Chapter 32: Chapter 32

DAHLIA:

“My lady, are you alright,” Lina said. A look of concern was washed over her face.

I wanted to say ‘yes,’ but I was well aware that my appearance looked pale, and knowing that the full tray in my hand looked funny, I didn’t say anything. I just sat on the couch, brooding deeply.

Who was Tristan talking to? What does he mean of ‘that girl,’ and what kind of promise is he going to keep?

There was another thing I wanted to know more about. I called to my attendant, “Lina, did you mention to the lord what had happened between papa and I on the morning of our wedding day?”

Lina opened her mouth to say something, but she abruptly closed it again, and her eyes fell into the floor. “Yes, my lady… I know you must have wanted to keep it a secret, but I just couldn’t hide it from Count Abell anymore… He insisted that I tell him everything that happens to you in the mansion… He was very concerned.”

Just as I thought, Lina reported what had happened to me that day… There’s no cause for me to be more alarmed than usual. The only thing I was concerned now was Tristan’s impression of father…

Although papa and I had our misunderstandings, I had no doubt he has some goodness in him. He’s my only remaining relative too, and even though I was frightened to see him, I would eventually have to, right?...

I was just thinking of talking about this matter with Tristan, when suddenly, the door of our room burst open and in came my husband.

“Leave us for a while, Lina.”

Tristan’s face had a stern look in them. It wasn’t the usual face he had when he spoke to me… I felt a little frightened.

“Did you finish up with your business meeting,” I asked, not quite looking up at him. I intended to move towards the piles of boxes on one corner of the room so that I could resume unpacking, but Tristan blocked my way with his body.

He towered a few inches above me. I looked at his serious face. “What is it?”

“Dahlia… Tell me, what did you hear earlier, hmm?”

“You mean in your study?”

“Uh huh,” he started to put his hand against my neck. Unlike before, he didn’t have that gentle, loving look in his eyes. It felt as if he would strangle me if I said something unpleasant… I didn’t like this attitude at all.

“Tell me, hmm… What did you hear? Why did you go there?”

“I wanted to give you some refreshments… I didn’t hear anything,” I breathed in. His other hand wounded around my neck too. It wasn’t tight, but his eyes had an oppressive, crazy look. Was he really trying to strangle me?

“Are you sure?... Weren’t you there to spy on me?”

“Why would I spy on you,” I said. I was getting heated up. What in the world does he mean?

“Do you know how merchants get money, love,” he said. His left hand slipped into the front of my dress, into my shoulders and inside my clothes into my bare chest.

“N-No,” I breathed in. It was far too early in the morning for such acts. I tried to push Tristan away, but he held my wrist against his chest despite my struggles.

“They trade secrets love… One secret in exchange of another… That’s how businesses grow…”

I don’t understand where he’s leading with this…

Finding that sensitive spot in my chest, he began to massage it heatedly. I gasped.

“Ah, Tristan… It’s still morning time…”

“So?... I want you, Dahlia… I want you now…”

“B-but -” I wanted to say something more, but his mouth covered my lips and with it, he swallowed the words I intended to say.

“Do you want to know what secrets I keep, love?” He leaned closer to my ears. “I dream of torturing people… I also like playing it rough…”

“W-What do you mean?” I remembered the weird contraptions and decorations on the western wing of the villa earlier, and I shuddered. Does he mean he really used those… things… to others?

There was an evil scowl in his face. “Instead of telling you about it, I’d rather show you what I meant, love…”

It was like seeing a different version of Tristan… What the heck had happened to my sweet husband who had asked me to marry him?

As soon as he spoke, he became even more aggressive, he tore the front part of my dress open, exposing my flesh in nothing but my underwear.

We haven’t finished unpacking yet. We haven’t even hanged any curtains at all. I could see a few of the knights doing their routine exercises on the garden overlooking our room. Tristan was undressing me right in front of that large and open window.

“N-No, please… T-they’ll see us,” I said.

“Ignore them. I want you now…”

He sank his mouth into the mounds of my chest. He was aggressively biting me and groping me in a rougher manner. I began to sob.

“I-It… It hurts,” I said in between gasps. In the past whenever I complained, he would usually stop, but this time, he didn’t. He became even rougher.

“You’ve been a bad girl, Dahlia… Didn’t you know it was bad to spy on your husband?” As soon as he spoke, he bit me again on the chest. I whimpered. “Do you want to get punished, hmm? Do you want me to punish you that badly?”

I pushed him away from me as hard as I could, but he groped me by the waist even harder.

“You’re resisting now, hmm? That’s good. You are turning me on more and more!”

His voice sounded like a mad man! Tristan scooped me by the waist and threw me in the middle of the bed. I shrieked.

“Go ahead, love. Scream some more! I made all these rooms sound proof, by the way.”

Was he really my Tristan? What had happened to him? Who was it then who had held me all these times?

He began to unfasten the belt on his waist. “My Dahlia had been a bad, bad girl recently… She lied to me, saying she did not hear anything when it was clear that she did… It’s time you see how unforgiving I could be when someone lies, love…”

“W-what are you doing,” I said. Tears began to fall down the corner of my eyes.

“I will teach you a rarer kind of pleasure, love… Just wait and see…”

I didn’t know what he had in mind, but I was deathly afraid. Even Eva was trembling helplessly inside of my head…