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“The woman you fell in love with was strong and vibrant. She didn’t want you because you’re weak, Theodore. Atticus was twice the man you’ll ever be. Isabelle didn’t love you. She couldn’t. Because you were a coward. Because you wanted to tame her.”
He stared at me in disbelief. “You’re wrong.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Do you know why I love your son?” I narrowed my eyes. “I love that he helps me blossom, where you pluck petals. He loved me for who I was. He—” I paused, realizing I was already speaking in the past tense.
A tortured sob left my lips, and I shook my head, my vision blurring as tears escaped down my cheeks. “You’re a coward,” I said dispassionately, my eyes averting his gaze in shame. “You love to control people. You tried to control Atticus with all your threats. But he defied you.”
“I’m a DuPont,” he said between clenched teeth. “I demand you show me respect!”
“Sure. I’ll show you some motherfucking respect!” I screamed, my stomach heaving with a crazed emotion I was desperately trying to control. “You’re a coward!” I repeated with manic conviction. “Your son defied you, so you ripped the life away from him. You’re the real demon. You’re nothing.”
I held my stomach protectively and he eyed the move, his expression saturated with calculative intent. My chest was heaving with terror as the silence built. “You’re pregnant,” he hissed in a harsh whisper.
I didn’t answer him. I refused to admit it out loud in his presence.
He took a step closer to me, the air between us alive with terror. “You’re having a DuPont,” he growled threateningly.
I shook my head vigorously, barely able to breathe or speak in the face of his overwhelming horror. “No—”
He took intimidating steps closer to me, and he towered over me, his searing glare reducing me to a shaking wreck. His voice was low and full of menace. “At first, I was going to take away your privilege of birthing a DuPont, but now this is my last chance.”
My voice caught in my throat as icy fear twisted my insides. “W-what do you mean?”
He curled his fingers tightly around my wrist. A sinister glint flickered within them, and I felt the full weight of his evilness. With a low growl, he spoke with a rabid intensity. “The second this baby is born, he’s mine. I’m going to fix this. I’m going to fix everything.”
A wave of terror swept over me, sinking into the depths of my being like an anchor. Desperate to free myself from his grasp, I croaked, “W-what did you say?”
“You won’t be able to control me anymore,” he growled with a twisted grin. “You’ll be insignificant. Useless.”
His hand then groped my abdomen, and I watched in horror as he pressed harder and harder.
“You’re hurting me!” I shoved at his chest, sending him back a step.
He chuckled darkly. “I’m trying to, Christine.” He brushed his lips across my ear. “I need to make sure that you never defy me. A firm hand makes a strong child. And this baby will be indestructible.”
I cringed as his face moved lower, and his hot breath, laced with alcohol, blasted my bare neck.
“No—”
And then he kissed me.
He suddenly lunged forward, pressing his hard body against mine, smothering me with his weight and might. I tried to push him away, but his force was too strong. I clawed at his armor-like chest, desperate to break free and escape my fate. My shrieks of anguish were muffled against his lips. In that moment, I felt trapped and helpless, just like the girl Lord Geralt had once tried to conquer, enslave, and take away all those years ago.
He finally broke away from me, and I crumpled to the ground in a heap of despair. I never wanted to go back to that moment of terror and despair again, but alas, here I was. The fear coursed through my veins as I shook uncontrollably in the aftermath of my emotional breakdown.
“My son is dead,” he screeched, thundering his fists onto the buttery oak wall, splinters flying into the air. His eyes were hollow and sinister, like empty pits of a man possessed by evil. “You’re not a DuPont. And I will take what is mine!” he rasped through his teeth.
The room felt colder. I shivered as I took a step backward, fear and sweat seeping from my skin like droplets of honey. “You will serve many purposes in this castle,” he hissed, his voice like a whip cracking in the air. “You will become queen. You will marry Lord Nathan! And you will birth me a new heir.”
I shook my head frantically. “You can’t have my baby!” I screamed, shaking with terror.
He tilted his head, his face blank. My blood ran cold as I heard those next words that seemed to pierce the heavy silence of the room. “I thought you would’ve learned by now,” he snarled. “I will do as I please. No one will stop me.”
My lungs emptied as I looked upon him with terror. “What is wrong with you?” I sobbed harder. “Why? Why are you doing this?”
He moved forward, a menacing glimmer in his eye. “Because you should’ve been mine, Isabelle. Because you will be mine.” He stepped closer and closer, his breath reeking of madness. “I’ve tried to control you. But you’re too strong for that.”
“I’m not Isabelle!” I yelled desperately.
