Vulgar Marriage - Chapter 4

Chapter 2.2

“Can’t have you hurting that head of yours. After all that I went through to get a bride, it wouldn’t do if she lost her mind, would it?”

“…Bride?”

Suddenly, Livi recalled signing something. The rough texture of parchment still lingered on her thumb like a trace. A priest, a temple, a document with names on it. She finally realized what it was.

A marriage certificate.

Livi’s eyes widened. A wave of anger and hatred surged through her, stronger than anything she had ever felt.

Married? To him? This filthy bastard?

…To the emperor’s dog who tramped my family and slaughtered my parents and brother?

Livi glared at her enemy. Her youthful face radiated with a murderous rage she couldn’t hide, but Dominic didn’t seem to care. He merely cast a disapproving glance at her heaving chest and urged the vice commander to speed up.

“Faster.”

“We’re already going as fast as we can—”

“We need to get back to Celsion before this woman dies, don’t we?”

“People don’t die that easily, Your Grace.”

“Is that so? Doesn’t seem that way to me. Everyone drops dead the moment I touch them. It’s becoming quite a problem.”

Dominic let out a low chuckle.

A chill ran down Livi’s spine and goose-bumps prickled her skin. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to steady the trembling that wouldn’t stop.

This man had killed her parents. Her younger brother. And he felt not a single ounce of remorse.

What would happen if she was dragged all the way to his territory? Would she spend her days merely surviving, warming the bed of this cruel son of a bitch who murdered her family?

In Sevarium, marriage was absolute. Divorce was a forbidden disgrace, especially among the upper class. If she set foot in his territory, Livi would never be free, not until the day she died.

Until the day she died… The weight of the word “forever” settled on her chest like a boulder. She couldn’t bear the thought of enduring that kind of life day after day. She’d rather die now.

“Your Grace, if we turn here—”

“I have no intention of turning back.”

Livi watched the trees blur by, trying to gauge the horse’s speed. Her friend Laurel, who had been in the same riding club, had fallen from a much slower horse and met a horrible death. If she fell now, she knew it would be instant death.

She slowly leaned her body to the side. Her feet slipped out of the stirrups, and her body cut through the air. At that moment, the horse made a powerful leap, sending Livi’s body into the air.

Just before her head could slam into the ground, a large hand grabbed her waist and yanked her back up.

“Ugh…”

Livi’s body, falling at high speed, was forcibly jerked upward. A strong arm squeezed her waist, knocking the breath from her lungs. She gasped, nausea rising as Dominic roughly pulled the horse to a stop.

“Have you completely lost your mind?” His voice was dripping with hostility.

Livi instinctively wanted to shrink back, but she forced herself to lift her head.

Half of the blood running through her veins was of imperial descent. Even if she had no claim to the throne, her lineage was among the noblest. Cowering before a mere mercenary would make her mother weep from the heavens.

Livi steeled her gaze, her vivid purple eyes locking onto Dominic.

“…Kill.”

“What?”

“Kill me.”

Dominic’s face went blank, his sharp gaze cutting into her skin like a blade. Beneath her disheveled blonde hair, her face was smeared with dirt, but her eyes remained fierce.

Dominic let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

“I didn’t realize I’d married a madwoman.”

His grip on Livi’s waist tightened, merciless and unyielding. The force was so intense it felt like her bones might crack, and she trembled uncontrollably.

“Ugh…”

She bit her lip, trying to endure, but the pain was too much, and a groan managed to slip through her clenched teeth.

“Agh! Hng…”

“You’re shaking like a leaf, yet you want me to kill you? Don’t make me laugh. Even the ten-year-olds back at Celsion wouldn’t crumble under this kind of pain, Lady Livadonia.”

“Stop mocking me and just kill—“

“And who would that please?”

Dominic’s hand slid down from her waist, his rough fingers brushing against her upper thigh. He rubbed back and forth, before pressing down hard with his thumb, pushing her flesh apart. Livi was horrified by his crudeness.

“What the…!”

She never expected him to act so vilely, even as a former mercenary. He was a noble now.

Livi shot him a glare full of contempt, but Dominic didn’t stop. His hand moved lower, gripping her thigh so tightly that her flesh squeezed between his fingers.

“Does this feel degrading? Humiliating? Is that it?”

He firmly wrapped his arm around Livi’s waist, holding her in place, while his hand traced over her skin through the thin fabric of her dress. The sound of the silk petticoat rustling against her bare skin only added to her humiliation.

Livi squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the overwhelming sensations, but Dominic wasn’t about to allow that. The moment her eyes closed, he roughly grabbed her chin and crushed his lips to hers.

“Mmph!”

Her eyes flew open as he bit down on her lip, sucking on it with a crude intensity. Only after tormenting her with smacking, sloppy kisses did he finally release her.

“Why would I kill you? There’s still so much left for me to take, my dear wife.”