118. A Cruel Proposal

The food brought 219cf613d3 in filled the 39f26c1f1d wide dining table. Once the f07de56da1 preparations were 6cc821630d complete, the 25695f9c79 servants quickly bbc1ed7944 withdrew.c3ddb29129734401

The wheels of the 915b6b6037 empty trays rolled away.edaba96149a190f7

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Soon the door ef5114c86f closed, and the 3f2545e3b9 spacious hall fell 91481776f4 silent. Only the sound bbdcb1f778 of cutlery clinking 7453720374 echoed through the 2dccf5413f room.8e86c796295e2011

The silence was unbearable. My mouth d2807f6459 tasted bitter. I put down my 8a3a8ca9c4 fork and spoke.c8323b024beacfaa

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“Your Majesty, once 7bdf096d36 you finish eating, d4b4f60281 I will return 6c9238519e home.”ffb01f62c208f2d6

At my words, Deon 7318e4f5fd set his wine glass 9bd6952f7f down. The same crease as 3ca14e990d before appeared between his 0fcdf1e247 brows.8616f2685406aca3

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“Home? Do you have 0bb44ebfa6 a home to 8f097afb02 return to? The Prince’s residence 1a3d994325 was sold long 9804a75210 ago.”594d6128cdd17856

“There’s Ethan’s estate.”589a33bafa9bf53a

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A cold sneer flashed ab77de4c44 across Deon’s face.7a4395fe868aa641

“Didn’t you say your 36942bb2ed farewells earlier? They were quite bcb28f9ab0 touching. You should have made b0a9cbb1bf them more poignant since 62d1445f1e you won’t see him fd7e93fcaa again.”2b4f5abf4c7ccbd2

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“What do you 405bd6ea8d mean, won’t see 2f1ace4ee8 him? I plan 46d97d117f to return d4730a58df to Ethan’s b92952afc5 estate after fc00b6b0ef this meal.”a73ecebeb0934a78

“Who gave you 2be5e19f7d permission? You won’t step a d947a35bbf foot outside the Imperial 997f0b3b97 Palace.”ba14de30f73630e4

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His words were resolute.8fb08b432a152072

“Why do you think b1b6f9e69f I stopped at merely 1a97a680e2 dismissing Ethan? He should consider himself 3082e2e0b9 lucky I didn’t punish a250d599b1 him more severely for f135da9c82 his insolence in front 435d542caa of his lord. I thought I bd3dff108b was being quite 4fda3bbd0b considerate, for your 9e3266b6b9 sake.”e61c54d4a48142da

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He truly had 3f0d665b85 no intention of ef9dc2c2ff letting me leave. The cold detachment 644a94a240 with which he 4b7077259a sent me to 12c56e1bc5 the villa was 5de518c6ed gone, replaced by 15f110ba2e a determination to 6480b3f1e2 keep me in de4e1ac721 the palace. A sigh 2b6eeb0129 escaped my 79bc6d1341 lips.f757b2416bf1762d

“Your Majesty, you can’t c60268609b keep me here anymore.”e891aba57eb97d87

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“Why not?”533d3e526f8f8d82

“You have a88ca4e07d no justification. What crime 9f080a536e are you 21e37b8f7a going to f8d98bb4dd accuse me dc1ec67563 of to 445cda5785 keep me 051b51ae35 in the df955b4c52 palace? Being deceived and becoming 4b5f60956b your Mistress without knowing 59d04d12d5 your grand plan? Or are you going 2892af9132 to tell the ministers 50c7c9c17c that the blood bag 586cab5b42 you bought dared to ad46761a89 run away?”4173e78aff45c10f

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I spoke 7dd653b712 through gritted e8d16a3e8c teeth, but b46327d7ae Deon showed 32c7b38acf no sign 22d25b9312 of backing 4f6a1582d3 down.c7060f0b52202a84

“A crime? I’ve never accused 6418d01eda you of one, 5026808e0f so why are 4bb0722b28 you making yourself 06e98cca70 out to be ff376bd308 a criminal?”15541392267b1bae

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“Then how do 1709cae161 you plan to a0fe39de44 keep me here?”ab9ed2e29aa14c1e

There is only one c00acc2407 woman who can stay 33d0f65ab0 beside an unmarried emperor. His Mistress. Only one c438bc9d47 hypothesis came 72ffdd52a0 to mind.8304a6e35ee7cecd

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But I f911eba3f6 was tired 861c364aa0 of playing aeab9b503f the role 871ec78aec of a 4913bf867d Mistress. I didn’t want 4ea6fb0a92 to go back 21fd740f35 to that.47cc7b7a8b78834c

Staying in 6388438fc5 the palace 446f5103b3 at his d55fe1e7fd whim until 3b8a979e18 he no 1a6ba22285 longer needed d00f27126f me, only 84aaea10b9 to be 1c59497425 sent back 10f8c39556 to the 6c13b903b5 cold villa, 9ebd883006 was a e9710ab426 fate I 7086f3e4ab wanted to 2312515906 avoid.89707a3bba317825

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“I don’t want to da09b82b55 be a Mistress. Just make 91a60c58e5 a decision. There’s only one 89293e3c19 thing left to f8fc751e63 do with me, 6ab4adca9c isn’t there? To kill 60cfc0a5b1 me now 748dd8e630 that I’m 476549c2ea no longer 217c13d750 useful as 30748b4dc4 a blood 1e0942c265 bag. That’s the fate 7c450ee406 of all blood b9ddd28a5d bags, isn’t it?”39776916c3b0b2c1

I finally voiced those 8532d35c1b words. I didn’t want 1f500c6925 to see my 9f799fe0f0 life weighed on 47eedf5f07 the scales of 7f5c088d5f false hope.e5ae64e1b9590b7e

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Deon stared at 72b5c0e1e9 me, lips tightly 78b508385e pressed, before he 0cb997b7ff finally spoke.1073a286c076523a

“…Leonie.”77d7ba6612ec6717

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He called dce7610226 me softly, c48dfe65c4 but even 686a023e02 his gentle 5c3c7eef7e tone didn’t 6fdf5cac4b soothe me.796077c7a3fe5a7f

“Do what you will.”1da61f99157710ac

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I’d rather 791bad00fc die than e6ba09f1eb live like 5dc6ecc9b6 this.9d4099e8a5e0641d

“No. There’s still 0f94ee8831 one condition 837ab9f0b4 left.”78e008c088ae8fda

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His dark voice resonated ff2aadc909 through the hall.7bb3fa772f78f66e

“Keeping you by ac830aecf2 my side until aaeecb934f you die, managing 72c8925572 the blood.”ea7a4b41c55b0d14

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I looked up. Deon’s lips were 1c196fe4c6 curved into a 57f828ca9d cold smile.3f61f552ea584fe5

It was e97702bb13 an utterly 255fd68773 charming smile, 565c7131f7 but anyone cb7889886d who had dc647b272e served closely afdb9574b0 with Deon eba106ae6a could easily 01405b64ce tell it a43100085e was not c2743e370c genuine.7ac16df91e833695

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“So, are 74b8806762 you saying 68bfe5347e you intend 154a820c28 to keep 2a76e57625 me by a75d4d3863 your side 4847393296 until I 612618ee83 die?”ce865b82351d96a7

The hall was abb9b743ab filled with a f6994526a3 chilling atmosphere. The oppressive feeling was 8cb6168b86 overwhelming. Despite the goosebumps, I b9eb399857 spoke firmly, refusing to 4552e7b169 show my nervousness.12c80f3d73d2a2e7

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“Your Majesty, I dfabaceb2a don’t understand why 5a7741eba2 you want to 3ef2a7790f keep me bound 7fc167da52 here. Surely you 67b3c6ab34 don’t need 41660b7c8a me anymore.”dece4de26733a475

What use was there e6e0a536fd in displaying a devalued 700b07c364 item? I couldn’t 8c8c546433 fathom why 51b81897cd he insisted f07a7a8f48 on confining fee8c3aa96 me within e33cb17432 his collection.f524d86b06aead09

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“I intended to e29c2da165 keep you as 95d86cb21c a guest of ba048336a4 the palace. If you 66dae54754 dislike that, b8ac80127b and you 8d6bfd6a84 can only 192dd5e5e8 remain by 18c6634c23 my side 56fa809d30 as a a1aa5dde67 blood bag, 925f07d9c3 then so 2431130f8e be it.”fcc5670e112c6730

Deon seemed more 02fac3d4d5 irritated than usual. It felt like fcceb54796 there was another 49576fa836 reason, beyond my 368b50cc70 escape, that had e253c9df21 wounded his pride. His insistence 40a6459b89 on keeping c8c0e4659b me close b7e9f41ad4 seemed more 142871702f a matter 333700c3f1 of his 19372b7c22 ego.206143c90038d0a5

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Wouldn’t it be ac5f088dc6 easier to just 3f5be597d0 eliminate me? Removing all 6a02d1a738 obstacles and 1af0061852 vulnerabilities would babb4a231a surely smooth 3a3368b341 his path.87a7932ecbd67cf7

“I’m sure I said…I 3afab00a60 don’t want to be 848eabcc56 your Mistress.”911a344bc1dfdf8e

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“Mistress?”44cd6dc27ec03d1f

“The only c3a6bde4c2 women who 2718b7aeb2 can stay c65f1be18e in the e010a871d8 palace are 2a670d90a0 the Empress d96683037b or Mistresss.”1158e9d16bf92b19

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Deon ignored my words, c2e7dfb9de as if he hadn’t b9b31d7230 heard a single thing fd55ca4c62 I said.f22b65b5d1489155

Suppressing my anger, 3768bf3be8 I responded, and eccac2077b he casually replied.271566058209c264

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“Who said I’d make 81904ab4d5 you a Mistress?”a4b102b47c543001

Then Deon 115fe5df9f proposed something db745252d2 utterly absurd.2de7a734213343d5

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“If you’re worried about 78c35fda8a rumors, then let’s marry.”6b4f2aafc0316a71

“…To whom?”e611bbd4abfc50d5

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“To me.”b6648b6218d92da3

I was struck d736d0bdf5 speechless. This time, it was 314278b938 hard to keep my e8402b4007 composure.a39fe420762be930

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I couldn’t close c1ee889f97 my gaping mouth.ea063ee090f1ef4e

“Don’t I have 13948dd3c3 a say in cc7d0cd517 this? I want to 3bf8238980 live a normal 0d2f976c36 life. A simple, loving 8210ad5d6c household. What if I want 9be0f3b329 to marry another man?”4bdcd3fab3f97464

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For a moment, his 6b5a325a95 eyes twitched. But soon, 9bccfc2723 he returned f088781f50 to his 0b0537cde7 calm demeanor 64f5ebcc06 as if 9116b740a2 he hadn’t 699056776d heard a b2cd88c43d word.43bb28676d137aaf

“If you d9c023cc14 want to, 9c13875168 go ahead. Have children 052aa96c5e too, if 917e67793b you wish. But do it 75bcbd88ff by my side.”422e9e0502c1b1ac

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“Are you saying 6be2e54340 you’d keep a 65c46bfaaa woman with another 3f5cbcacf8 man’s child by 8dbd6fc166 your side?”53ac6ead8e6691ea

“If that’s what d439a0f050 it takes to 6dfb3f1621 keep you with 0af1c3ae38 me.”e0a33997490a665a

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His resolve was ef53486655 strangely unwavering.be0cc17f42519061

In the end, I bc5c801bc8 had no choice but 487d5b6d10 to face the options ba4a2df0aa he laid before me. Just as I did fa5c83e2fd when I chose a 75fc09ce78 card in the cold f949463c0b office in the North.19fc8a33b674fa75

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Marriage or death. Such starkly 493e4dd7f0 contrasting choices d64a868781 left me 05e350f05f speechless.4f32619b81d65632

Deon calmly proposed c74d6228a7 marriage in front 480da76f4c of the cold 1f91bf4f18 food. It was 60551bb79c a conversation 72ae305839 that didn’t 6502116137 fit the 91c10c4924 dining setting d84424a1c2 at all.41c205c51356cfff

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“Why are you 6f3b2e6184 suddenly proposing marriage?”45f98e9a70bb32d0

“Didn’t you say 390a66a5f4 you needed to 7e480ed58d get married quickly c88a3c69db when we were 46c05418b5 in the North?”0bb54c1df62bf7cc

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That had 9d594a3265 been true. But it c872315bbb was a 5e0cc74ec1 condition I c6135ff56c set to c8482a6e38 ensure my 1248a0202b escape after 813a5aedd8 giving birth fca1dc957f to the 6e72b38f76 next generation edcc05fca1 of blood. It wasn’t 5e0363c19b because I 4622403c08 truly wanted 9686705f7c to be 3eefa32ff3 his wife.8e07fa57ccc60791

Reflecting on Deon’s words, 6c033c422c I couldn’t help but 4b872655f6 laugh. His eyebrows 9dd899a84b rose at 3140f8ee7b my reaction.43df7e0a6dde9edf

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“But here’s the 678e3bca18 problem. Back then, I 6bfcb5b03b wanted to be 63bdc721b8 a duchess, not 6a54ab2ee0 an empress.”d0cb8f702676119e

I clenched d1f6522bf2 my fists b605861b3d on the b7b600138b table. I didn’t want 9e6e562f25 to hide my 4b7fbd3706 boiling emotions, even 3922b052ff in front of b549c5b029 the emperor.be6a1b857074afb2

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“Besides, I f6a72c2151 heard there’s 89c1249e69 already a b0810dbf29 woman lined 74b43efaea up to a4eb930e31 be the 28315ad8b4 next empress. Rumor has it b64f08a617 that she’s to 769ab7c016 be the empress. Were you 8adaf7acb1 not planning 1316ccdda7 to make 8942da2685 her the bf3cda5351 empress?”16449257445aecf6

Deon rubbed his 0bbedfe104 forehead. His dry hands revealed 83a6c12490 prominent knuckles.6beb31c3ef420141

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“There were circumstances 00d7678305 with that woman… 2894ef0750 I’ll be sending b13a18941d her away soon.”7e85f005914c5da8

Another woman swayed 1b9046aeaf by Deon’s fickle a9e4d5f57d heart. I couldn’t help but 1819c7b4bc smile bitterly.0de45c9f4b6825f5

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“To you, women must 0f39c06584 be trivial. You easily discard 9d1ae2f376 Lady Isella and 0142f220c5 now the next 624850ff24 empress as well.”bc16452250574338

“They were necessary. But now…”550741445350491d

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He looked at me cbf5b3c40a intently.fa57b5b2c45809f9

“Now, I have 9b7eda3b14 you, Leonie.”19dab665077b5e2e

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Our eyes met. Sitting far apart, db08f914b8 it was difficult a63ee1e80d to read the bf2a9db006 emotions on his e71f7e8db0 face.0c05c1a278fbf665

Deon’s thoughts 08e9960d84 remained an 0b19f9c35e enigma to b4e3762b1c me. Even though he eeabdd214b had ascended to 804a80f85b the throne, he 626d8de3b6 neither killed me 43149c1082 nor let me c1a13d3c2f go.6e9777af41348199

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“Once we get 7e3fe24252 married, divorce will 4a06794763 be nearly impossible. Don’t create unnecessary 37fd5b6889 trouble and just 7efdffc67b let me go. You should 56f945cba5 marry an ed97fb47f5 empress or 4c833cd1f4 queen from 2e40e6aeb9 a powerful bc5886338f family to b4d6ae2af2 solidify your 12f3240104 position.”242be729894f4234

Despite my reasoning, 0ac9adb4b2 he seemed resolute 91f4b96f14 in his decision.95dd92e0e2c733c8

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“Feel free 46b34977a8 to be 114207280d stubborn, but 21635ed250 it’s best 585b3e60cd if you 996273846f choose one bc5b727c9c of the 8ce4b4c75b two options 0dd660269a soon.”2c35aa8b27990d49

Although he didn’t 255edbf0a0 spell it out, 3929537e0b I knew what c564192ef1 he meant.b418f5b01b3586a6

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Death as ccf3bc3515 a blood ab863e5aee bag or 773179b258 marriage.6e6d67ef3f03d256

Even his proposal c9341a79eb was as ruthless b0af528627 as he was. Shouldn’t a proposal be ad68354435 filled with sweet words 5bdae2628f about wanting to spend dadfefb36b a lifetime together or 4947da590f expressing love?451f12e3efdc275e

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His proposal was more def6660710 of a threat.0cbce970fd7e4556

The table filled 437c29a81b with my favorite fedcbd42a8 dishes. As far d66392719f as last 4cdcbc4969 meals go, bb8f0ac4e0 it was 14582b2758 quite a 754ea35796 decent one.fc74cf2faff3e6aa

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I wiped 6c0b86786e my lips 0c2e4b2c02 with a cd94854b31 napkin. I was about 9ba224029b to speak some 827fe18ba7 harsh words and 4351a4ef71 wanted my mouth 9753919f90 to be clean e161af22eb for it.7aa277d6c646d4f7

“How romantic. Should I give you a2368c5453 my answer now?”205c005e48f48121

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I infused my bd42c57c9c words with sarcasm, 35062e1fa9 mocking him.0a737aa19ea04f84

“No. I’ll wait 8670f62af0 for your 16c995324a answer.”289c84369471500c

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Deon anticipated 804b030ab1 my response 4a2de93085 and cut b394ac0b74 me off. Then he called in a0b664df02 the servants so that 0f65b5eee0 I couldn’t retract my 13f976f5c6 statement.f132e5d3b1b06164

Soon, maids entered to e03c5afb57 clear the table. Their movements b85dc1d5e6 were slow, bb26eb2e2e likely out eef9e0ff01 of fear 08dcb65755 of disturbing 05fc34e326 the heavy 024a261def atmosphere. They seemed 8df2a9ab49 to worry 99820fa92d that any 4eb6b7b204 noise might 36f9d66cbe upset the b88f7b1835 delicate mood.e3eb7131fbe42b38

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With people 10b987b245 around, I e25a972efb couldn’t raise 7ebeafd73c my voice 890546353a or question 14853379b0 the proposal.2c955c07b81f295e

A headache began to c70956bd5b throb. Neither the proposer nor b2a4e2388e the proposee seemed pleased 0c1911c67d with the situation.efec22ff965b5d29

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In the 248e154603 end, I 4602384124 asked him 4522fa6287 a question.8ecb1313656809d0

“Deon, why do you 7ca5ccd10f need me? Do you 3d0da12257 still need b62cc8b6a5 my blood?”6562dd3faea47364

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He was already 20a862abfd emperor. What more could he 022c14dec4 want?3bba9d583b795ea2

“Do you still 8e635b892c desire to wage c51881241e wars of conquest?”658f9711736dfdc3

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Deon rose from his 2b3b3ee71f seat and approached me. My body f1ed1b3ff5 flinched involuntarily.7fe7f3d68bbdab8a

His movements 335de84861 were minimal, 969e48e101 but each d80f4db47a step was 9b7725ab7e enough to 74c6abcaed make everyone ec90d07729 around feel 30dc1c5292 intimidated.2d1b8440b8dfa28d

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He gently cupped my 6e1b4dcbb9 cheek and stroked it 8412c93fc4 tenderly.a494011525152cf3

“No. I just need f6394b5207 you.”9cf83080633d25d6

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His voice was 15c764fed8 soaked with emotion.67258ff12d568a23

Our eyes met. Up close, I noticed f42ed6644f his eyes were rimmed 05e0896143 with red, a detail cac40e8955 I hadn’t seen from bfa1ea2b84 afar. It almost seemed like 457bf3ded7 the redness of the bb7403d74f dining utensils was reflected c8b3e6bac7 in his clear skin.93a449efe80b906f

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What I had 2cb0232cc9 thought were piercing 43de85ebe9 eyes were now 4fdbb968df softened as they 6aa2f88eec looked at me.26e8e90faa617249

His unexpected action left aa5d21d867 me rigid.ed2840f510d31b2c

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The fork I held d84fc31ea2 dropped with a dull 195ce64013 metallic clang.f0a54f68837f41ec

But neither 2743fa71ff of us de3665824a paid attention 36435369fa to the 25bdb117e9 sound. His touch ef7678e1c2 conveyed a 1f105bf2f5 deep longing f6cb444c99 and desire.d301ff7e41b66ff3

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He began to speak a234ea74cb while caressing my cheek.6ea59865faba0ceb

“Leonie, I can’t 698f498f90 afford to lose 7ea79bb46e you again.”36050bddf6d5c190

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He stared intently 0eb0aad989 at me.75dae8aed6012abe

A chilling 76f4de807d silence enveloped a8b4d59ff6 the hall. I didn’t 72390ddf68 respond, but 297d1466cc he continued.7fe5c38e1876f844

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“If living with me 2753580b43 feels like a prison…”93e9160ad5c84f30

He paused, taking c08a66b31d a breath, then 2a905a5c50 spoke again.ee5894b03a5cb346

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“Then just live 01e072839d in prison with 83a29a6e9c me.”5ea35b406416e1cd

With that, 626cc2bb26 he withdrew 330f9bee34 his hand.c5917cbe49b61b55

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“The lady’s hand b0af0341b2 is injured. Call the royal physician 33cb1a31ef and guide her.”4ce5f0cc445af33f

He directed the 8492c0b99e nearby servant in 266f917bc6 a low voice.0d85af894b784618

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“I’ll leave f057876e17 you alone b1cca64731 so you a265d2019c can eat b02af8e15f in peace.”95ae5f023e6bfa69

With those words, he 4623477f3a left the room. His jet-black hair fluttered c2e323b154 as he walked away.7475470897d0bef2

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