Ace POV
Stupid. Stupid.
I was a fucking idiot to think I could make her choose over that destructive mate of hers.
My fists clenched as I sat on the edge of my bed, my head hanging low, my breath uneven. I had thought I was in control, that I was playing the ga—but sohow, I was losing.
I turned my head slightly, my eyes landing on the old picture fra I had flipped down earlier. Laura.
Reaching out, my fingers brushed over the fra before I hesitated, then picked it up. The mont my eyes t hers—those lifeless, hollow eyes frozen in ti—I felt the bitterness crash over like a fucking tidal wave.
This isn’t fair.
My mate—my real mate—had been used, ruined, broken beyond repair. And where was I? I had been too late. Too weak. I had found her when she was already lost to , already discarded like so old, useless thing after Kane had gotten bored of her.
And now here I was, treating his mate like she was so fucking treasure. Like she deserved kindness.
I should be ruining her. I should be breaking her, taking away everything she was just like he did to mine. That was the plan, wasn’t it? But then I had to be stupid and try to make her fall for , make her love , make her betray Kane the way Laura never could.
So why the fuck was I hesitating?
Why did I care if she was eating well? Why did I enjoy her stubbornness? Why did I let her play fucking chess with when I should have had her begging at my feet?
I let out a bitter laugh, tilting my head back. I am a fool.
An arrogant fool. A pathetic fool.
I stared at Laura’s picture again, my throat tightening. "I’m sorry," I whispered, my voice hoarse. "I failed you."
Tears burned at the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I had shed enough for her already.
Setting the fra back down, I ran a hand over my face and exhaled shakily. Never again.
Never again will I be weak.
If I had to destroy Elena, then so be it. If I had to make her regret ever eting , I would.
I would make her suffer like Laura suffered.
I would make Kane feel my pain.
No more playing nice. No more pretending to be the good kidnapper.
I had been too soft, too patient—like a fucking idiot. I had let her laugh, let her play chess, let her push without consequences. No more.
She would break.
I would break her.
Just like my sweet Laura was broken.
By the ti Kane found his precious little mate, she wouldn’t be the sa fiery, defiant woman he marked. No. She would be shattered, hollow, unrecognizable. Just like Laura had been when I found her—a shell of what she used to be.
I clenched my jaw, standing abruptly. I had wasted enough ti.
Elena would learn that kindness from was a privilege—one I was stripping away, piece by piece. She thought she had control, thought she could resist ? She was wrong.
She wanted to be defiant? Fine. I would make sure she had nothing left to fight for.
By the ti I was done with her, Kane wouldn’t even want her back.
No more fucking dances.
No more pretending.
Starting tomorrow, she would see the real —the monster Kane created, the one who lost everything because of him.
I let her laugh. I let her push . I let her breathe. That ends now.
She thinks she can fight ? She thinks she can hold on to the fire in her eyes, the defiance in her voice? I’ll snuff it out.
She will break, and I will be the one to break her.
By the ti Kane finds her, if he finds her, she won’t be the sa. She won’t be Elena anymore.
I didn’t sleep a wink the entire night. The mory of Laura—so lifeless, so utterly broken—haunted every dark corner of my mind. With the morning light bleeding in, I didn’t even bother with a rose, as I normally would. Instead, I summoned her to my study.
She arrived in a short, flared dress that clung to her curves with an air of defiant beauty. When she greeted , I remained silent, my eyes bitter and haunted. In that mont, I saw Kane in her expression—remnants of pain, longing, and that damning reminder of the past. I rembered her words: that I kept her away from her true mate. How stupid of to think she would ever choose over him.
That soft, gentle side of was long dead. What remained now was a predator, driven by a need to break her—to shatter the fragile illusions she clung to. I leaned forward, my voice low and hard. "Bring your hand forward."
She looked at skeptically, uncertainty flickering across her face, but eventually she complied. The mont she realized my intent—my plan to cuff her—she pulled her hand back, panic rising in her eyes. I was too quick, seizing her arm firmly and locking it in place with cold, unyielding cuffs.
"What are you doing? Let go!" she scread, her voice cracking with terror and defiance.
I leaned in close, my tone dangerous and unremorseful. "If you don’t shut up, I promise you, you won’t like what cos next. I am no longer the sweet Ace you once knew. You’d better get that fast in your head."
In that mont, everything changed. There was no room for kindness or half-asures—only the bitterness that had consud , ready to claim what I believed was rightfully mine.
Elena POV
I stared at him, my heart pounding. No longer the sweet Ace? Who the hell was he then?
I struggled, pulling at the cuffs, but his grip was like steel. His face was void of the usual amusent, the patience, the smug flirtation. No, this Ace was cold—detached.
My stomach twisted in unease. "What the fuck are you doing?" I demanded, my voice sharp with panic.
He tilted his head, his eyes dark and unreadable. "Teaching you a lesson."
My breath hitched. "Lesson?"
"For thinking you could manipulate ." His voice was calm, eerily so. "For making believe, even for a second, that you could ever choose ."
I froze. Was this about last night? About what I said?
"Ace, this is insane." I tugged at the cuffs again, my wrists already straining. "You’re acting crazy."
He gave a humorless chuckle. "No, little pet. I was crazy before. Letting you run around, testing my patience, making —" He exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "That was a mistake."
My chest tightened with sothing I refused to na—fear, dread...maybe regret?
Because I had a feeling I had just lost the one bit of rcy I had left in this place.
My hands were bound in front of , the cold tal biting into my wrists. I stared at Ace in shock—what the fuck had happened to him? One mont, he had been the charming, arrogant bastard who toyed with through gas and playful taunts. Now, he was sothing else entirely—sothing cruel, sothing... unhinged.
Before I could even process it, he yanked forward. My feet stumbled, and I found myself dragged toward his chair, where he sat like a king on a throne. Then ca the command.
"Straddle ."
I blinked at him, disgust and confusion twisting inside . He had to be kidding. I looked at him as if he’d grown two heads, but his patience had already worn thin. Without another word, he grabbed my cuffed hands and forcefully pulled them around his neck, locking in place before dragging down onto his lap.
I stiffened, my body frozen in place. The position was intimate. Too intimate. I hated how my legs were spread on either side of him, how my body was pressed flush against his.
I clenched my jaw, my mind racing. Maybe—just maybe—I could use this to my advantage. My hands were close to his throat, and with one good move, I could tighten the cuffs around his neck and—
"Don’t you dare do what that pretty little head is thinking."
His voice was dark, laced with warning. His grip on my waist tightened, his fingers pressing in just enough to remind of his strength.
I scoffed, my lip curling in defiance. Big mistake.
His hand shot up, gripping my chin roughly, forcing to et his gaze.
"Don’t ever scoff at again. Ever."
His voice was ice, but his eyes... they were worse. The teasing amusent that used to linger there was gone, replaced with sothing bitter, sothing broken. Sothing terrifying.
What the hell had happened between yesterday and now?
I swallowed hard, suddenly too aware of the dangerous man beneath .
Then he chuckled, a sound so dark it sent shivers down my spine. His grip loosened just enough to trace his thumb along my bottom lip.
"You owe two kisses," he murmured, his voice low and controlled. "It’s ti to pay your debt. Kiss ."
My breath hitched. So this was about the damn chess ga? If it was just a kiss, why the hell did he have to cuff ?
I hesitated, my mind torn between defiance and the dangerous shift in his deanor.
"I’m waiting, little pet."
His eyes glead with sothing unreadable, sothing dark.
And for the first ti since eting Ace... I wasn’t sure if I wanted to find out what would happen if I refused.
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