The Beast Inside | ✓

5 | Your Beauty Is Beyond Compare

Arabella shuddered. Her heart was beating at an abnormal pace as she looked fearfully into Cassius's cold eyes.

"I have had enough of your nonsense, Bella! I asked you hand in marriage and you may have rejected me but that doesn't mean that you can cut me out of your life. I told you once and I will tell you again now; the only man you will ever have is me.

If you try to do anything that will stop me from having you, you might not like what I do next. Jennifer is with a child, isn't she? It would be a shame if the child dies before it is even born now, won't it? And to think that it will be all your fault. Oh, how will you even face them then? They will surely kick you out of the house then and you will have no choice but to marry and live with me."

Hearing the whimper that escaped Arabella's mouth as he covered it with his hand, he continued, "You don't want that to happen, do you? So, be a good girl and tell Kaden that you want to marry me. When your father returns, we will marry that very day."

Arabella sucked in a breath as he trailed one of his fingers over her rosy cheeks. "You are indeed very beautiful, Bella, and you should thank your stars that you are being married to a handsome man like me. We will be the most charming couple in the entire village and I can't wait for our wedding day to come," he whispered longingly.

Arabella's eyes burned with fury. How dare he threaten her family? Who was he to even say such a thing? She would never get married to him and he was surely dreaming if he thought she would willingly give up her freedom to be his wife only because he wanted it to be so.

With a cold glare, Arabella bit Cassius's hand that was covering her mouth, at the same time, kneeing him in between his legs.

As he moaned and groaned in pain, she quickly picked up the basket of strawberries, cursing at him in her head.

Turning to him, she shouted, "You must be dreaming if you ever think that I will marry a despicable man like you! Don't you dare come near my family again or I will do much worse than this!"

Within moments, Arabella reached her house, slamming the door behind her as she didn't turn even once to look back at him.

Leaning back against the door, she muttered an apology into the sky. 'Sorry Papa for not doing as you said, it seems violence is the only way to deal with such a horrid person!'

The fierce look in her eyes made Cassius want to curl up in the corner of some room and hide. However, the corner of his mouth curled up as he stood up in pain.

She was so beautiful when she was mad and even though she had to pay for the pain she caused him, he knew that if he married, there was no one but her who would be his wife. He would make sure of it.

--

At the same time, in the middle of the woods, Arabella's father sat on his horse, the both of them on the brink of exhaustion as they rode hard to seek shelter from the heavy rain.

A tired smile graced his wrinkled face as he saw a huge castle, fit for royalty, right in front of them. It was strange and looked deserted, almost haunted, but seeking shelter at that moment felt much more important than believing in ghosts.

His horse whinnied, almost halting as he sensed danger but Richard pressed on, too desperate to get shelter from the horrible weather. Bringing the horse into the stable, he was surprised to see it contained about three other well-groomed horses.

There had been not a single guard at the gate and the house was dark with no lights. Richard had assumed the place was abandoned, but perhaps there were people living there. He wondered if the owner of such a ruined yet still beautiful castle with give him shelter, just until the storm passed.

Knocking on the door, he could hardly contain his gasp when the oak double doors swung open. The inside of the castle seemed so warm and inviting, with a plush, red carpet on the floor and strong fire burning in the fireplace.

The floor seemed to be made of marble and the staircase leading up into the different parts of the castle, along with the walls surrounding the entire place, had strange engravings that looked as though it was written with gold.

The entire place was lit with what seemed to be millions of candelabras and Richard couldn't help but want to look at everything else that could be found in such a magnificent place.

"Hello, is anyone home?" he called out but he got silence as an answer. Pressing his lips together, he began to look around, lugging his bag of goods around with him. The moment he stepped into the hallways, all the candles lit up, almost as though it were magic.

Shrugging off the worry in his mind, he bit the inside of his cheek. No matter if there was anything wrong with the house, he had no choice but to stay there until the storm had passed.

---

Question of the chapter: What is the creepiest experience you ever had?

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