I Hate You
1057 Words
Gianna's POV:
I held my boy, Theodore, close to me. Lazarus had forcibly abducted us and, against our will, brought us to his territory. To my surprise, we hadn't landed at the main palace but at a private, unfamiliar location.
The flight had been long, exhausting both of us, and Theodore finally slept soundly in my arms. The moment I entered Lazarus's private room, he turned to me, his gaze as cold and unforgiving as ever.
"Give the kid to Romero," Lazarus commanded, his voice brooking no argument.
"Why should I listen to you?" I sternly protested, tightening my embrace protectively around Theodore. "I will report you for kidnapping and me here against my will. Don't forget, I am not your wife or mate anymore." The deep wound Lazarus had inflicted on me four years ago had not disappeared from my heart, and it never would.
Lazarus let out a short, mocking chuckle.
"Gianna, we can't argue like this, and certainly not over an innocent child. The kid is asleep," he advised, shifting his tone to a slightly more calming, almost persuasive register. "Let him rest peacefully in the other room while we settle the misunderstanding between us."
I conceded the point that Theodore needed rest. I turned to Romero. "Show me the room."
Romero glanced at Lazarus, who gave a slight nod of permission for him to go with me. As I followed Romero down the corridor, he began speaking. "The Alpha Prince has frantically searched for you for four long years, Gianna. And whose son is this? Don't tell me you got married to someone else?" His line of questioning was intrusive and annoying, but I held back the surge of anger.
"Whether I got married or not should not be your concern, Romero," I said bluntly, keeping my eyes forward.
Romero pushed open the heavy doors of a nearby room and gestured for me to walk in. "Of course, it is none of my concern. However, Lazarus will not spare the life of any such man if he's found to be involved with you."
I remained completely quiet, refusing to reveal the truth—that Theodore was the son of Lazarus, and I had absolutely no intention of telling anyone about that devastating fact. I carefully laid my boy on the bed and covered him with a soft blanket. "Please stay here," I asked Romero, needing a witness.
"Don't worry. I will keep an eye on your son," Romero assured me.
I walked back into Lazarus's private room and found him standing by a small table, drinking something amber-colored. Lazarus immediately lowered the glass onto the round table, his intense gaze locking onto mine. "Who is Theo's father?" he asked directly.
"Why does it matter to you?" I countered, refusing to engage on his terms. "I am leaving this place the moment my son wakes up," I affirmed, giving him the opposite of the answer he desired.
"You think I am joking with you," Lazarus snarled. He suddenly materialized right in front of me, having moved with impossible speed. I instinctively took a quick step back. His strong arm instantly wrapped around my waist, pulling me close against his hard body. His other hand cradled the back of my neck, his thumb resting possessively on my chin, and he ducked his head into my neck.
"Lazarus, what are you doing?!" I almost yelled at him, my heart hammering, as I felt him aggressively sniffing my skin.
"You don't carry another man's scent," he whispered, his hot breath fanning against my sensitive skin. I froze completely as I felt his warm lips press a soft, possessive kiss there.
"Lazarus!" I raised my voice again, pressing both my hands hard against his chest, finally finding the strength to push him away. "Just let me go. I hate you."
My eyes locked with his as I saw a fierce, dangerous rage ignite in them.
"You can't hate me," he challenged with a cold voice. "Did you forget the words you said to me when we first met?"
"No, I don't remember anything about ever loving you!" I screamed, tears finally brimming in my eyes. "The day you kissed my sister and discarded me like trash, it was over between us. And you didn't stop there, you wanted to kill me!" I screamed. 'I was pregnant with your son at that time, but you betrayed both me and Theo,' I thought internally, shielding the worst of the truth.
"Gianna, you must listen to me. That night, it wasn't supposed to happen. Your wretched sister is the one who initiated the kiss; I never kissed her," Lazarus insisted, pouring out a new stream of elaborate lies in front of me.
My blood boiled. I hated him even more at that moment than I had five years ago. I had once believed him to be the most honest, principled man I would ever encounter, but seeing his true personality now filled me with nothing but profound disgust.
"And why, Gianna, would I ever try to kill you?" Lazarus continued, lowering his voice to a tone of feigned wounded innocence. "I found your abandoned crushed car deep in the woods. I frantically chased the remnant of your scent, but you were already gone, completely vanished from my life. I—I had no recourse but to reject you! I did it only to protect you, Gianna, to sever our bond and ensure your survival. You know, deep down, that if I have ever loved any woman in this life, it is, and always has been, you."
"Will you stop lying to me?!" I snapped, my patience shattering. "The moment Theodore wakes up, I am leaving this place. If you dare try to stop me, I swear, I will kill you myself!"
Lazarus's expression hardened, moving from mock contrition to fierce determination. "Then, you had better kill me, because I am not letting you go."
His eyes, however, shifted subtly, focusing on something distant as he processed my son's name and features.
"Theo has your eyes, your smile... He's four years old. Is Theodore my son? You hid the existence of my child from me, didn't you?"
"Theodore is not your son. And I don't owe any explanation to you regarding this," I ended the conversation, fearing he would learn the truth.
- Writer
