She is the Queen

Chapter 4

He turned to me with a darkened expression, eyes becoming dull.
"They know our location and I wonder why..." As I stood from my stall, he walked towards me with an air of aggression. I took a step towards him, staring him down to show I wasn't intimidated. "You." He said, stopping just a breath away from me and pointing his finger in my direction. I could smell his hot, minty breath mingling with mine.

I emerged from my thoughts and looked up into his eyes, trying not to get lost in the darkness of his gaze. "You what?" I replied, my own voice barely above a whisper.

"Somehow, you sent a message to them." He stepped even closer, his brows furrowing in anger.

"You are hurting my feelings." I said poutingly with my palms stretched on his chest. His nose was only a millimeter away from mine, and his lips hovered in the space between us. "Maybe stop overestimating my intelligence but start underestimating the trust of your men." I said, pushing him away and walking off.

He followed me, yanking my hands and turning me towards him. His growl indicated his growing aggravation. "It's you!" He repeated.

"I have been with you whole day, Andrea and your men have been following me all along, no? They know everything I did. There are literally multiple cameras in the room. How can I possibly alert my dear father?" I retorted. In that moment, I felt like I was being examined under a microscope. Every inch of my body, every thought in my mind, was being scrutinised. There was no hiding from his piercing gaze, and I could feel the weight of his judgment bearing down on me. His lips moved slightly, as if he was about to say something, but he stopped himself. He held his breath, and I could hear his heartbeat in the silence. The tension in the air was palpable, as we both waited for him to break the silence.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke. His voice was low and smooth, a stark contrast to his previous silence. His words were measured, as if carefully chosen. I could sense the weight of his thoughts behind each syllable.

"Follow me."

He made his way into my closet and after revealing the substances that I tried to hide, he turned to me, his right hand holding the evidences. He breathed once, then twice and thrice. Subtle movement of his chest, up and down, and the silence stretching between us, pressured me to submit. Every cell on my body screamed at me to tell him the truth, to not be on the receiving end of his wrath. But, before I could even utter a syllable, he marched almighty towards me with no agenda of stopping.

He pushed me against the wall and I winced as my head hit it with a loud thud. I mocked him, pouting my lips and calling him out on his childish behaviour. But as my head started to throb and my back ached, I felt myself tiring. I lifted my hand to touch the back of my head and was shocked to see red on my fingers. As I looked up at his swirling eyes, found them staring at the blood on my hands. Darkness clouded my vision once again and I collapsed, with his arms still pinning me to the wall.