Hellbound Heart

Elle fell silent. The lump in her throat tightened again when he mentioned that there was to be a condition involved. Her anger of him did not disappear, she had simply managed to forcefully swallow it down. But at the thought that he was going to ask her for another ridiculous condition had her emotions surging forth once again. r

However, what he said next rendered her mute. She had not expected him to mention Snow White. Why did he seem so sour about Snow anyway? Did he not help her save the poor wolf too? So why was he acting like he hated Snow White now? r

Silently, Elle hesitated for a moment. But eventually, she nodded. She thought that his condition was not that big of a deal anyway, as he only did not want Snow sleeping in their bed. That only means she was allowed to cuddle him anywhere else except on the bed. Perhaps Sebastian had some issues with having wolf fur in his bedsheets?r

"Fine… I'll keep him off the bed." She relented. "Now please talk and explain." Elle did not want to delay anymore. She was still angry at him, so badly mad at him that she was afraid that his explanations will not be enough to soothe her at this point. r

Sebastian stood so Elle rose to her feet as well, clutching onto his jacket that he had draped over her. It was cold. Bitingly cold. But she did not show any signs of how cold she was feeling. She could be stubborn if she wanted to.r

"You are in danger, Izabelle." He said after sighing, causing Elle to crease her brows in confusion. r

"Danger? From whom? There's no way that I am being targeted by an assassin, right?" she replied in disbelief. In her mind, she could not figure out who was it that wanted her dead. Did she even have such enemies?r

Sebastian held her eyes for a while. "That's right. And we'll leave it at that for now." r

Shaking her head, Elle took a step back from him. "No. I think you're lying. I don't think anyone would want to assassinate me in the first place. I am not important enough to be targeted by anyone right now. I mean, who am I to be made a target of an assassination?" Elle was adamant in her belief.r

"Not important enough…?!!" he echoed rather disbelievingly. "You are my wife. The crown princess of this country. And you still think you're not important enough? Do you even hear yourself speak?"r

His words had her speechless. Then… does he really think that she was that important? Was she not just a wife only by name, and one that he could divorce anytime he wished? r

"So, you're saying that someone in this country… is after my life? But why? Why would they even want my life? What would they even gain from killing me?" r

Elle herself find this a little ridiculous. She was aware she held no real power even if she did marry into the Reign family, and to the Crown Prince. Right now, she was merely a powerless crown princess. Not that she had been anyone powerful before she married Sebastian. Her point was, it was simply ridiculous for anyone to go after the life a powerless royalty. Unless… it was merely because of… envy?r

Sebastian's eyes narrowed. "What would they gain from…" he suddenly trailed off, looked away and ran his fingers through his hair. r

When he looked at her again, he calmly told her, "That's what I'm trying to find out right now." r

Elle did not know why, but she somehow felt like what he had just said was half-truth and a half-lie. She fought not to burst out shouting protests at him. r

"Then why must you cut off my connection to everyone like that, and even to you? You do know that you, taking away my phone and keeping me out the Internet is such a ridiculous thing to do, right?" she could not help that her voice was a little aggressive when she asked this.r

"It's not ridiculous, Izabelle. It's necessary. I don't want you getting contacted by someone unknown and revealing secrets…" he cursed under his breath. r

"Secret… what secret?" r

Sebastian shook his head a little. "You're not ready for this information, Izabelle. Believe me." His voice weakened as he said that. r

"Believe me, I'm ready for anything, Sebastian." She pressed. Whatever this secret, she knew she must know it, or she would not be able to sleep in peace again. r

"No. I know you're brave, but this is something you are not able to handle. Not just yet… Trust me on this." r

The absolute certainty in his voice had Elle feeling like she wanted to blow up at him. She hated how he treated her like some weakling who needs to be confined in a bedroom because she was in danger to survive. She hated that he thinks of her as someone so weak willed that just knowing a secret would break her mind. r

Smiling bitterly, Elle stepped back from him again. Her emotions… she could not seem to hold them back anymore. This was not getting her anywhere. This only gave her more questions than any sort of answers. And it seems, he truly was not willing to reveal anything more in the first place. r

She felt needles prickling in her chest. She hated how this man could hurt her so easily with all his actions and words towards her. She hated it so much. r

Suddenly, he stepped forward. His face had softened, and she knew it must be because she could not hide her emotions anymore. r

"Listen…" his voice became a lot softer. "You are not ready to know about all this yet. In fact, the moment you learn of all these secrets, there will be no more turning back for you. You won't be… able to leave this place ever again…" he trailed off again, looking like he had said something he had instantly regretted. r

What did he even mean by that? Was this all because she was expected to leave this place one day and that was why she was not allowed to learn about whatever this secret was? r

Elle could not speak. She wanted to. But she could not. The pain in her throat had become so unbearable that it was getting harder for her to breathe. r

So, she turned around and started walking away without saying anything else to Sebastian. r

Sebastian only stood there, watching, as she got further away from him. He did not know what to even do or say. It seems that everything that he did or say to her had the opposite effect of what he was intending for her to feel. F**k it all. Why was everything getting so…r

His eyes slowly widened at the realization that Izabelle had been moving around barefooted. The phone in his hand fell to the ground, unheeded, and he just rushed towards her. His eyes locked onto those bare feet walking on such freezing cold ground.r

He grabbed her arm to stop her from walking. "Why in the world are you bare –" he broke off and his entire being froze the moment he saw her face. r

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A/N: Mini mass release done! We will aim for a mass release next month so don't forget to vote for this book with your Golden Tickets. Let's get HH to top 1 Hellbounders!

Once again, a big big thank you to everyone who voted for this book. Really appreciate you guys. <3