(Author's note: This scene is with the real Chase Dubois)
Tilly Ann POV
Engagement suspended!
Thank God for small victory but I needed a plan.
I needed Chase Dubois cooperation to get us out of this doomed marriage.
I needed to find Chase. Make him see reasons. We would be terrible for each. I wouldn't make a good wife, I could barely keep my mother's chicks alive. How in hell will manage to keep his future children alive.
He would be a terrible husband on the account of him being a harlot and a terrible father because...he was raised by an arse.
We would wreck each other.
He would wreck me.
He wrecked me at ten. He will wreck me again. I was sure of it.
My feet carried me through the corridors toward the one place no one ever went—The old armory.
It had been abandoned since before I was born—perfect for a princess who needed to conjure up a good plan.
I turned the corner and I walked straight into the side of a wheelchair.
The armrest caught me hard in the thigh, and I staggered sideways, my hand shooting out to brace against the wall.
I stumbled back, sitting in it was Chase.
Looking up at me with those deep, unsettlingly tired eyes.
"Last night was a mistake" I told him flatly.
"A mistake?"
"It can't happen again. No, it won't happen again, Alpha Chase" I said more to myself than him.
"It won't." he told me, his voice quiet. Sincere.
I stared at him.
All I saw was a man who regretted doing everything he did to me...to me.
"I apologize for my less than honorable behavior towards you, Matilda —"
I promised myself I wasn't going to let him affect me and if he inevitably did. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing just how much.
But he was Alpha Chase, he had the annoying habit of bringing out everything I try to hide.
"Less than honorable?" My voice was higher than I intended. Angrier than I wanted to be "Less than honorable doesn't cover it, my friend. First, you offer me a hand of fake friendship. Then you turn around and fuck me with your tongue. Make up your bloody mind, Chase!"
"The friendship was real." His voice was louder like he wanted me to hear him even though I would rather not. "It was sincere, Matilda"
"Oh, I doubt any part of you is sincere, Chase!" I snapped at him. "I'm just a toy to you, aren't I?"
He looked away, placing his gaze on the dying weed by the side of the armory.
" You enjoy knocking me out of my orbit, making my head spin so fast, don't you?!" I brushed imaginary dust off my skirt. "You enjoy making me—"
"No."
"Making me shaky. We both know who you are. I KNOW WHO YOU ARE! "
"No, you don't—"
"You are toying with me like you toy with everything in your path—because you are the big bad predator and everyone else is prey to you, am I right?!"
He didn't smile. That wicked, hungry glint was absent. He just looked… hollow.
"You look flustered, Matilda," he said softly. "Are you coming down with something, sweetheart?"
I took a step forward. My hands clenched to the sides. He makes me so angry.
"You can't come to my room anymore. You can't pull me into storerooms either. I live with mind readers, do you understand that?" I forced out.
I watched my hand it was trembling.
"Matilda—"
"It's Tilly Ann!" I screamed at him. "You are going to get me in trouble. Real trouble, Chase. Putting up mental shields. I can't keep it up forever"
I took a deep breath. I was suddenly exhausted
He didn't answer. Just sat there, looking up at me with those tired eyes.
"Why are you such a horrible person? You play with people. They are not toys, Alpha!"
He was quiet. I am not a toy. I wanted to scream at him.
"I'm… sorry," he whispered. If I didn't know any better I would have sworn he was genuine.
I watched him, this confusing, infuriating son of a bitch. One moment he was a force of nature, all devilish heat and reckless hands, and the next, he was this exhausted man in a chair, barely keeping his own head up.
"I can't marry you" I said at last.
I was out of breathe and flustered, the heat wasn't helping matters. "Matilda. You don't look so good" He tried to touch me, I recoiled. He kept his distance.
"You need to sit down, you look like you are about to faint" he said, his voice cutting gently through my spiral.
"I don't need to do anything. Keep away from me till—"
But he was right. My legs felt like water. I was seconds away from passing out.
The only thing resembling a chair was his wheelchair, and he was sitting in it.
Without a second thought, I simply turned and sat down sideways on his lap.
He went utterly still.
He smelled good. So different from the memory I remember. I wanted to focus on that but my heart was pounding so hard, It was at risk of jumping out
"Maltida?"
"I can't breathe"
I braced for a crass remark, for him to shove me off. Instead, there was silence.
Then, slowly, as if I were made of glass, his arms came around me. One strong arm across my back, pulling me securely against himself.
His other hand came up, his fingers hesitating for a moment before they sank gently into my hair, cradling my head.
"Breathe" he murmured, his lips brushing my hair. His embrace was firm, I felt...safe. "Just for me, breathe okay? It's going to be alright, Tilly. I'll fix it."
The promise was my undoing. A tension I hadn't even named released in my chest.
I melted into him, mimicking his breathing, the rise and fall of his chest. One breath, then another. The panic receded.
My instinct took over. I tilted my head up, my lips finding the skin of his throat. I pressed a kiss there.
He moaned. It sounded different. More intimate. like he hadn't meant to. Like something he couldn't stop himself from feeling.
I wanted to connect with him.
I shifted, taking his mouth in a kiss.
For one heartbeat, he met me. His lips were softer than I remembered, hesitant. It wasn't the consuming fire of before. He was kissing me differently—sweetly, almost passionately. Like he was savoring it.
My other hand, still trembling, drifted down from his chest, over his trousers, seeking proof. I knew exactly what I was going to touch. His rock hard bulge. Proof that I drove him to the brink of insanity just like he did me.
But the moment my palm brushed there, he froze.
He tore his mouth away from mine so fast it left me dizzy.
A full-body shudder went through him, and when I tried to touch him again, his hands flew to my wrists.
He shoved me away.
"Don't—!" The word practically flew out of him.
I didn't recognize the man in front of me.
"Chase?" I whispered, utterly confused.
"Get off of me" He demanded. "Now, Matilda!"
I scrambled back, stumbling off his lap like it was on fire.
Humiliation and confusion covered my face. I only touched him. The Chase I knew would have smirked and pressed into my hand.
This Chase looked… humiliated.
Humiliated?
If anyone was to feel embarrassed, it should be me!
He wouldn't even meet my eyes. His gaze was fixed on his own lap, his fists clenched so tightly on the arms of his chair that his knuckles were white bone.
"Wh—what is your problem?!" I finally yelled, the hurt bursting out of me.
He flinched like I struck him.
"I have to go," he choked out. "I'm sorry. I can't… I can't do this with you."
The whiplash was dizzying. "Now, you can't?!" I hissed, closing the distance, my voice dropping to a furious whisper. "That's alright. Tell my father what he needs to hear. Tell him you can't father children. End the stupid engagement"
I started to walk away. "And stay the fuck away from me"
"Matilda. I'm Sorry"
"I hate you" I yelled, fighting the urge to kick him off the decorative wheelchair. "I hope you become crippled for real. I mean that!"
"I'm sorry. Tilly!"