Page 45 of Condemned By Pain
“I’m a king’s daughter. Next time you call me a name, think twice. I have the power to ruin you before you even realize it.”
I walk past her and out of Bruno’s room, pressing my lips together to contain the chuckle bubbling inside me. What an award-winning performance. WatchingQueenthree times has finally come in handy.
In an excellent mood, I reach the dining room. As always, he’s sitting at the head of the table. Antonio isn’t here. I take the chair to his right.
“Is Antonio not joining us for dinner?”
He shakes his head, continuing to serve himself.
“I have a question for you. Actually, two,” I say, spooning some risotto onto my plate.
He looks at me.
“What’s your name?”
He stares down at his plate. “You can’t know.”
“Then what am I supposed to call you?”
He opens his mouth to answer, but I cut him off. “Don’t say ‘master.’ I’m not calling you that.”
He raises a brow. “You don’t have a choice.”
“You only deserve to be called what I already call you,” I mumble before putting a bite in my mouth.
“What?”
I chew slowly, drawing it out, while he watches me as if he has all the time in the world. After swallowing, I lean in slightly.
“Tyrant.”
I prepare my next bite, glancing down at my plate. “And monster.”
I put the food in my mouth, watching him nod.
He takes a small bite himself, his pale pink lips closing around the fork. I stop chewing, my focus zeroing in on his mouth.What would it feel like to kiss those lips?
I swallow the half-chewed bite and nearly choke. I cough, and his eyes snap to me, making me flush even deeper. I take a sip of water, averting my gaze.
The direction of my thoughts is not right.
He’s your captor, Wen.
A hot, handsome, beautiful captor.
Shut up. A grumpy, moody, arrogant captor.
“What’s the other question?” His voice stops the war in my head.
“Huh?”
“You said you had two questions.”
“Oh yeah, the other one is about my clothes. Why do I have to wear a maid’s uniform even though I’m not working as one?”
“You want to work as one?”
I press my lips into a tight pout, scrunching my chin. He smiles at my frustrated face. For the sake of that dimple, I decide to let this slide and move on to the important thing.
