/
Odette had done her best to resist, but in the end, she couldn’t overcome Bastian’s strength. He had ripped her dress from her body, not giving her a chance to fight.
His vile touch grasping at her underwear made her skin shrivel up, even through his gloves.
Caught in the terror, Odette resisted wildly like a cornered animal. Bastian respected her efforts by backing off a little, but only to attack her again with different tactics.  The determination to inflict as much damage as possible was admirable, but in the end, she was no match for Bastian.
Bastian enjoyed toying with Odette a little too much and became curious about what she would do if given enough slack. As expected, Odette seized the opportunity.
“I wonder if poor Nick Becker knows he is marrying the sister of a murderer,” Bastian said, towering over the retreating woman.
Odette halted in her shuffling toward the door, she was frozen and couldn’t take another step. Even this was not going against Bastian’s predictions.
“Is he not the father of the child Tira carries? The youngest son to a family of well respected carpenters, who own a lumber-yard outside the city? But that’s just what I heard.”
Bastian already knew everything.
Odette gasped for breath, all too aware of the footsteps coming for her.
“His parents were quite displeased with the fact that their youngest son’s wife was the illegitimate daughter of Duke Dyssen. Yet, they had no choice but to accept it because of the child already in the womb. I wonder what they would do if they found out that the sister of their daughter-in-law had tried to kill her father.”
“Are you threatening me now?” Odette said through sobs.
“It’s more like advice, really,” Bastian said calmly. “It doesn’t bother me either way, I’ll achieve my goals and it’s up to you how much you sacrifice. Though come to think of it, it might be better to have Tira Byller break it off, cast your little family down into yet more ruin.”
“Please, don’t involve Tira.”
“That’s entirely up to you.”
Bastian gave Odette a vile look of desire. The heat under her skin prickled to a beauty pink pleasing to Bastian’s eyes. Above all, he wanted to see her wracked with pain.
The fact that, when pushed to the edge of the cliff, she still would not abandon her family was very satisfying to him. The pain of losing her first child would be all the sweeter in the moment.
“Go ahead, if you want,” Bastian said, taking a step back from Odette. “It would really do me a favour if you ran, it would give me an excuse to ruin what’s left of your family.”
“Are you really going to ruin your life for a woman you despise?” Odette said.
“You seem to misunderstand something. I have nothing to lose. I will pay back as much as I am owed and on top of that, I will gain a child with blood as royal as the emperors. What loss is there for me?”
“How can you even think of using a child like that? You, of all people, I would have thought would understand what it’s like for a child to lose their mother.”
“Ah, yes, don’t worry, the child will never know Sandrine is not their biological mother. They will grow up just fine, I did.”
“You grew up fine? You?”
“Well, as you can see,” Bastian said, with a tranquil smile.
Odette swayed as if on the verge of collapse, steadied herself against the back of a chair. She knew she should escape, but her feet would not obey. She couldn’t surrender, not just yet. Lost in the emotional hell Bastian had laid out before her, Bastian approached her and began undoing her underwear.
“Shall I set you free?” he said, untying the lace of her corset.
Odette began to resist again, but the fight was not with her this time. She felt as if she was floating on a dark cloud of numbness and by the time her senses came back to her, she was already sprawled out on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.
Odette thrashed as Bastian tore off her corset and threw it, along with her blue dress and skirt, onto the floor. He then removed his gloves, and his watch tossed next the pillow’s side.
Bastian’s face came into view as he clambered on top of her limp body. He stared down at her with a wicked smile and a glint in his eyes.
“Bastian, please…” Odette said in a pathetically weak murmur.
He lifted his gaze from where he had been looking down at her shivering body. She felt the tears run down her cheeks and her chest bucked with barely contained sobs. A twisted smile formed on Bastian’s lips, he was enjoying her pain even more and each time she pleaded, only excited him more.
Bastian’s lips formed a smile, memories of being manipulated by this witch-like woman surfacing. He realized he had hesitated when he could have had her long ago, stating terms in an agreement he never truly cared about. What he feared was ruining their relationship, never winning her heart. This worry haunted his sleepless nights beside his sleeping wife, perhaps stemming from the night he won her in a gambling den.
“Bastian,” she pleaded once more, devoid of all emotion except desperation.
What a clever strategy she had, her teary eyes calling his name once enough to win his sympathy and delight. He was a fool for her. But, unfortunately, but that moment was long gone.
Bastian tore off her knickers and threw them aside, ignoring her pleading.  Like a famished beast, Bastian tore off her knickers and threw them aside, ignoring her pleading.
Odette screamed as Bastian kissed her aggressively, like a starving animal. He unbuckled his belt, and her whining and struggles only fueled his joy further.
“Ahh…!”
A sharp cry rang out as Bastian’s hand, previously clutching her chest, slipped between Odette’s legs. He muffled her scream with a kiss, exploring the dryness beneath. Odette sobbed in shameful pleasure, her eyes reddening as she tracked Bastian’s hands, working to part her legs.
With his damp hand, Bastian tenderly stroked her cheek, a final act of kindness to commemorate their past intimacy.
Odette cried in pain as she clutched the end of her sleeve. Bastian glanced at his watch. He had to be quick, he had an appointment with the Emperor.
Quickly, he turned Odette and climbed atop her, forcibly stretching her legs.
Cries of pain and rough moans erupted nearly at once. Bastian didn’t care anymore about her feelings; it was his answer to the Siren’s song.
*.·:·.✧.·:·.*
Their passionate lovemaking, marked by Bastian’s muffled groans, reached a climax and and abruptly ended. Odette was desperately trying to break free, causing Bastian to pull her waist tighter, thwarting her attempts. Like a pinned butterfly, he fluttered weakly before finally collapsing, exhausted.
He had done it with this woman.
With the act done and his body cooled, Bastian felt reason return and the reality of what he had just done sank in. He looked over at Odette, who was curled up on the bed, sobbing. A hollow laugh escaped.
He felt like he had journeyed far and wide, only to find what he was looking for right back at the start. He was filled with relief. The transaction concluded in the manner it should have started.
When Bastian woke up, Odette lay on the bed as if she had fainted. Bastian rolled off the bed and tided himself up. Adjusting his trousers and belt, tucking in his shirt and brushing down the wrinkles was all he needed to regain his composure, a stark contrast to the mess Odette was left in.
He went to the bathroom to wash of the scent of her from his fingers, adjusted his tie and cufflinks. Other than replacing his wedding ring, nothing else warranted his attention.
When he came back into the bedroom, Odette had moved along the bed, no doubt to get out of the bloody wet patch he had left behind.
It was nothing remarkable, nothing special.
He had never once thought that a man like Franz could win the heart of such a haughty woman, not even Count Xanders.
At least Bastian could erase all doubt about who the father of the child would be. She was a woman that had known no other man, something that would remain unchanged until the conclusion of their marriage.
“I will convey your regards to the palace and tell them that I treasure the precious gift the Emperor bestowed upon me,” He sneered, approaching the bed and picking up his glove, which lay among the piles of Odette’s clothes.
Odette remained silent,  ignoring him, making the sight of the tangled bedsheet, filled with remnants of their encounter, all the more entertaining.
Bastian put on his gloves and turned to leave the room, only to notice the bouquet had fallen on the floor again. Though that was an accident, he made the conscious choice to leave them. He left the room behind, along with the scent of sweet roses, now trampled by his boot.
The rhythmic sound of his steps echoed through the tranquil evening corridor.