Chapter 6

Isolde walked into my hospital room like she owned it. She was glowing, a vision of health and victory, holding a bouquet of expensive, fragrant lilies. The smell was cloying, suffocating.

"Azalea," she said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "I came as soon as I heard. You poor thing. I brought you some flowers to brighten up the room."

She placed the lilies on my bedside table, right next to my head. The scent was making me nauseous.

"Alexander feels just terrible about what happened," she continued, her eyes scanning my broken body with a smug satisfaction she barely tried to hide. "He's been so worried about you."

She perched on the edge of my bed, her smile never wavering. "It's such a shame. All those boys, Alaric, Darrius, Jefferey... they care about you so much, and you just push them away. You're all alone now, aren't you?"

I turned my head away from her, from the sickening smell of the flowers. I didn't have the strength to argue, to fight.

She took my silence as an invitation. She "accidentally" brushed her hand against my cast-covered leg. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Did I hurt you?"

An involuntary cry of pain escaped my lips. The jolt sent a fresh wave of agony through my entire body.

The satisfaction in her eyes was unmistakable now. She enjoyed my pain.

That spark of pain ignited my anger. I wasn't just a broken doll for her to play with. I swatted her hand away with my good arm. "Get away from me."

She recoiled, her face a mask of hurt innocence. "Azalea! I was just trying to help! How can you be so cruel?"

She stood up, her eyes flashing with malice. "You're just jealous. Jealous that Alexander loves me, not you. He'll never be yours. You should just accept it."

I felt a chill run down my spine. A premonition of what was to come.

As if on cue, the door burst open. Alexander stormed in, his face thunderous.

"Azalea! What are you doing to Isolde?" he roared.

He rushed to Isolde's side, pulling her into a protective embrace as she sobbed into his chest.

"I just came to see her," she cried. "And she attacked me! She's so mean, Alexander!"

He glared at me over her head, his eyes filled with a terrifying rage. "You will not lay a hand on her. Ever."

"I didn't touch her," I said, my voice weak but steady.

"Liar!" he spat. "I know you hate her. I know you blame her for everything. But this is your fault. You brought this on yourself with your endless jealousy."

He held me captive with his furious gaze. "I'm warning you, Azalea. Stay away from her. If you ever upset her again, what happened at the ranch will feel like a picnic."

I stared at him, my heart pounding with a mixture of fear and fury. He was admitting it. He was threatening me.

"I didn't do anything," I repeated, my voice barely a whisper.

He laughed, a cold, humorless sound. He turned to the two large men who had followed him into the room, his personal bodyguards.

"Watch her," he commanded.

My eyes widened in terror. "What are you going to do?"

He just smiled cruelly. "It's time you learned some manners."

I tried to use my family's name, the power that had always protected me. "My mother will hear about this, Alexander. The Kidd family will not let you get away with this."

He scoffed. "Your family? They want this alliance as much as mine does. They'll look the other way. They always do."

He was right. My mother valued tradition and alliances above all else. She would see this as a lover's quarrel, a bump in the road to a powerful marriage. She would tell me to be patient, to be understanding.

Alexander leaned down, his face close to mine. "Now, you have two choices. You can publicly apologize to Isolde for your behavior and announce our engagement... or my friends here will have to persuade you."

I looked at the two menacing figures by the door, then back at his cold, merciless face.

"Never," I whispered.

His eyes narrowed. "You're still so stubborn. Even now." He clearly didn't believe me, still convinced my love for him was an unbreakable chain.

He straightened up and turned to leave, pulling a weeping Isolde with him. "I'll give you some time to think about it," he said over his shoulder.

He left. The two bodyguards remained, blocking the door. They moved towards my bed, their shadows falling over me.

I was trapped.