Haven And Chaos

58) Who's fucking Rose?

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GALE'S POV
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What was this suffocating feeling filling my chest? All I could feel were these traces of wrath that had formed when I saw them minutes ago. And here she was denying it.
How low would she stoop just to irritate me? Was I to expect her to flirt with my men and make it so apparent to me?
Was this her way of rebelling?

Thinking about it only deepened the weird feeling inside me. So much that I wanted to tie her up and lock her up in this very room to keep a close eye on her.
I could do that, right?
She was mine after all.

"What...what...I can't with you right now," she dismissed me whirling around to head for the door.
Ooh, the disrespect. It made my entire body vibrate with violent rage, giving me supernatural speed from how fast I got off the bed and appeared in front of her, blocking her path.
Tying up a person never felt so right in my entire life like in that moment.

"You dare walk away when I'm talking to you? Does my status mean nothing to you? Or have I spoiled you so much that you've forgotten that I'm your Lord and you're bound to obey me?"

She held her ground, displaying this brave face while I could easily spot the fear in her swollen eyes. She looked like a timid tiger still trying to act tough when facing devouring flames.
"Then make it clear, MY LORD!" She didn't hide her revulsion. "How should I treat you? The Archduke Alabama, my best friend's dad, my enemy, or, the man who likes to shove his dick in my pus-"

My hand jerked forward on impulse, grabbing her mouth before shoving her to the side and onto the bed.
She let out a little yelp as she fell on the soft surface. The impact loosened the buns on her head to have her hair spill down to curtain her face.

"You've never respected me, have you? Is it because I've gone soft on you?"

Maya's face shot my way as her hand thrust back her hair to let me have a taste of her poisonous glare. "Respect you?!" She scoffed. "Take a look at yourself in the mirror. What kind of respect should I give you, huh?!" She screamed, her eyes growing moist but never dulling her scowl.

My incubus side stirred at how sexy and hot she looked all fired up and teary. I wanted to pounce on her and claim her. But these hickeys vanished after a few days or a week. And as they faded, so did my mark on her. How could I permanently mark her?
A tattoo?
She could cover that up with makeup and clothes.
Carving my name on her flesh?
She could cover it up with clothes.

My eyes suddenly widened as the final and best solution came to mind. What better way to ruin her life completely and mark her than making her...my wife?!

The absurdity of the idea made me turn around laughing and raking my hand in my hair endlessly. What was I even thinking about?
Marrying Maya?
Legally making her the archduchess?

But if did this, when I would get tired of her and divorce her, the imperial family would be forced to give her a title unless...unless she died before I divorced her.
Was I willing to take such a risk?
Killing her after a few years wouldn't be a problem, not like being married to her would change the way I felt about her, so why, why was I feeling a bit hesitant?

Maybe it was because of the promise I made to Cindy's mom. I promised to give her the grandest wedding an archduchess could have. And thus, no other woman deserved it, especially Maya.

"Get out!" I ordered.
I'd not do anything ludicrous if she was out of sight. "And don't let me see your face in the coming days unless I summon you, do you hear?"

She scoffed from behind me, "As if I want to see yours either." And with her report, she stomped out of the room, banging the door loudly to display her anger.

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MAYA'S POV
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A few days to a week went by with the two of us not exchanging words or breathing the same air even though we were living under the same roof.
He'd leave early in the morning and come back late at night. Rose delivered his meals and prepared his baths. The only thing he ordered me to make was his coffee. But even then, I was not allowed to set foot in his room.

Our fight was noticeable to even his men and Rose.
I hadn't bothered to explain to her what had happened to my connection to him a secret as well as his real title.
Why?
Why should I protect him?
But then again, what would I gain from spilling his secret? Nothing. All I had to do was work hard at the tasks given to me and earn more money to prove to him that I could survive without his charity and even earn like a normal maid.

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I rolled for the hundredth time, my eyes piercing the darkness searching for the faint light coming from the security lights outside.
I groaned and sighed, disturbed by the lack of sleep as the night wasted away.

Dammit! I had to be up by five in the morning, so why couldn't my brain just send me to the void and rest my body?
This had to be the fourth or fifth night I had to experience such a waking nightmare. All I could do was toss around in bed as I listened to the distant owls and the crickets searching for their mates, as well as any night such that came by.
It was aggravating and made me want to remove my active brain and set it aside for hours until I was fully rested.

Was this...what Gale had to go through in the past and present?
The psychological torture of knowing that the world was asleep while you were keeping the owls company.

I sighed aloud, rolling on my back the final time as guilt nibbled my soul.

As much as I had grown to hate him, I couldn't deny that I had caused him a huge loss. It was the only reason keeping me alive since my family had abandoned me.
If I died too young, then Cindy might have been sad. She'd have wanted me to live my life as full and lively as I could. She was that kind of person. One too good for this cruel world. No wonder Gale gave his best protecting her from the evilness life had to give.

And I...I had shamelessness taken away that precious person.

In my moment of reflection, I thought about our recent argument and felt it best to defy his orders and go see him. Maybe an apology would solve the current fight and I could ask him for that favor I still very much needed.

After making up my mind, I slid out of bed and grabbed a robe on my way out.

Barefoot, I tiptoed past Rose's bedroom but suddenly halted as these stifled low moans of pleasure reached my ears along with the bed's creaking.
Could it be what I was thinking about?

A gasp fled my mouth but I quickly silenced it by slapping my mouth.
There was no denying what I was hearing, and for some reason, an ugly frown took over my face as I pictured Gale and Rose doing it.
Was it really Gale?