The Bride of Deception

Chapter 3

"What are you doing?"

The sudden voice hit Zalea, startling her so much the needle in her hand nearly fell. Her gaze met a pair of sharp eyes on the bed.

Damn…! Zalea could only growl inside while wearing the guilty look of an innocent, weak woman caught doing wrong.

Zalea felt a chill crawl up her neck. If she stabbed him now, it would be over. Zalea knew that. The moment that needle pierced Lucien’s skin, the guards would come, and she would die before she could run.

Not now. Not yet... she had to be patient a little longer...

Zalea drew a slow breath. The small needle in her hand trembled before she quietly slipped it back into her thigh.

“I...” she stammered, “I just... want to sleep with you, Lucien.” Zalea spoke in a feigned frightened tone. The sentence tasted revolting on her tongue. She wanted to spit the words out, but it was the only plausible reason since Alea was always crazy about this man.

Lucien slowly rose from the bed then stopped right in front of Zalea. Hatred radiated from his eyes unmistakably.

“Who said I allowed you into my room, Alea?” Julian said with a growl.

Zalea bowed her head. “Forgive me... I won’t do it again,” her voice was faint. But beneath the strands of hair covering her face, she held back anger that was about to explode. If she were allowed, perhaps her fist would already have landed on the man’s face.

“Lift your face,” Lucien’s voice carried an undeniable pressure.

Zalea slowly lifted her head. Her eyes looked soft and fearful as she returned the man’s sharp stare; the pitiful look in her eyes Zalea struggled to maintain to hide the murderous gleam within.

“If you’re truly remorseful, apologize properly! Listen carefully... starting tonight, you are forbidden from entering this room again.”

“So-so-sorry, Lu-Lucien, please forgive me, I won’t break your rules again.” Zalea’s voice trembled, her eyes teary with a pleading look of seeking forgiveness.

Lucien watched her for a long time. His gaze was flat, cold, and full of disgust. To him Alea Ardane was just a woman who dared to stain the Volkov name with cheap deceit. He still remembered that night clearly. Alea stood before the shareholders with a foolish smile and announced their engagement without his permission, as if her silly love was reason enough to drag the Volkov name into a public joke.

Since that day, Alea had followed him everywhere. She waited for hours in front of the office just to catch a glimpse of him, sent messages every day, and smiled after being rejected repeatedly. Lucien hated her for not knowing when to stop. To him, women like Alea were even more contemptible than prostitutes, because at least prostitutes knew their boundaries.

Lucien stepped closer. His face lowered and showed a cynical, mocking expression.

“Since Miss Alea so badly wants to sleep with me... why not show me your skill? Who knows, I might be a little entertained and forgive you.”

Zalea immediately looked down at the floor, trying to resist stabbing the man on the spot.

Lucien smirked cynically at her silence. “Why silent? Embarrassed?” he snapped. “Aren’t you used to acting shamefully in front of me? Or suddenly you want to pretend to have dignity tonight?”

Zalea clenched her hands behind her nightgown. She wanted to scream, to snap back, but her face remained obediently bowed; the role of Alea had to be played perfectly tonight.

Lucien suddenly grinned. “Take off your clothes.”

Zalea froze. In an instant, her mind filled with curses spinning like a storm. Damn! Filthy bastard! I will make you regret ever treating me like this. I will destroy you, Lucien Volkov! Until you kneel before me!

But in the end what came from Zalea’s lips was a string of words so weak and innocent, “I... can’t.”

Lucien laughed softly. His hand reached out roughly to grab Zalea’s chin so she would look up at him.

“Leave if you won’t obey me. Get out of my house now. Unless you want to stay and follow my orders.”

Zalea swallowed. She could feel Lucien’s hot breath on her face, so close that her skin tingled. For anything she wanted to kill this man right now!

Lucien smiled crookedly with contempt. “What? Not brave enough to answer?” he said again, slowly moving his face forward, closer until their noses almost touched.

Zalea’s blood hummed. Her hidden fingers at her side clenched hard, nails digging into the flesh of her palm until it stung.

Alright, Lucien Volkov... enjoy your brush for now. Because when I strike back, you will kneel at my feet!

“Okay,” her voice was soft, almost inaudible. “I will obey your command.”

Just wait. Just wait, Lucien. I will take everything from you slowly, painfully, until you have nothing left but regret!

Zalea began to touch the straps of her nightgown. One by one, the knots loosened until the thin fabric finally slipped to the floor.

The look in Zalea’s eyes grew darker. If it were her sister Alea, the weak one, standing in her place right now, she wouldn’t be able to bear this humiliation! Alea would probably cry and feel disgraced. But Zalea would never cry. Even though this was the first time she had been forced to throw away her dignity before a man, trampled on, and degraded like trash... what was happening now only fueled her hatred deeper. At this very moment, she changed her plan, she wouldn’t kill Lucien immediately. No, she would make him suffer until he begged to die!

Lucien’s dark eyes stared at Zalea as if assessing a worthless object. There was no anger there, no desire, only emptiness that stabbed into Zalea like a cold blade.

“That’s it?” His voice was flat and mocking. “I should have known. There’s nothing special about you, Miss Alea. You’re just a desperate woman, so desperate to stay by my side, even after I humiliated you countless times.”

“Did you really think I would touch you tonight?” Lucien gave a low laugh, finding Alea utterly pathetic. After glancing at her in disgust, he turned away and walked toward the window. “You overestimate yourself, Alea. I only wanted to see how far a woman would strip away her dignity for a man who never wanted her.”

Zalea closed her eyes. For a moment, she almost lost control. She wanted to strike his back, but she forced herself not to. Not yet. Or her plan would fall apart.

“Get dressed. And get out of my room. Now.” Lucien’s command was cold, his expression unreadable as his gaze fixed on Zalea’s faint reflection in the window before him.

Like an obedient servant, Zalea picked up her clothes one by one and put them back on. Without a single word, she turned and left the room, emotions burning inside her.

Just as her hand touched the doorknob, the man’s voice came again, stopping her for a brief moment.

“Don’t get me wrong, Alea. I would never touch something filthy... especially your body.”

Zalea didn’t answer. She simply opened the door, exhaled softly, and walked out without looking back.

Her footsteps echoed faintly in the dark, silent hallway. When she reached the large window at the end of the corridor, she paused for a moment. Her eyes flickered as she glanced outside, where guards were pacing around the estate, patrolling alertly.

A faint smile curved her lips as her fingers slowly moved up to her neck, stopping at the ruby pendant hanging there. A soft chuckle escaped Zalea’s lips... and when her fingers pressed the pendant, her laughter abruptly vanished drowned out by another sound that shook the entire mansion.

DUMM!

A heavy explosion tore through the air, making the window panes rattle and the chandelier sway gently in the hall. From where she stood, Zalea saw a flash of orange light below, coming from the direction of the garage, followed by thin smoke rising into the night sky.

“Explosion in the garage! Hurry, get downstairs!”

The guards’ panicked voices echoed as they rushed toward the source of the blast. Zalea stood still before the window, watching the chaos below with an increasingly satisfied smile.

She pressed the ruby pendant again, making sure the trigger signal was completely deactivated. Then her lips softly hummed La Vie en Rose, the favorite melody she once shared with Alea.

"A little surprise... for you, Lucien..."