Chapter 115/The Penalty of Confession

Chapter 115: 115/The Penalty of Confession

Chapter 115

Stephanie’s Point of View

The calm echo of his words vibrated in a way that instantly froze the blood inside my veins. That low, confident tone, completely stripped of any outward emotion, was far more terrifying than a raw scream. A sharp shiver cascaded down my spine and branched out into my limbs, while my breathing turned erratic and frantic a visible panic I was entirely helpless to conceal.

Lost on how to break the suffocating tension or diffuse his silent, simmering wrath that was teetering on the edge of an explosion, I looked up into the depths of his eyes. My features softened into a vulnerable, pleading expression, and my voice emerged as a faint, cracking whisper:

"Alex... please, don’t do this."

His rigid, unyielding gaze didn’t waver from my pale face by a single inch. Instead, he tightened his iron grip around my arms with a firm, punishing force that made me wince, delivering a flat, absolute directive that barred any room for negotiation:

"Answer my question clearly. Why did you call me all those consecutive times this morning?"

I swallowed with a dry, burning throat, the tips of my fingers rapidly turning numb under the mounting, suffocating strain. Desperately racing to manufacture a plausible excuse to escape this tightening trap and shield the dangerous secret of my pregnancy and the maid, I stammered out in a rushed flurry:

"I... I just felt incredibly bored, and I wanted us to go out together to spend some time. That’s entirely all there is to it."

He narrowed his blue eyes with a lethal, probing skepticism that thoroughly dissected my features, locking his dark pupils into mine in a way that utterly stripped me of my remaining strength. He countered in a low, mocking rumble entirely devoid of belief:

"You are lying scandalously, and I can read it clearly in your eyes."

My shoulders shook with tense agitation. Fiercely trying to gather my scattered composure and project a mask of stability over my pale, bloodless face, I yelled stubbornly:

"I am not lying! That is the absolute truth!"

He leaned his head down closer with a shocking suddenness until his hot, heavy breaths were actively lashing against my skin, demanding with a thundering emphasis that shattered my defense:

"Speak the truth, Stephanie. Why did you call me?!"

I ground my teeth against my lower lip to suppress the visible trembling of my jaw, uttering a defensive, frustrated cry to deflect his intense suspicion:

"I already told you the reason! Why do you insist on disbelieving me in this maddening manner?"

Suddenly, and without a single word of warning, his unyielding grip relaxed, letting go of my arms completely as he took a cold step backward. Seizing the moment, I steadied my swaying frame and drew a massive, deep breath to fill my burning lungs. I finally let out a long sigh of profound relief, foolishly believing my words had convinced him and that this agonizing interrogation had ended safely.

But my relief didn’t last for more than a single second. With a swift, blindingly calculated movement, his long arm lashed out toward the door behind me. The key turned in the lock with a sharp, metallic click that echoed loudly against the dead silence of the bedroom, instantly severing every single thread of survival or hope of escape! I flinched in raw dread, my eyes widening in pure shock.

Before I could process his plan or find time to think, he spun back toward me. His massive hand locked tightly around my wrist, completely paralyzing my movements as he dragged me with wide, unyielding strides toward the sofa anchoring the center of the room.

He settled onto the cushions with his full, terrifying authority, gravity, and unyielding coldness, while his grip released me, leaving me standing entirely alone before him. My entire body convulsed with a violent tremor, completely helpless beneath the weight of his dictatorial gaze, which locked around me like a cage.

Fixing his piercing blue eyes onto my features, he delivered a chillingly quiet rumble that froze my blood:

"You are the one who chose to summon this side of me through your stubbornness and lies, Stephanie."

My stomach upended with a vicious force, a cold shiver drilling into my core and embedding itself in my bones. I balled my free hand tightly in extreme anxiety, asking in a fractured, trembling voice:

"What... what exactly do you mean by those words?"

He locked his rigid, dominant gaze onto my pale features, his eyes darkening from a clear sapphire into a predatory, midnight black from the sheer weight of his suppressed wrath and his absolute desire to break my defiance. He delivered a rough, gravelly command that stole the air right out of my chest:

"Kneel."

My eyes widened in unadulterated terror, a profound shock rattling the core of my being. I stared at him in utter bewilderment, completely unable to process the directive. My frame locked tight in total paralysis, robbing me of the ability to move as I gasped out in a breathless whisper:

"What?"

His jaw clenched with a terrifying intensity that altered his stern features. Pressing his burning, dictatorial gaze firmly over my pale face, he delivered his absolute, dry command with a finality that brooked no delay:

"Kneel on your knees between my feet. Now. Execute what I say without a single second of hesitation."

My breathing came in terrifying, hysterical gasps, a boiling wave of heat rushing through my veins from the intense humiliation of his command and the sheer terror of his supreme authority. Trying with every fiber of my being to cling to the final shred of my feminine pride, I raised my head stubbornly, locking my eyes into his as I stated in a faint, shaking voice:

"Stop using these controlling methods with me, Alex... I will not do this!"

He tilted his head down toward my face with a brutal rigidity entirely stripped of mercy or softness. Uttering a chillingly quiet, low murmur that sent a wave of pure dread through my limbs, he issued his explicit vow:

"Stephanie Miller... will you kneel on your own, or will I have to force you down using my own methods?"

Damn this absolute dominance! The way he uttered my full name like that sent an incredibly intense, unnatural jolt of arousal straight through my core. How did the words exit his mouth with such a dictatorial, intoxicatingly beautiful melody that made every single inch of my body want to surrender completely, as if he were casting a dark spell over my willpower to force my mind into absolute obedience? I lost all conscious awareness of my movements; before I could even process it, I succumbed entirely to his supreme authority. With a slow, quiet submission that thoroughly lacerated my external pride, I dropped to my knees on the soft carpet, settling directly between his broad feet.

A subtle, deeply satisfied smirk of absolute control etched across his lips the moment he witnessed my total submission. Extending his large, heavy hand with a bold possessiveness, he rested his palm on the crown of my head. He ran his fingers slowly and firmly through my red tresses, speaking in a low voice vibrating with a dark, suppressed lust:

"You know beautifully well how much I worship this red hair of yours."

I swallowed against the burning dryness consuming my throat, snapping my gaze down toward the floor to mask the frantic, thundering pounding of my heart against my ribs. I murmured in a faint, defeated whisper:

"I know."

His features and tone instantly shifted back into a dry, razor-sharp rigidity, his eyes blazing with a dangerous, ominous warning as he continued strictly:

"And you also know that I absolutely despise lies and deception. I will never tolerate you lying to me."

My stomach clenched violently at his words. I pressed my trembling palms firmly against my thighs, my breathing turning shallow and highly aroused as I whispered:

"Yes... yes, I know that already."

He leaned his massive torso down toward me until his hot, scorching breaths were actively washing over my pale skin, delivering a terrifying promise that made my thighs tremble:

"And because you chose to lie to me and dance around my questions with your stubbornness... you will now have to bear the full consequences of what I am going to do to you today as your punishment."

My shoulders shook with a violent tremor, utterly overwhelmed by his imposing proximity and the deeply explicit, vulnerable position I had landed myself in. I stammered out in a choked, highly confused voice:

"What... what on earth do you intend to do to me?"

He tilted his head with a cruel, mocking cunning gleaming in his dark eyes, answering in an ominous tone that sliced through my senses and ignited my desire in spite of myself:

"I am going to do many things. Things that will ensure you always remember the price of lying to me."

In that critical split-second, his long, powerful hands moved toward the buttons of his shirt. He began unbuttoning it with an agonizingly slow, calculated deliberation that shredded my remaining nerves and sent my heart rate into overdrive. I stared at him with wide eyes, my treacherous mind wondering in a mad frenzy what he was about to execute within this locked, suffocating perimeter.

He pulled his shirt off with a rough motion, casting it aside to reveal his bare, heavily muscled chest and those broad, striking shoulders that practically overflowed with raw masculinity and dark magnetism.

Damn this wicked punishment! The exact second my eyes took in his bare, highly explicit physique, a scorching, intoxicating heat rushed through my veins like a bolt of lightning. My stomach upended with a dominant wave of pure arousal, a desperate craving consuming me in total defiance of my fears and my terror of his ruthlessness.

He stood up to his full height from the sofa, walking with calm, measured, and unyielding steps toward the massive wooden wardrobe. I followed him with anxious, highly frantic, and desperate eyes, my chest heaving with rapid breaths as I asked in an incredibly tense tone:

"What on earth are you doing over there?"