Rescuing her heart

Chapter Three

Taking one look at myself in the mirror after the modiste and her girls had left, I pulled my left heel o my leg and threw it hard at the mirror.

Oddly, the sound of shattering glass was slightly comforting. It was nice to see something other than yourself shatter into a million pieces. I watched the large mirror c***k, fall in large pieces to the floor and shatter in tiny pieces when it hits the floor.

I looked down at it, my reflection staring back at me but this time, we had something else in common.

We were both shattered.

It was the night of my twenty-first birthday and no one had wished me a happy birthday. It's not like it had any magical power to turn this nightmare around but it still hurt. All everyone else cared about was my wedding preparations.

My wedding.

This whole day still felt unreal and I desperately held onto that belief. Any minute now, Arthur would walk in and make fun of me. He would tell me how silly I looked in this dress. He would tell me this was all some sort of sick prank and I wasn't getting married to Noah.

But I knew it wasn't a prank. This wasn't a nightmare. This was real. I was going to get married. As for Arthur, I haven't heard from him since he disappeared... again.

My reflection was still staring up at me. From the looks of it, I wanted to cry but I couldn't. I had cried so much, my eyes would probably not survive another wave of tears. They were so puy and sunken. My makeup artist did her best to cover it up but it was still noticeable.

I turned my gaze to my large window, spotting the moon at its fullest. Stepping over the glass shards, I walked to my window. My second happy place was under the stars and the moon, especially when it was at its peak.

I chuckled quietly, watching as the stars danced around the moon, flaunting their freedom in my face. If I could have one wish right now, I'd wish to become a star. Free to dance around in the sky and watch the earth from so high above.

I was so lost in my thoughts, I hadn't noticed when my door swung open and when someone walked in.

“Lovely isn't it? The heavens.”

I turned around in shock to find Noah standing in my room. He squatted to pick up a piece of glass and examined it. “Ah! So this is where the annoyingly loud shattering sound came from. You had the modiste and her girls scurrying away like they had encountered a ghost.” Noah chuckled and threw the glass shard behind him, causing it to shatter into tinier pieces.

He fixed his gaze on me, taking my appearance in. His lips formed a small smirk once his eyes landed the tasteful amount of cleavage the gown exposed.

“My beautiful bride... I can't wait to take you tonight. Make you what you have always been... mine.” His eyes grew darker with each word as he slowly got up and made his way towards me. He was practically eye-r****g me.

With each step he took, I stepped backwards. There wasn't much room for me to keep going and soon enough, my back had hit the windowsill and he was standing only inches away from me.

He ran a finger down my left cheek, his eyes finally leaving my body to rest on mine. I stared back at him, wishing looks could kill. If only they could, Noah would have died the moment I set eyes on him in my father's study.

“Careful, princess. You could burst into flames with those eyes,” he chuckled. “It doesn't help that your hair is the color of a bright burning flame, you know?”

He seemed quite amused toying with me. It was hard to come to terms with this version of Noah. This version of Noah was not the one I fell in love with.

“Do you remember?” He paused, fingering the strands of my hair gently. “Do you remember the first day I kissed you?” He asked, his voice soft and smooth. “Under the heavens? The moon was at its peak and the stars were just as bright as tonight's.”

I was almost tempted to recall the memory. The beautiful times we both shared but I knew it was all in the past and this was the present.

“I will not marry you, Noah.”

“I took you by surprise, didn't I? Your cheeks, they had turned the brightest shade of red even the darkness of the night couldn't conceal them,” he chuckled fondly again, totally ignoring me.

“That was the past, Noah. You were a mistake. A terrible mistake,” I spat, my words laced with venom.

I wanted so desperately to push him away from me. I wanted to get away from him but right now, I was trapped.

“That's not what you said when I kissed you the second time nor the third. You didn't have a problem when I trailed kisses down your neck and you certainly didn't have a problem when my hands explored your body.”

Noah's smirk grew wider with each memory and his eyes, more lustful. I suddenly felt a finger slowly trailing down my body. I have never felt more disgusted in my life.

“Tell me, princess, why you never let me sleep with you. Were you afraid I won't live up to your expectations? I can change that right now if you want. We've got time.”

He licked his lips, stopping his wandering hand over my left breast, giving it a gentle squeeze.

I gasped and without thinking twice, I slapped him. He stumbled backwards, shock clearly evident on his face.

“Never in your miserable life lay those filthy hands on me again!”

His expression quickly morphed into anger and in the blink of an eye, his hands were around my throat, choking me. I coughed, feeling the air draining out of my lungs as my eyes watered.

He forced me to look at him before speaking. “I will marry you, Anastasia. I will make you mine in my bed. Do you hear me? You will learn to respect me, I'll make sure of it.”

I couldn't breathe and I couldn't shout for help either. I had no idea he had become this cruel. This man infront of me was not the Noah I let kiss me years ago.

Noah seemed to notice I was almost close to passing out and lessen his grip on my neck. “My beautiful princess, all dolled up for me. Don't make me hurt you. You know I would never hurt you purposely. You are my wife after all and I love you.”

He let go of my neck and caressed my cheek. Planting a kiss on my cheek, he stepped back and smiled at me, watching me breathe quickly. He turned around to go, he had already reached for the door knob when I spoke, “I will never love you.”

“I'll make you.” and with that, he walked out, shutting the door behind him.