She’d been slapped plenty of times.
Klaus didn’t say anything. He merely stared at her. “You want to know if you’re going to run out of food, is that it?” After her father’s revelation of her upcoming marriage, and knowing she was considered faulty, she couldn’t take the silence. “Don’t worry, I have good control over my eating habits. I’m pretty sure you’re going to get a lot of pity for having to settle with me.”
“Did I once say I was settling?”
“I can see that you are.”
“So you’re implying that I can do better than you.”
She gritted her teeth. “Just tell me exactly what you want.”
He smiled. “You’re not used to this, are you?”
“To what?”
“Having to be nice to men.” He walked past her and she tensed up, spinning around to keep him in her sights.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You do. This marriage gig is new to you. I imagine your father has kept you isolated.”
“My father doesn’t like me around. I humiliate him too much.” She took a step toward the door.
“This marriage between us could be easy or hard.”
She turned toward him. “The only reason this marriage is going ahead is because our families can’t take another bloodbath. You hate my family, and my family hates yours. You and I are nothing but pawns.”
“Do you hate me?” he asked, taking a step toward her.
She stayed perfectly still, tense, watching him, waiting for him to strike. “I don’t know you. I only know what you’re capable of.”
“Ah, those vicious rumors. Aren’t you tired of rumors?”
He was getting closer, and with each step he took, her nerves grew. She didn’t know what he wanted from her, and that terrified her more than anything else. No matter what her father subjected her to, she was used to it. With this man, his reputation alone was enough to send the best people running for the hills.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I heard all of those rumors about you, and yet here I stand. I don’t see anything wrong with you at all.”
She frowned, looking at him. Just this morning, her father had thrown a breakfast plate at her. Her weigh-in had shown she hadn’t lost anything, which fucking sucked more than anything seeing as she’d started skipping meals to try to please him.
“I think it’s time we should start heading back.” Isabella tried to brush past him, but he captured her arm, pulling her close to him.
“They won’t be finished with negotiations. Nowhere near close.”
“Get your hands off me.” She pressed a hand to his chest, somewhat shocked by how muscular he felt beneath her palm.
With all that strength, he still didn’t hurt her. There was no pain in his touch. She paused, not fighting him.
“You’re not supposed to touch me,” she said, trying to find the right words to tell him to back off, but she had nothing. “Not until after the marriage.”
“You really think our families would care at this point? They’d be happier if I fucked you right now and put my Accardi baby inside you.”
She glared at him and tugged at her arm. Much to her surprise, he let her go. She didn’t run away. “You shouldn’t be talking to me like that.”
“You want me to treat you like you’re thick and stupid?”
“No!” The word snapped out of her before she could stop it. “You should treat me with respect. I will be your wife. Not your … whore.” Sickness swirled within her gut and she started to feel a little light-headed. Skipping breakfast and lunch today might not have been the best idea. She also wasn’t close to water. Whenever she felt sick and in need of food, she often drank sips of water to help stop her from wanting it.
Licking her dry lips, she turned away from him and put a hand to her stomach to try to control herself. She was supposed to be putting on a good show.
“I’m not asking for a whore, but if you want a life like our families’, then tell me now.”
She took a deep breath and looked back at him. “What?”
“You heard me.”
Isabella glanced at the door, and he followed her gaze. They were alone. “You shouldn’t be talking to me like that. I don’t have experience with men.”
He stepped toward her and this time, she backed away from him. Klaus kept on coming though. She couldn’t stop him. He was everywhere. He slammed his hands on either side of her head, pinning her against the wall.
“Do you want a marriage where I don’t give a fuck about you? I’d treat you like trash. Screw my way around half of the whores. Take a mistress. Hit you. Beat you, but above all else, use you to give birth to my kids. Nothing more than a breeding machine.”
The picture he played brought tears to her eyes. Most of the women in her life had to live that exact nightmare. Was it her future, too?