Page 11 of The Freedom You Seek

I stared at my mother and shook my head. In the end, her reaction shouldn’t have surprised me in the slightest. My father and she were so obsessed with having Jelric as a son-in-law that they would overlook any misgivings.

Resigning, I slipped into a pair of soft, flat shoes and grabbed my lavender-colored summer cloak. There was no way I’d go among the people in only this poor excuse of a gown. I wrapped the light fabric around myself like armor and instantly felt less vulnerable—at least a little.

The town square was bustling with the last preparations for the festival starting tomorrow.

The sun was shining, but I barely noticed its mild heat on my skin. For me, it felt as if a dark cloud was following me, driving away the gentle warmth of the late summer’s day. As I made my way toward the Triad Fountain, my imagination painted the vivid picture that everyone was staring at me and my outrageous dress. Of course, no onedid, thanks to my cloak, but I couldn’t help feeling naked and exposed in front of everyone.

Jelric was already waiting for me when I arrived. My intended tapped his foot impatiently, and when he spotted me, a deep frown appeared on his face. “You’re dense, aren’t you?”

“What?”

“You’re not even able to follow simple instructions. So either you’re an imbecile or you’ve intentionally disobeyed me.”

“You can’t possibly be angry that I’ve chosen to wear a cloak.”

Jelric’s eyes narrowed, and a dangerous glint appeared in them, spelling danger.

Usually, I would have ignored his tantrum, but the little voice inside my head told me to tread carefully—and I listened for once.

I flinched as my betrothed infiltrated my personal space and reached for the closing of my cloak. I tried to dodge, but one of his hands shot forward and clutched my shoulder, keeping me in place. Without hesitation, Jelric opened the garment that offended him, yanked at the lavender-colored fabric, and dropped it to the ground. “You don’t need that. Come on, let me inspect you.”

Jelric’s fingers still dug firmly into my shoulder. At the same time, his gaze roamed over my body at a leisurely pace, taking in the high slit exposing most of my leg before staring lecherously at my barely covered breasts. I had only limited experience with men, but I could clearly sense his intense desire and see the heat in his expression. Mybreakfast churned in my stomach, and the acidic bite of bile burned in my throat.

Long minutes passed before Jelric let go of my shoulder. Instead, he clamped his hand around my wrist, so hard it was painful, and dragged me with him, preventing me from picking up my cloak. To everyone else around us, the whole interaction might have seemed harmless, but I knew it was anything but.

“Hey…let me pick up my cloak!”

“Well, if you’d followed my orders in the first place, you wouldn’t have lost it. Hopefully, you’ll learn your lesson. Disobeying me will always cost you something. Be glad the only price today is your cloak. Next time, you may not be that lucky. And now shut up and come with me.”

This was a nightmare. It had to be. This controlling man couldn’t be my future. Even though the only alternative I had to marrying him was for my father making good on his threats, I was heavily tempted to try to sever this betrothal right then and there. Maybe death would be better than a life as Jelric Feroy’s obedient wife.

Unlike before, when it’d only been in my imagination, everyone stared at me—dressed like a lady of the night—as I was hauled along by a rich man. My face flushed red with embarrassment.

Jelric dragged me to a less frequented part of the city, with narrow cobblestone streets and plenty of dark corners. My mortification slowly morphed into foreboding dread.

“Girl, listen to me. As I told you yesterday, I want to get acquainted with you before we’ll be wed. You’re halfwayeasy on the eye, but since I’m not a shallow man, there’s more I have to know about you.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Wait until we’re there.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see soon enough. Now be quiet or I’ll make sure you’ll be.”

Self-preservation kicked in for once, and I shut up, but it didn’t take long for my betrothed to open his mouth again. It was obvious that he loved to hear himself talk.

“Just as you check a horse before buying it, I’ll never get married without testing my bride-to-be. Only inspecting the goods just won’t do it.”

“What do you mean bytesting me?”

Instead of an answer, Jelric spun me around and pushed me into a nearby wall, caging me in with his body as he pressed me against the rough building behind me.

I was frozen in place, unable to move as he stood way too close to me.

Jelric had me pinned, and I could feel his heavy breath against the shell of my ear. “I’m not obtaining a wife just because she’s marginally pretty. So, let’s see if you have the potential to be the perfect spouse for me, shall we?”

I was still rooted to the spot when my betrothed moved once more. Instead of letting me go, he pulled me through a wooden door located a few paces next to us.