The sound of the wind shaking the trees rose.
Wandering in the nightmare, Odette opened her eyes, breathing heavily. It was only after enough time had passed that the energy of sleep had passed that she remembered where she was.
A soft sigh escaped Odette's lips as she realized that she had inadvertently dozed off. Carefully turning her head, she looked at the bed placed on the other side of the darkness. Bastian was asleep in the same supine position as before.
Only then did Odette let go of her guard and quietly stood up from her chair. She closed the curtains and turned around to check the clock hanging on the opposite wall. It seemed like eons of time had passed, but it was still deep dawn. She had to wait a while longer before the day dawned.
Odette stared anxiously at the empty left side of the bed. It was given to her by Bastian, but it was left vacated because she couldn't dare to approach it.
Bastian behaved extremely calmly. After washing and changing his clothes, he went to bed. He did not give a single glance to Odette, who stood uncomfortably as if being punished. As if he had erased the existence of his fake wife who had to share the same room.
Bastian chose not to see it as a problem.
Having decided not to have any more doubts, Odette courageously approached the bed. Even in midsummer, the dawn in the deep mountains was cold. It was foolish to linger like this even when she was guaranteed a peaceful place to sleep.
Fretting and worrying would not erase the terrible mistake she had already made.
In that case, it would have been better to be brazen. Like this man, Bastian.
Determined to forget everything now, Odette mustered up the courage and sat down on the edge of the bed. Fortunately, Bastian did not wake up. He looked handsome even in sleep.
Hair like golden threads covering his forehead and long, straight eyelashes. An old scar visible below his collarbone.
Odette's gaze, which was examining Bastian closely, fixed on his large hand placed on his chest. A simple platinum ring glistened in the light of the bedside lamp. It was the proof of this sham marriage with her.
Suddenly feeling ashamed of her hand wearing the same ring as him, Odette left the bed again as if to run away.
She hurriedly hid her hands behind her back, her fingertips cold. Like one dazzling spring afternoon when she first set out to sell lace.
***
Bastien awoke just as the dawn light began to fade.
No matter what time he went to bed, he woke up at the same time every morning.
It was a habit repeated over many years. Bastian stood up without delay as soon as his vision became clearer after the sleepiness had passed. It was then that he realized that Odette was not by his side.
Bastian studied the side he had reserved for his wife with a frown. The pillows and sheets were perfectly arranged like before. There was no sign of a person lying down.
Gently closing his eyes and opening them, Bastian hurriedly got off the bed. The chair Odette had sat on the previous night was also empty. The anger that had boiled over furiously at the thought of what the woman who had finally run out of this room might have committed disappeared shortly afterwards into thin air.
For he found his wife on a long sofa facing the fireplace when he decided to go to the closet to change his clothes first.
Wrapped in furniture covers from unknown sources, Odette was asleep in a curled up position.
Bastian looked down at the pitiful figure with a bewildered expression. Looking very cold, but Odette didn't lay with the man she disliked. Her great pride evoked a laugh out of him.
She had always been that way, so there was nothing new.
Odette.
Swallowing the name on the tip of his tongue, Bastian quietly approached the sofa where his wife was lying. It would be best to wake her up and send her to bed, but he didn't think Odette would easily comply.
Bastian let out his low sigh and leaned slowly toward his sleeping wife. Odette woke up when Bastian had just lifted the furniture covers.
"Stay still."
Bastian gave a calm command and picked up her cold body.
After staring at Bastian with blurry eyes for a moment, Odette soon began a fierce resistance. Fortunately, she wasn't stupid enough to scream, but she struggled with all her might and pushed him away. As if Bastian had done something unbearably dirty to her.
"Settle down, Odette."
Despite Bastian's sharp warning, Odette didn't care.
Suddenly annoyed by her hardheadedness and tenaciousness, Bastian climbed over the body of the woman he had lowered again.
Her senseless resistance finally ceased as he gripped her arms and pressed them onto the sofa.
Even as she shuddered in fear, Odette glared at him with cold eyes.
"Get off! I don't want to!"
Odette gasped for breath and gave a contemptuous order.
Bastian slowly lowered his head and locked gazes with the well-commanding woman beneath him. It was a sight to behold as her two cheeks were flushed red. So were her disheveled hair and the breasts that swayed along with her ragged breathing.
"What?"
Bastian laughed as he suppressed Odette who was twisting her body with all her might.
Seized by the fear of the overwhelming superiority of power, Odette pursed her lips without being able to speak. Bastian's body, which she felt along her body, was so vivid that it gave her goosebumps. Above all, it was the gaze that made her feel like she was naked.
"Tell me. What did I do?" (Bastian)
She tried to raise her legs instead of her bound arms, but Bastian easily subdued even that. Surprised by the unfamiliar sensation felt through the tightly pressed lower body, Odette shook her head desperately.
"I don't want anything, anything that isn't part of the contract!"
"You must be mistaken, Odette, no matter how much you don't want it, I am your husband. That's our contract."
"You were the one who presented the contract on the condition that this marriage was not real!"
Odette's voice began to rise higher and higher. The entire third floor was still quiet, but the guests would wake up shortly.
Bastian gently pressed Odette's hands together onto the armrests of the sofa with one hand. Odette let out a sharp moan as he grabbed her chin with his other hand.
"Please keep your promise." (Odette)
Even with a face that looked like she was about to burst into tears, Odette made another brazen request. Bastian furrowed his brow and smiled crookedly.
This marriage must be performed according to the contract.
He had no intention of changing that obvious fact. Once his deal with the emperor was completed, this woman's usefulness would end. When the time came he would make the next leap forward without hesitation.
But so what?
Bastian let out a hot, thick sigh as he held Odette's chin.
From the moment of their first meeting she had already been his, whom he had for some reason made her his wife, and therefore until the end of this marriage, he had a rightful ownership of her.
What she knew and didn't have, she was in his favor, not this woman's right. If he was no longer willing to go easy on her, Bastian was free to exercise his share of rights. After all, favor was fleeting and shallow anyway.
"I'll scream if you don't move right now!"
When she started to hear footsteps coming and going in the hallway, Odette made a bold threat. It was not a bad strategy. But it was her mistake that she miscalculated that he already knew her plans.
"Try it."
Bastian gave an arrogant laugh, without the slightest hint of panic.
The moment Odette, who was staring at his despicable face, opened her mouth, the last gap that existed between them collapsed. Odette only realized what had happened when she felt his hot tongue penetrate her lips.
Having lost even the last vestiges of her dignity she was barely protecting, Odette struggled with all her might.
The contract be damned. She could scream for help. As much as she wanted. She should have. But Odette couldn't even breathe properly, let alone scream.
Trapping Odette under his large, hard body, Bastian furiously sucked her lips and twirled his tongue as if to take everything away.
It was a kiss like a predator hunting.
Odette gasped in distraught and turned over her body as he was distracted. With both hands freed from bondage, she pushed Bastian away, punched him, and scratched him. But even after clashing so fiercely, Bastian wouldn't budge in the slightest.
Just as she was about to cry out in frustration and unfairness, Bastian's lips moved away.
Odette did not miss that opportunity.
Crack!
The sound of a powerful slap overpowered their rough breathing.
Sitting with his upper body half erect, Bastian looked down at Odette while sweeping his tingly cheek. The woman, whose hands were quite hot, showed no sign of remorse. All she did was press her wet lips together, her eyes glistening with anger.
Bastian laughed dejectedly and ran a hand through his tousled hair. It was a disaster in the making. Because of his carelessness.
It made his job a lot more interesting though.
Bastian smiled contentedly at the vicious winner, who seemed to have finally learned to be a Klauswitz. Looking like she had seen a madman, Odette raised her hand again, but it was impossible to win twice with the same strategy.
Grabbing the wrist he had snatched at once, Bastian swallowed Odette's lips again with even more ferocity. Formidable resistance ensued, but Bastian did not willingly tolerate it any longer.
Shoving his hand under her pajamas that had already rolled up to her waist, Bastian grabbed Odette's breasts without hesitation. Odette's screams and moans were crushed on his tongue and disappeared.
Barely holding back her cries, Odette sighed. She no longer understood what the hell was going on. Or what to do. However, even in the dazed moment, paralyzed consciousness, Bastian's desire was terribly clear.
For some reason, at the moment when it became too sad to bear, Bastian's hand slipped into her underwear. It wasn't until he started touching her lady bits lewdly that she realized what was going on.
Shocked and at a loss what to do, Odette closed her eyes instead.
Don't cry.
She scolded herself.
Think.
She prayed fervently.
Meanwhile, the unbearable lewd sound grew louder and louder.
"Bastian."
When he kissed her again, Odette gathered her courage and opened her eyes. Bastian looked at Odette with infinitely calm blue eyes.
"Bastian."
Odette sobbed and whispered his name, holding Bastian's face in her hands. The sound of people coming and going in the corridor passed between their eyes as they stared at each other.
"Help me."
Odette begged, not to the others beyond the closed door, but to Bastian. To the very man who was her only refuge, even at the moment when he was trampling on her.
"Help me, Bastian. Please…"
Odette closed her eyes, mumbling the words she had not yet finished. As she swallowed the sadness that filled her throat, the noise outside the door grew louder and louder.
Someone burst into a haha, a pleasant laugh. It seemed to be a large man, judging by the dull sound of his footsteps.
Bastian let out a laugh mixed with low curse and stood up. Sunlight seeping through the curtains illuminated the disheveled and trembling Odette.
Bastian tossed the damn furniture covers on the floor over Odette. The woman's arousal scent was strong on his fingers as he wiped his wet lips.
Pulling down the gown that had been rolled up to her waist, Bastian left the sofa without looking back. It was a tribute to his wife, who turned out to be a completely despicable winner.