The stone wall was biting cold against her back as he pressed her firmly on it.
Once again, Leah's eyes flickered downward—straight into the dark abyss below. The ground was so far away it seemed to blur, a void waiting to swallow her should she slip.
Panic prickled in her veins; she gazed at him.
"You think it's that easy, trying to escape the very thing that hunts me?" He questioned.
Leah didn't understand a word he said when he saw the fear in her eyes. He finally lets go of her, and she straightens up.
"I didn't come up here because I knew…you would be here." He confessed, and Leah was shocked by his words.
"So you avoid me like some cursed plague?" Leah said, looking into his eyes, as if the answer to her question resided in them.
"You know exactly what it means." Vinson said, running his hand through his long, dark hair.
"I don't! Leah said in a firm tone, frustration taking its place on her face.
The atmosphere was tense, and for a while, everywhere was silent.
"You don't know what you do to me." He locks gazes with Leah, then inches forward; Leah instinctively takes some steps backwards.
"You come and then suffocate me with your presence. Your company somehow gave me peace, and then you left, leaving me restless!
He inches forward again; Leah could feel her heart racing. She was taken aback by his words.
"Do you know how many sleepless nights I have had, just by thinking about you? Your beautiful face is like a picture etched in my brain, refusing to be wiped off." Vinson continues, then covers up the space between them.
"This conversation is inappropriate." Leah didn't want to believe this was happening. The man she had fought so hard to get his attention was saying all these things to her.
"Inappropriate?" Vinson said, laughing bitterly in between.
"You should have thought about that before making me feel this way about you."
He captured Leah's lips in an intense kiss, taking her unawares. Leah didn't resist; she wrapped her hand around his neck and pressed herself against him as the kiss intensified.
After a while they pull away breathlessly.
"This is wrong; your wedding is tomorrow and…" Suddenly Leah was freaking out.
"Do you want this?" Vinson asked calmly.
Leah couldn't say no; her body had already betrayed her. She wants him... badly.
"Come with me." She says, taking his hand. She drags him along in her direction. They climbed down the numerous staircases, making their way along the hallways of the palace, dodging the guards doing night patrol.
They ended up in Vinson's Chamber. This time Leah took the initiative. She captured his lips, and Vinson pressed her against the wall, their emotions taking over them.
Vinson's chamber layed in half darkness. Along a heavy oak table, candles burned low, their wax dripping in pale rivulets that hardened on the wood. Near the far wall, an oil lamp hissed faintly, its flame steady but dim.
The air smelled of burning incense, an intoxicating smell.
Vinson allowed his hand to trail along her spine, slowly rising until it got to the rope holding her dress together. He tugged the rope, and it loosened; Leah's dress came falling down instantly.
Their lips were still entangled with each other. Suddenly he pulled away and, with a single hand, swept Leah off her feet and carried her bridal style to the bed.
Leah's eyes lingered on him with selfish lust, a yearning to feel his body pressed against hers. She didn't wait long for her fantasies to be fulfilled, as she watched Vinson climb into the bed after undressing.
Her eyes trailed around his masculine figure with amusement. Taking in all his features as he crawled up to her like a predator.
He parted her legs slowly, her full vulva coming into view, glistening with perfection.
"Are you a virgin?" He asked.
"I lost my virginity to you, remember?" Leah reminded him. Vinson smirked….
"I don't remember a thing from that night, and that is why I will make this night the most memorable night of our lives." He said, parting her legs further.
Leah slowly dragged her hands to her swollen breast.
"Make me scream your name." She dared him, and he dived into her with full force.
Leah's mouth hung open, the ecstasy exploding through her body. She lets out a small moan.
He gripped her waist with both his hands, positioning himself inside her. Then slowly he started riding her, jamming into her core with full force.
"Ugh! Uhm!
Leah began to moan.
He increased his pace, and Leah began to cry out in pleasure, saying words that didn't make sense as she moaned his name.
"Don't stop, don't—oh!"
The night dwindled on, and they made love to each other, going round after round, satisfying their cravings.
They forgot entirely that what they were doing was a sin; they were entangled in each other's hands, making wild love, switching styles and positions.
Seconds passed by, dragging into minutes, and minutes into hours.
On the bed of tangled sheets, they now lay breathless, bodies still trembling from the fever that had just consumed them.
Her cheek rested against his shoulder, her skin warm and damp, while his arm draped across her waist, holding her as though she might vanish if he let go. Their breaths mingled in the quiet, unsteady, like the aftershock of something forbidden.
Leah turned her head toward him, the soft glow of the oil lamp catching the glimmer in her eyes.
Lust still lingered in her gaze, but beneath it burned something sharper—satisfaction, even triumph. Her lips curled faintly as she studied him, breathless and unaware, lying in the aftermath of what they had done.
Even though her sister, Leah, would have the last laugh by having him all to herself after the wedding tomorrow, she still claimed him first.
Tonight, she had defied them all, the sacred vows yet to be spoken.
They drifted to sleep still entangled in each other's hands, coiled under the blanket.
A few hours to dawn, Leah stirred beside him, her eyes opening slowly. For a long moment, she simply watched him sleep, his features softened in slumber, untouched by the storm of betrayal that lay between them. Something clenched within her chest, a mix of pain.
It was time to leave.
Quietly, she slipped from the tangled sheets, the cold stone floor kissing her bare feet. She moved with care, each step measured so as not to wake him.
At the edge of the bed she lingered, torn between leaving and staying just a little moment longer. But then she made up her mind not to get him in trouble.
She had to go, or else they might get caught.
At last, she bent down, her hair falling like a veil around them both, and pressed a light kiss against his forehead.
She dressed up, then took her leave.
Leah stepped into her chamber, then slowly locked the door behind her. She sighed in relief; she had thought she would get caught or seen by someone, but that didn't happen.
She turned around and made her way inside her chamber, but after a few steps she froze on the spot.
Seated on a chair in her chamber was her mother, Johanna.
Leah felt all the blood drain from her face. She didn't even know when she began to resent her mother this much, to be choked with fear when they crossed paths.
Johanna had a small knife in her left hand; as she began to cut the apple in her other hand, she broke the silence.
"Where have you been all night, Leah?"
Johanna's voice was calm, dangerously calm.
Leah took some steps forward; her eyes can deceive her, but not her ears. Her mother was seated in her chamber, with her legs crossed elegantly, cutting a piece of apple with the knife in her hand; she tossed it into her mouth.
"Mother…what are you doing here?" Leah wanted to faint from fright.
"That was not the question I asked." Johanna said in a deadly tone, not lifting her gaze from the apple she was cutting.
"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a stroll around the castle and…" Leah was interrupted.
"You have never been good at telling lies to my face, Leah. How bold you have become." Johanna was now fed up; she dropped the apple and the knife side by side on the table close to the chair she was seated on, then rose to her feet.
"You are right." Leah accepted her fate without thinking twice.
"I am bad at telling lies. I slept with Vinson last night." Leah confidently admitted to her crimes.
Johanna started making her way to her daughter, not surprised by her outburst.
"Vinson is getting married to Helena a few hours from now." Johanna reminded her, still making her way towards Leah.
"I know that." Leah retorted.
"You gave yourself, willingly, to a man who has had no interest whatsoever in you since the first day you met."
"That is not the case anymore… Leah was interrupted.
"I warned you to stay away from that prince."
Johanna was now standing in front of Leah, measuring up to her. Eyes as sharp as blades.
"I didn't listen to your words, because I didn't want to." Leah was ostensibly bold.
"You don't know what you are doing to yourself. Giving your body away like a whore!
While Helena preserves herself, you are the loser here, can't you see, or are you blind!
Johanna cursed out; she has tried so hard to be calm, but her daughter keeps pushing her to the wall.
Leah's eyes narrowed as they slowly darkened.
"Wasn't that how you ended up in the palace, Mother? Leah's voice was terribly daring.
"You seduced Father, tried to snatch him away from Queen Mother Selena, but you ended up being the second wife!
"Slam!
Johanna struck Leah across the cheek, and Leah's head snapped to the side, her cheeks now throbbing with raw pain.
Using her hand, she clenched Leah's jaws, pressing them under the weight of her hand.
"I am your mother; always remember I brought you into this world, and if I wish, I can also take you away. You will accord me the respect I deserve."
Johanna whispered into Leah's ear with a low and dreaded tone before pushing her away.
Leah was simply dumbstruck by what her mother just did. Never has Johanna raised her hand at Leah…never, not until today.
Leah sluggishly brought her palm to the cheek that was struck. Still feeling the raw pain, she rubbed her cheek, paralyzed with shock as she watched her mother turn to leave after pushing her away, like she was nothing.
"You have only a few hours to dawn." Johanna started off as she made her way to the door.
"Get as much rest as you can. I would like you to attend the wedding and see for yourself the man you yearn for snatched away from you; maybe then you will face your reality."