“That is not true.”
“It is.” He took her hand a third time, and when she tried to pull it free, he hung on. “And while you might think that you hate me,I know that is not true either. You and I…” He held her hand to his chest. “We could be great. All you need to do is say yes.”
It was impossible to describe what Ophelia felt.
Surprise, of course. That went without saying. But beneath the shock, there was an undeniable sense of revulsion that bubbled away like a volcano threatening to explode. And simmering above that wretched heat was fury the likes of which Ophelia could hardly contain.
After everything that he did… all that happened… he has lost his mind!
“Say yes?” She spoke slowly, holding his gaze so that her words would not be misunderstood. “Is that what you… Do you truly believe that there is any chance, any world that exists, in which I would even consider…” She laughed mockingly. “You have lost your mind.”
“I have found it,” he insisted, still holding her hand to his chest. “I want you, Ophelia. And I will have you.”
“No,” she snarled. “You will not. Did you ever stop to consider why I denied you in the first place? Before you tried to ruin me? Before you destroyed my life! I denied you, Lord Hallbridge, because you are a man who is as ugly on the outside as you are within. You want to know what I think? What I want? Let me be clear.” She bared her teeth. “Were I given the option of being with you or spending the rest of my life sleeping in the gutter, Iwould choose the gutter. Even the filth found in the sewer would be a far sweeter companion than anything you might offer me.”
His face dropped, and his grip on her hand loosened so that she snatched it back.
“Now that such things have been said…” She drew herself up. “Our two minutes have expired, and my husband awaits.” She threw at him a final look of utmost hate and stepped around him.
“No!” Lord Hallbridge snatched her arm. “That is not… do not walk away from me!”
She eyed his hand around her arm, and while her heart lodged in her throat, she managed to sneer her threat. “Lord Hallbridge, unhand me.”
He laughed. “You… you are… You think you are better than me. You always have! But if you will not come to me willingly, I will show you what it is that you could have had.”
“What…” Her stomach dropped when she saw the dangerous, vile snarl that passed behind his green eyes. It was animalistic, the type of glare a dog might wear before it attacked its prey. “Please… My husband…”
“He can have what is left of you.”
Lord Hallbridge wrenched Ophelia into his body. His other hand took her by the waist. She went to scream, but he was already leaning into her, forcing his lips to her face, laughing manically as if he had lost his mind.
And for a brief second, Ophelia’s mind returned to that night three years ago. She had been here before. She had suffered this same fate. And while she did not wish to think it so, she knew that no matter what she did or said, Lord Hallbridge was going to win.
But such worries passed quickly, and before his lips found her own, Lord Hallbridge yanked his head back and cried out.
“Wha –”
“How dare you!” From nowhere, Adrian appeared.
Somehow, he had Lord Hallbridge by the scruff of the neck, and he lifted the tall man from the ground as if he weighed nothing. And then, with such strength that it defied convention, he hurled the man across the hallway and into the wall.
Lord Hallbridge’s body hit the wall and the hallway shook. He saw Adrian coming. He opened his mouth to scream. But even before the words left, Adrian was on him.
“Adrian!” Ophelia cried.
Adrian grabbed Lord Hallbridge by the shoulders and drove his forehead into the man’s nose. The crack rang out through the hallway, followed by Lord Hallbridge’s high-pitched cry as Adrian headbutted him again.
Lord Hallbridge fell to his knees, blood pouring from his nose. And still, Adrian was not done.
“My wife!” Adrian roared as he grabbed Lord Hallbridge by the top of his head, snapping it back to expose his bloodied face, and then slammed a fist into the man’s already broken nose. “My wife!” Another punch smashed into the lord’s nose, one that sounded like a clap of thunder.
“Adrian!” Ophelia rushed to her husband. “Please!”
Adrian drove his knee into Lord Hallbridge’s gut, sending the man to the floor. There, he lay, whimpering, as blood pooled beneath his body.
Adrian’s body trembled with rage. His breathing was heavy. And a growl escaped his lips like a wolf in the middle of the hunt. He stood over Lord Hallbridge, glaring down at him, daring him to move.
“What is this?” A voice cried from down the hallway. “Your Grace! What have you done?”
