Chapter 1
The man before me was heart-stoppingly gorgeous—his face carved like a blade, that straight aristocratic nose leading to razor-sharp lips—the kind of looks that made women flock to him like moths to a flame.
But I loathed him. Because he was a carbon copy of the woman who'd murdered my mother.
"How much longer will you fight me, Winnie Carter?"
Anthony Bennett's brow furrowed as he ripped my nightgown apart, exposing me. The burn of his body pinned me against the bed.
I thrashed wildly. "Get off me!"
He gripped my waist with one hand, his voice like ground glass. "Let you go? So you can w***e yourself to my brother?"
"Winnie, I own you."
His fingers were iron, unyielding as his scorching breath crashed over me. His tongue forced past my lips, claiming my mouth with brutal efficiency.
My breath came in ragged gasps, trapped.
Desperate, I sank my teeth into his tongue.
He roared in pain and hurled me backward.
I crashed onto the floor as he hocked a bloody glob onto the tiles.
"Winnie," he wiped his mouth, "did my kindness make you forget your place?"
I stayed silent, my fist clenched around the ring on my left hand.
His gaze locked onto it, eyes blacker than a starless night. "What the hell does Ethan Bennett have that I don't?"
Ice flooded my veins under his viper-cold stare. I forced sweetness into my voice. "Anthony, you're drunk. Tomorrow I marry Ethan. After that, shouldn't we... play nice?"
His expression twisted instantly. He snatched my left hand, clawing at the ring. "Take—it—off."
I clenched harder, knuckles bleaching white.
His voice dropped to a lethal whisper. "I won't ask again."
Tears blurred my vision as I shook my head. He bent my fingers back until they screamed, prying them open one by one.
"Cross me," he breathed, "and you'll regret it."
Everyone knew Anthony's temper. They say he smiled while whipping a stablehand to death for bringing the wrong horse.
They say he was just ten years old back then.
As the Inspector-General of the Three Armies, he wielded near-absolute power—enough to make the sun disappear with a snap of his fingers.
Such overwhelming authority, paired with his explosive temper, earned him the fitting nickname "Demon Incarnate."
But I refused to let go. This ring had been placed on my finger by Ethan himself.
My fingers were pried apart with brutal force, white-hot pain shooting through me until I couldn't fight back.
Anthony tore the ring off with frenzied violence, hurling it to the floor. The metal clattered against the polished tiles, a sharp ping echoing through the room.
I shoved him away, lunging to the ground and clutching the ring in my fist.
Towering above me, his voice oozed venom. "Drop it."
Silent, I only tightened my grip, the metal biting into my flesh.
His words cracked through the air. "Winnie, are you deaf? I said. Drop it."
When I still defied him, he snapped. His combat boot came down hard on my hand.
Fireworks of pain exploded from my knuckles, but I didn't yield.
The pressure intensified. "I won't repeat myself."
His tone turned jagged with malice. I knew—he'd grind my bones to dust without hesitation.
"Ah!"
A strangled scream ripped from my throat as the pain became unbearable. My fingers slackened, the ring slipping free.
His boot lifted. He closed in, satisfaction curling his words. "Good girl, Winnie."
My legs were forced apart. His burning breath crawled up my ankle, his lips trailing fire along my skin.
"Every time I watched that worthless Ethan grovel at your feet," he murmured, "I wanted to slit his throat."
Disgust crawled up my spine as I stared at his twisted grin. "You're insane—spying on us!"
A low, dangerous laugh vibrated in his chest. "Insane?" His hand seized my breast, fingers digging in cruelly. "This belongs to me."
His other hand slid lower, taunting through the thin barrier of fabric, finding the most vulnerable spot. "And this? Mine."
"Tell me, Winnie," he breathed, "who makes you tremble harder—him, or me?"
My body, already alight with sensitivity, melted under his torment, every nerve ending set ablaze.
A scorching flush spread across my face, igniting every inch of my body as his relentless movements continued.
I gnawed on my lip until it bled, choking back any shameful sounds.
"Keep playing the silent game if you want," Anthony purred, his breath scalding my neck. "I'll make him watch every second as you come undone under me."
My entire body went numb with horror. I never thought even he'd sink this low.
"No! Anthony, please—I'm begging you..."
He ignored my sobs and hauled me up like a ragdoll.
"Tell me, Winnie," he mused, his voice thick with malicious glee, "how do you think Ethan would feel finding us on your wedding bed?"
How?
Ethan would die of shame. The bride he'd courted with all proper rites, defiled by his own brother the night before their wedding—left trembling and begging for more beneath the man he hated most.
This was Anthony's cruel genius—the final humiliation. He knew Ethan's weak heart couldn't take the shock. What sweeter way to break him?
But Ethan was my last hope. Only through his military power could I overthrow Anthony... if he survived.
The wedding suite drew nearer. The hallway clock ticked dangerously close to 5 a.m. Twenty minutes—that's all I had before Ethan returned from duty.
Thoughts fired through my mind like gunshots. His life mattered more than my virtue. But without purity, how could I keep his loyalty?
It was do or die.
I thrashed wildly, my foot kicking over a vase. As porcelain exploded across the floor, I twisted free—deliberately throwing myself onto the razor-sharp fragments.
"Stay back!" I screamed, tears streaming as I jabbed the jagged shard toward him.
When Anthony reached for me, I slashed the air between us. "Don't think I won't kill you!"
He froze—then laughed as he effortlessly twisted my wrist, sending the shard clattering away. "Oh Winnie," he sneered, "who do you think you're fooling with that?"
Hot tears burned my cheeks. He was right. So many had tried to kill him—yet here he stood, untouched. What made me different?
"I can't..." The words tasted like ash in my mouth.
I went limp, letting him manhandle my wrist with defeated resignation.
Anthony's mouth curled into a predatory smirk as he slid an arm around my shoulders, pulling me up. "There's my obedient girl. Don't worry—I'll take care of you. Then go screw a corpse!"
With a sudden burst of strength, I shoved him away and snatched a shard of porcelain from the floor. The jagged edge bit deep as I dragged it across my throat. Blood erupted in a scalding arc.
"Holy hell! Winnie, you f*****g maniac!"
Anthony's face contorted in panic as he hauled me into his arms, his voice a whip-c***k command. "Medics! Goddammit, where are they? If she flatlines, I'm burying every last one of you!"
I woke to find Anthony hunched over my bedside. When I twitched, his growl froze me. "Don't. Move. Or you're dead."
My throat burned as I rasped. "Ethan?"
