ᵛᵉⁿᵒᵐᵒᵘˢ ˡⁱᵖˢ ▸ 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐅𝐀𝐍 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐄 ✓

one.

VENOMOUS LIPS.
001. | ❛ it comes naturally. ❜

HOLDING ONTO THE DRAWER IN FRONT OF HER, while the maid of the household tightened Emilia's girdle to the point where she couldn't breath due to her orders to serve her, but Emilia was always brewing up a scheme in her hands. As soon as the maid hitched the last whirl and tightened the bow of the corset, she nodded down before Emilia gave her big twirl around to see if it was to her liking.  She smiled at the sweet innocent  maid before her hand smacked down, leaving a red mark on the maid's face.

"Mother!" Emilia called out trailing out of her room and down the hall to where she would be met with her sister and mother. "The silly maid messed around with the knotting of my corset and ruined the material of the satin. Not to mention is leaving with shortness of breath that I'm feeling quite faint."

She started to sweat as if on command to compliment her horrendous lie. Her mother, as docile as ever, checked the fabric to see the ruined material. Much to her avail, she didn't find a single thing wrong with the fabric, but one look in Emilia's eyes told a different story. Her owl eyes focusing and almost demanding for her mother to fall into line and into Emilia's game. Emilia's mother turned towards the maid and started escorting her out with scolds that made Emilia smile at her cats play.

Walking back to her room, her little sister Maya came trailing along brig careful to shut the door behind her. Her sister watched mesmerized by the ability that Emilia had, to make anyone and everybody fall under her command with her words and body.

"How did you do that?" Maya asked as Emilia finished to her ready by herself, dolling to her hair and putting in her silk emerald embroidered gown. She smiled in the mirror, caking herself with powder before turning to her sister.

"It just comes naturally," Emilia smiled before she made her way to her sister, showing off her new dress from one of her father's new journeys. Her father wasn't around much, always pertaining to his journeys and on occasions whores that he would sleep with overseas. She never really had her father's love, she didn't necessarily need it to get where she is. At times, her parents would demand that their daughter would mature and marry, but like all their discussions, Emilia would walk out the winner.

"I want to be just like you, Em. Beautiful and strong." Maya said twirling around before Emilia took her sister's hands in hers and sat her down.

"You're already so beautiful, my sister." Emilia pushed one of Maya's strands of hair back, "Don't try to fixate yourself to my standards because in this world that I'm living in, a small sprout like you will wither away. That's how it always goes. I came into it already strongly built and you deserve so much more than my life. If anything do better than me, so that  you can lead a life of happiness unlike mother and father."

Maya taken back by her older sister's words looked up to her with blue dazzling eyes, "Are you happy, sister?"

"In my own way, yes." Emilia stood up going to check her appearance once again before looking at her sister once more. "But it's far too late to get into that topic, right now I have more important matters to attend to."

It didn't take a long carriage ride for Emilia to reach the Buchanan's estate, fairly close to her own property. The carriage door opened with an escort helping her down the steps until she was met with the new addition to her list, Maximilian Buchanan. He fairly took her hand, placing a tender kiss on it as she bowed to him before being led to the garden by his hand.

Per her parents wishes, they harbored the hope that their first born daughter would get married. However, no suitors were simply fit to her standards. They had their qualities but fairly not enough to withstand Emilia's lifestyle. And even with the ones that did stick around, like a cat she would get bored and find another man would play by her game. Fortunately enough, she found a new suitor although rough at times but that's the way she likes them. Both of their families came from old money, and were by far the richest families in the town. Their courtship came around when Emilia encountered Max at a ball thrown in her household, and what drew her to him was pure lust. To say it was love was false, she couldn't love anyone.

"You must simply tell me Emilia what your parents have planned in order for our courtship to proceed," Max asked as he led Emilia into the mansion and down the corridor to a separate location.

To that she scoffed, knowing that his plans for the future were simply idiotic due to the fact that she didn't see this going anywhere else but down. There would be no courtship, just like there hasn't been for the last 5 years. "You make me laugh, Maximilian. Partly because of your belief that our idiotic courtship would proceed. As you are aware that I've been suited to 10 different men, each more ravishingly than the last and I'm still here. No husband, child, or anyone to hold me down for that matter."

She was found with her back against the wall, and a strong hand cuffing her throat while she looked straight into the face in front of her. "You simply don't understand the things you do to me, Emilia." Max whispered.

Emilia wasn't one for scare tactics because she was the master of manipulating and no one could beat her at her own game that that.
"I can think of a few things that might set you off, sir." She said as she slowly started to expose more of her shoulder, making her sleeve fall to one side. Knowing she had his attention, she took one of his hands and placed it around one of her breast. He released a soft growl before he deviously and feverishly attacked her frame.

Emilia sought to infect him with her being, leaving marks that would indicate territory that was hers, but it simply wasn't enough. No matter how many men would fall into her trap every single time, it wasn't enough to satisfy her. It's why she played the game, to long and yearn for emotion. Regardless of Emilia's numbness, she thrived for that emotion, to have the power to manipulate. And to win every single time.