-white meadow spread out before them, realizing from what her eyes were looking at, that Dacria was truly a fortified city. The giant ancient walls that seemed to be made from black stones looked so formidable and impregnable. No human army could ever manage to breach these fortifications and seize such a place like this.Now that she was looking at the full view of the entire fortress, and saw what a formidable stronghold Dacria actually was, Julie could not help but look on with wonder. Why did the Dacrians ever thought of creating and building such gigantic walls in the first place? Was there an unknown reason that prompted t
Julie glanced at the bed and innocently nodded. But the next moment, her expression changed."But… why?" she asked hesitantly. "Did something happen between you and the duke?""No, love. Nothing happened. I simply said some kind words to him as a reminder and everything's fine now." He immediately answered with a smile. "I am needed here and since I don't want to leave you all alone in the castle, I decided to bring you here with me. Moreover, I don't want any more misunderstanding between us. Given our track record, I'm afraid that something will happen again if I leave you, so I'd better keep you close to me. This is alright with you, right?" he gave her a mischievous grin, letting her know that he was teasing her and taking the sting out of his words, just in case she felt slighted at him referencing all their previous misunderstandings with each other.When Julie just stared at him without answering, Alex craned his head and moved his face closer to hers until his breath was fanni
Julie felt her gaze involuntarily drift down and then was glued on his very evident erection and her heart skipped a beat as she swallowed hard. She had to use all her willpower to drag her gaze away from that spot and look back into his eyes. With cheeks aflame and when she saw the look on his face and the intense glimmer in his bright eyes, Julie determined in her heart, moved her hand slowly towards his bulge.Her movement was filled with hesitation that Alex had to hold his breath and told himself to wait patiently when her hand was taking too long to reach his eager sex. His heart was pounding so hard it felt that he would get a heart attack. She was excruciatingly slow that it took all of Alex's self-control and iron will not to grab her hand and guide it over him where he truly needed it.As he watched her hand inching closer, the anticipation became quite torturous. He battled within himself whether he should speak out and urge her to hurry up. But his next thought was that he
Alex was helping out in washing off Julie's hands when a knock echoed through the room. However, Alex's reaction was to completely ignore it.His gaze was fixed on Julie as he dried her hands with a fluffy clean cloth before bringing her slightly chilled hands to his lips. "I hope I didn't tire your hand too much," he teased with a roguish grin and Julie's colour deepened once again."No, it's… I'm fine." her gaze wandered around when a soft knock echoed again."I'm glad to hear that –" Alex seemed determined in wanting to ignore the knocks that were coming from outside."Someone's… knocking." Julie prompted Alex as she cocked her head sideways, gesturing towards the door. She knew that no one would dare disturb him unless there was truly an important issue that needed his attention.Heaving a sigh, Alex turned towards the closed door and spoke. "Stop knocking Joshua. I heard you. Loud. And. Clear." He said. He then sighed again before facing Julie. "I'll have to leave you for a while