Hellbound Heart

"Alyssa is..." Sebastian started in a low tone. His body was still a little tense but his grey eyes were unseeing as he stared at their entwined hands. "She's with me when I was held captive by that... woman."

Elle's eyes widened and at the same time, her heart throbbed painfully when she heard his admission.

"She's a... prisoner like me. She's..."

Without waiting for Sebastian to finish what he was about to say, Elle rose to her knees and hugged him. "I'm sorry..." she whispered. Pained. She did not know Alyssa was from the duration of that same dark past Sebastian loathed the most. She never meant to make him think back about that phase in his life. "I'm so sorry, Sebastian... I... I didn't..."

"Shhh..." he made her sit on his lap and rested his forehead on her shoulder, taking a deep breath of her scent as though to help him calm himself. "It's alright. You have nothing to apologize about, Iza." He told her with reassurance, causing Elle to feel so much better. She was afraid she had brought out something he had been trying to forget. "Alyssa and I met in that... prison. We had no one else but each other in that hellish place. She was the one who helped me stay sane." He paused for a long while, as though lost in his own thoughts and then Elle saw pain and regret flashed across his eyes for a moment. "But she didn't... make it out."

That painful throb nearly made Elle clutch her hands over her heart, but instead, she shot her arms out and wrapped them around Sebastian again. Pulling him into her embrace and tightening her grip around him.

...

The next time she opened her eyes, the sun was already high in the sky. Sebastian was still lying next to her, holding her. His face looked so peaceful, almost beyond tranquil that Elle could not help but stare. She could really stare at his face forever and would never get tired of it.

When he opened his eyes, he stared back at her dreamily.

"Morning," Elle greeted him with a bright smile and then a slow, tender smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Good morning, my wife." A deep vibrating voice sounded from his chest. Elle felt that his slightly sleepy and just awakened voice sounded so dreamy that it felt as though her insides were filled with cotton candy.

Elle playfully pursed her lips and lifted her brow at him. "We're divorced, remember?"

He ran his palm over his face, groaning slightly but then he smiled again and said, "That's just mere paperwork. All we have to do is sign another paper again."

Elle could not help but grin when suddenly, a thought came to her. She lifted her hand and looked at her ring. "We must... remove our ring, right, Sebastian?" She looked longingly at her cherished ring, reluctance bubbling within her at the thought of needing to pull this long awaited band from her fingers.

"Do you want me to take it off?" Sebastian spoke softly.

"We don't have a choice, do we? To make our separation believable, we must... take it off." Although Elle knew and said the right words, her heart bled and was highly opposed, just thinking of it.

Sebastian pulled her into his embrace. "I'm not taking it off. I'm wearing my gloves again from now on so no one could see whether I'm wearing a ring or not."

A soft knock echoed, causing the couple to dart their eyes towards the door.

"What is it?" Sebastian asked.

Elle did not hear the response but Sebastian creased his brows and then groaned.

"Stay here, Iza. I'll be back once I send them away."

"Who came?" Elle asked as she tilted her head, wondering who it was that could bring out such reactions in Sebastian.

"The king and some of his officials." He answered flatly as he scooted off the bed. "I am not sure what they want, but you must not be seen by them."

"I understand." Elle nodded. "I'll wait for you here."

He bent over and then, his lips were slanted over hers. "I'll be back quickly. Just wait here for me."

"Mm. Go." Elle only gestured with her head towards the door.

Once Sebastian was gone, Elle rushed to the bathroom and took a bath. But she was faced with a dilemma once she was done. Her clothes were no longer in the dressing room. It seemed that Sebastian had truly packed everything that had belonged to her already!

She felt a slight pang of pain when she looked at her empty closet next to his. There was nothing left of her things except... except her red silk scrunchy. She could tell it was not left in there by accident. She just knew he had left it in there on purpose.

Picking it up, Elle smiled sadly. "This man..." she could only mumble before she put the scrunchy back on top of her makeup table.

Left without a choice, she put on one of his black shirts. She did not even need shorts because the shirt was already big enough for her and it had covered enough.

"Princess?" Lucas' voice echoed from outside and Elle rushed towards the door, peeking out.

"Yes?"

"I've brought you food. His Highness will still take a little more time."

While Lucas was placing a tray of food on the table, Elle could not help but frown a little. "Lucas... did... something serious happen?"

"He had sent everyone back but..." Lucas paused as if unsure whether to tell her the truth or not.

"But?" Elle stepped out of the dressing room to demand an answer from Lucas. For some reason, she suddenly felt a little uneasy. Lucas only stared at her for a couple more seconds before sighing. From that action, she could tell that he gave in to her request.

"Someone suddenly arrived so His Highness needed to..."

"Who is it?" The words were blurted out of her mouth before she even realized she had already spoken.

Lucas met her gaze and then answered. "It's the prophetess, princess."

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