Page 197 of Punishing His Runaway Bride
The air seemed to freeze.
Bianca stared at me, fire burning in her eyes. Her fists clenched tight, nails digging into her palms, shoulders shaking violently.
Then she laughed.
That smile sent chills down my spine.
"You're right," her voice very light, but those eyes threaded with fine red veins had fire burning in them. "I did sell myself, because I was born to be a woman standing at the pinnacle of power."
She turned around, waving at those two silent men.
"Take her inside."
The two men moved. One grabbed my arm, the other holding me from the other side. Their hands were like iron clamps. I struggled once. Didn't budge.
"Let me go—"
"Don't make my men get rough," Bianca said without turning back, voice returning to that calm. "Walk yourself. It'll hurt less."
I was dragged into that abandoned warehouse. Inside was colder than outside, air filled with the stench of rust and mold. Broken glassand rusted parts scattered on the ground, tattered rags of indistinguishable color piled in corners.
They shoved me onto a chair, tied my wrists with rope. The rope dug into my flesh, pain making me gasp.
Bianca stood in front of me, looking down. The warehouse had no lights. Light leaked through cracks in broken windows, cutting her face into light and shadow halves. Her makeup smudged, hair messy, but her eyes bright, like something burning.
"You know," she crouched down, eye level with me, corner of her mouth lifting. "Everything you said is right. I am a woman who treats herself as merchandise for power. But I endured for five years. What did I get? I got you."
She reached out, fingers gripping my chin, force making me wince.
"You forgot one thing."
"What?"
"I don't need to sell myself anymore. Now, he's going to come begging me."
She released her hand, stood up, looking down at me.
"You think I came here today to argue with you? Olivia, I came today to take back what I'm owed."
"He'll never agree to your terms."
"He will," she said, voice carrying certainty. "Because you're here. Because your son is in my hands too."
My blood turned cold instantly.
"You think I wasted those five years?" She smiled. "I still have people in the manor. One word from me, and your son will be taken out. A five-year-old child—so easy to take from there."
"You touch him and see what happens."
"Don't worry," she crouched down, eye level with me, something almost tender in her eyes, but that tenderness made me sick. "I won't hurt him. At least not now. But whether Ezio agrees to my terms decides what happens next."
She stood up, stepped back two paces.
"You know, Olivia, I really envy your luck."
"What?"
"He could have easily inherited don, just by allying with my family," she said, voice light. "But he refused. For some ridiculous freedom, for you—this heartless woman who abandoned him—he seized power himself. He ruthlessly purged his opponents. He made himself the most untouchable man in this city—so nobody would ever dare tell him what to do again. All of it because of you."
