Chapter 176: Mutilated Pride
She let out a shaky, ragged breath, her eyes scanning his handsome features with a look of misery. "And the worst part? The worst part is that I can’t imagine waking up every single day for the rest of my life, opening my eyes, and seeing your face. Every time I look at you, no matter how innocent you claim to be, your face will always remind me of my parents lying in their own blood. It breaks my heart so much, Dorrent. It suffocates me."
Dorrent’s expression went rigid, a look of regret washing over his features as her words mutilated his inherent pride. He stared at her trembling lips, his chest expanding with a slow, heavy breath.
"I’m sorry," Dorrent delivered quietly, his voice thick with an intensity that signaled an obsession from which there was no return. "I am so sorry, Jannah. If I could... if it would truly ease that pain in your chest... I would change my face. I would have the surgeons alter every single line, every bone structure, and make it different just so you could look at me without weeping."
Jannah let out a bitter, sharp scoff, her eyes flashing with irritation. "Then go ahead. You have the billions, Alpha. You should try distorting it. Go ruin that precious, symmetrical face of yours and see if it makes me hate you any less."
Dorrent’s eyebrows twitched, a familiar spark of his arrogant, stubborn skepticism flaring right through the fog of his guilt. The cynical, possessive alpha nature completely warped his remorse back into a lifetime commitment.
"I can’t do that," Dorrent countered smoothly, a low, smooth rumble returning to his voice as his eyes narrowed playfully. "Think about it, little physician. Isn’t this face handsome? I know exactly how much you like looking at me when I’m fucking you. You look into my eyes every single time I take you. How exactly will you look at an ugly, distorted face when making love to me? It will completely discourage you, and we can’t have that."
Jannah’s jaw dropped in shock. For a second, her brain completely stalled at the audacity of his words. Then, fury overrode her paralysis. She raised her left hand and sharply knocked the side of his head with her knuckles.
"Why do you have to include sex in every single serious talk?!" she shrieked, her face turning bright crimson from a mix of embarrassment and rage. She struggled violently to push herself off his lap, but his arms remained locked around her waist like iron bands. "That is exactly why I hate you so much, Dorrent! You are a disgusting, arrogant manipulator with a completely dirty mouth!"
"I’m sorry, I’m sorry," Dorrent apologized, though the dark, unbothered smirk on his lips completely gave away his lack of genuine remorse. He tightened his grip, pulling her lower abdomen back down against his thigh. "I always find myself heading that way when I’m around you, Jannah. I can’t help it. It’s because of how good you always make me feel. My system completely stabilizes the moment you touch me."
His expression then shifted, turning serious as he looked up into her flashing eyes. "But I mean it. I am very sorry. I just found out about the incident of the black cycle last week from my mother. I had no idea whose lives had been shattered during that blackout. Now that I know... I will do everything in my power to make it up to you. I will use every ounce of my soul to atone for it."
Jannah let out a cold, sharp laugh, her tone dripping with disdain. "Does making up to me include you fucking me like there’s no tomorrow, Dorrent? Is that the best you can do to atone for a double murder? Is that your grand solution?!"
Dorrent’s silver eyes darkened, a possessive heat flaring within them as he leaned forward, his jaw brushing against her cheek. "That can also be included," he whispered thoroughly into the quiet room, his voice a rough growl. "Since you always feel good when I do it, it seems like a perfectly valid form of compensation."
"Let me go!" Jannah snapped, her voice trembling with anger as she aggressively slammed her palms against his chest, finally finding the leverage to wrench herself out of his arms. She scrambled off the bed. "Get away from me. Even my mood is completely ruined by you. I won’t go to the city square anymore. My heart feels far too heavy with hatred to stand in front of anyone tonight."
Dorrent watched her stand by the bedside, his eyes tracking the rapid rise and fall of her chest. Instead of being displeased, a look of quiet satisfaction settled onto his handsome features.
"That’s the correct decision," Dorrent stated flatly, leaning back against the pillows with his arms crossed over his chest, completely unbothered by the blood staining his front. "You shouldn’t be out there anyway. You can stay right here with me for a while. I want you close to me tonight."
"No way," Jannah hissed, turning on her heel and fixing him with a lethal, narrow glare. "I am heading straight back to my own room, as far away from your dirty mouth as possible."
Before she could take a single step toward the door, Dorrent lunged across the mattress. His hand snared her wrist with terrifying precision. With a sudden pull, he hauled her back onto the bed. Jannah let out a sharp cry as her balance failed, her body tumbling onto the soft mattress.
Before she could roll away, Dorrent maneuvered his frame beneath her, trapping her. Within a single heartbeat, they were both lying flat on the bed, with Jannah sprawled on top of him, her chest pressed against his sternum and her legs pinned between his long thighs.
"You should sleep here tonight," Dorrent murmured, his hands coming up to rest flat on her lower back, holding her down against his heat. He tilted his head up, his eyes locking onto hers from below with an intense, unshakeable authority. "Get used to my bed, little physician. Since it will be our bed the moment we are married, you might as well get comfortable with the arrangement."
Jannah’s eyes flashed with fire. The relentless arrogance of this man, even while covered in the blood of his own sins, made her blood boil. She writhed against his weight, but he held her down effortlessly. One of his fingers slowly trailed upward, brushing against her jawline before sliding toward the corner of her lips in a lazy, possessive caress.
"Damn you, Dorrent," Jannah cursed, her voice dropping into a whisper.
The moment his finger touched the seam of her lips, she didn’t hesitate. She bared her teeth and bit down onto his finger with a vicious, sudden force, her teeth sinking deep into his skin until she tasted the taste of his blood.
Dorrent let out a sharp, low grunt, his grip instantly loosening as he flinched from the sudden pain. Jannah seized the split second of freedom. She rolled off his chest, scrambled off the bed, and sprinted toward the door before he could recover his hold.
She slammed her hand onto the brass doorknob, ripping the door open. As she stood in the threshold, she turned her head back, her eyes glittering with a terrifying, venomous fire as she looked at the towering Alpha sitting up on the blood-stained sheets.
Dorrent brought his bleeding finger to his mouth, sucking on the bite mark as a dangerous smirk touched his lips. "I’ll tighten the bolts on the bedframe tomorrow, Jannah," he called out, his voice echoing after her, dripping with a chilling, possessive triumph. "So that it doesn’t break under us on our wedding night."
Jannah gripped the edge of the door, her frame shaking with a hatred that felt too heavy for her chest.
"Keep dreaming, you monstrous bastard," Jannah spat out, her voice echoing through the silence of the hallway. "Because the only event taking place in this room will be your execution."