Hellbound Heart

Returning his deep gaze to Elle, Sebastian simply said, "Sleep."

The next thing she knew, he had her lying down on the bed. Not in a forceful way whatsoever. She did not feel him push her back into the bed at all but… was that normal? She could not quite explain how it had happened. All she knew was one moment, she was staring deeply into his eyes and then in the next moment, she was already lying back on the bed. What in the… she mentally shook her head, telling herself that she must still be heavily affected by the wine she had drunk. She was really getting more and more suspicious that that wine might have been drugged.

Sebastian tugged at the blanket and covered her to up her neck. Then he rose, shoving his one hand into his pocket.

"Alright, I'll come fetch you tomorrow morning. Seven, sharp."

"Seven sharp…" Elle stared hard at him. "Is this time for real then? I would like to know… because if you don't come on time or stand me up again, I won't be here in the hotel just waiting for you. You know that, right?"

He lifted his brow and Elle continued confidently. "I would rather be out and enjoying the beauty of Quesa all day long instead of waiting, doing nothing in the room. You might not even find me until I come back to the hotel at night."

His faint dimple appeared as he gave her a quick but breathtaking smile. It was a smile that threatened to send Elle staring off in a daze again. Damn him for being so unacceptably gorgeous and having that enviable smile and appealing dimple.

"Seven sharp, Izabelle." His tone sounded certain as he looked meaningfully at her. "So go to sleep now and get some rest." Then he turned and left, the sound of the door closing gently echoed in his wake.

Elle could not stop herself from cracking out a disbelieving smile. Why is this man so confusing? He seems to vacillate between acting hot as an inferno and cold as blizzard with just a blink of an eye! She felt as though her neck would suffer from whiplash if he continued flipping from hot to cold like this. However, at that moment, she felt like this man had the power to burn a woman's body and freeze her heart all at once. What a dangerous combo!

…

It was 6:57 in the morning. Elle held a graceful posture as she sat and stared at the wall clock in her hotel room. Her thick and long lashes which was a dark shade of auburn were fluttering open and close as she blinked in silence, to the beat of the minute hand with a serene expression.

When the minute hand hit 59, Elle slowly and unhurriedly turned her gaze to the door. She had prepared herself. But despite the words that he seemingly promised her last night, she did not dare raise her expectations beyond fifty percent of him keeping his word.

The next second, the doorknob moved. It was exactly seven sharp, when someone pushed at her door. Ava? Sebastian?

When it was Sebastian who stepped into her room, her large blue eyes slightly widened.

He stared at her. His right hand shoved into his pocket again. "You look as though you were expecting that I would not honor my words, Izabelle," he said in a casual tone. He was wearing a tailored black suit, looking dapper and very much like a proper groom now.

"Well," Elle stood, "anything could've happened that might have hindered your arrival on time, Prince Sebastian." Her tone was calm and gentle, a tiny lift of a smile at the corners of her lips, keeping to her status as the crown princess of a country.

"So, you have prepared yourself for the worst-case scenario instead of expecting me to keep to my words?" His tone sounded a little amused as he offered her his arm.

"Expectation is the root of all heartaches, they say." She answered him glibly as they glided out of the door. "Sometimes, it's better to expect the worst so you would not have the chance to be disappointed."

"Because when that does happen, you will not get caught off guard and will just say 'it is as expected'?" Sebastian followed her reasoning so quickly as though he had that exact sentence prepared in advance.

Elle glanced at him and was surprised to see the corner of his lips slightly lifted. "And when the opposite happens, you will feel the positive emotions stronger because you really had no expectations on it."

"Interesting…" Whatever he was going to say next got interrupted by the sound of his phone vibrating in his pocket.

Upon looking at the identity of the caller, Sebastian glanced over at Elle and said, "Go ahead, I'll follow along in a moment."

There was a split-second pause before Elle gave him a short nod and then followed after Ava to enter the elevator.

Sebastian did not take long to catch up with them so once everyone was in the car, they finally left the hotel. The trip was silent as Sebastian was suddenly unusually quiet. He was already not a man of many words, but Elle felt that something seemed to be occupying his mind since he received that earlier call.

Now Elle could not help but start thinking about what it was that he could have heard from the caller. Could it be related to their marriage today?

After mulling over it in her mind for a long while, Elle could no longer contain herself. She could not help but think that Sebastian was going to stop the car and tell her their civil wedding would not happen today as planned.

"Is everything alright?" she finally broke the silence.

Sebastian regarded her with a searching gaze. "I'm guessing…" A glint of amusement seemed to flash in his eyes. "… your pessimism is kicking in again and thinking that some kind of trouble had occurred and now you're suspecting that the wedding will not happen. Is that right?"

His words had Elle's lips parting before her face flushed a becoming shade of dark pink. How… how did he know? Was she that transparent? It was as though he could read her like a book already!

She cleared her throat to regain her composure and was about to retort when she caught him staring at her face. There was an unusual gleam in his eyes that had stopped her from continuing her riposte.

"If that's what you're thinking, you are right." His reply stunned her.

"W-what?" Elle stammered in a low voice.

"There's indeed some trouble that had arisen."

Elle stilled, utterly speechless. She could not even put into words what she was feeling right now. Why was it so hard for her to get married to someone other than Brandon Haze?! She almost lost her cool and broke down in tears thinking of her rotten luck.

But then, completely unexpected words tumbled from his mouth next, shooting a hopeful ray of salvation in the jumble of her unsteady emotions. "But worry not, Izabelle. Because no trouble can stop this wedding from happening today."

___

This bunos chapter is dedicated to @Chinawa and @Edenn. Thank you so much for the supergifts! <3