Hellbound Heart

Elle could not believe the look she was seeing in his eyes. She was quite sure it was possessiveness that she is seeing. And the feelings conveyed were so intense and so raw she that could not even convince herself to believe that they were not real. But… why? Why would he be acting like this over her? As though he was… jealous? She almost laughed out loud from the thought. But looking back at his eyes, the urge died in her throat, rendering her silent.r

Her heartbeats then thudded even harder within her chest. Confusion and wonder and shock were rushing through her as her eyes trailed back to trace his unbearably gorgeous face and spellbinding grey eyes. r

"Tell me Izabelle…" came his sultry yet heart-shivering dark voice. "How is it that his scent is… all over you like this? What kind of activity did both of you share that allowed his scent to be transferred to this extent?" Though his tone was calm, Elle detected a dangerous hint within it. r

The storm in his eyes kept intensifying that Elle could not help but feel a little scared now. "W-what do you mean? You know Elijah and I danced, Sebastian. That was all we did. And I don't think his cologne was that strong to be…" she trailed off at the sight of his jaws tightening. r

"If you did not already know, my sense of smell is extremely sensitive, Izabelle." He informed her, his grey eyes were just like shards of ice, glittering down at her before he brought her crashing against his chest with a jerk. "I can smell even the faintest foreign scent that is transferred on you." r

Cupping her chin to make her look up at him, he continued in a low tone, "Now tell me, my dear wife… why is his scent not only on your arms and front but… literally all over you? It was as though you had been drenched from head to toe with his personal… flavor." That last word came out in an angry and clipped tone.r

Elle forgot to breathe for a moment due to the suffocating rage he was exuding. He was truly angry. She had never seen him this angry before. She did not know what he was like when he became angry. She did not know what was suddenly going on.r

But what she saw next in his eyes had her blossoming fear immediately replaced with rage. There was clear accusation shining from within his eyes. Was he… was he accusing her of doing something improper with Elijah? Seriously?!!r

A disbelieving and quiet laugh escaped her as she glared venomously at him. "Are you… are you accusing me, Sebastian?" she asked with a voice shaky due to anger. "Are you implying that I wronged you and our vows?" r

He was silent for a moment, but his dark expression did not change. "I'm accusing him for trying to provoke me. Did anything happen before I arrived that I know nothing about? Did he touch you all over and put his scent on you? What did he do to you –" r

"He didn't do anything to me! We only danced, that's all!" she yelled at him, unable to take it anymore. How dare he suspect her of such behavior! If anyone was to be suspected, it was more likely to be him rather than her!! Fuming, her eyes were sparking with challenge as she stared defiantly at Sebastian.r

"Then explain this." His voice turned even harder, darker. "Why in the f*cking hell am I smelling his scent literally everywhere on you? Huh? Izabelle? How are you to justify this, huh?!" r

Elle could not explain what she was feeling right now. She should be used to this already. Back home, her father had always asked her to explain what she did, and when she did explain herself, he would not believe her explanation. His anger would only escalate the more she tried to explain the truth and then she would still end up being slapped and screamed at. Since she was a teenager, telling the truth, telling what she knew and really felt, had never did anything good for her. In fact, it had always done the opposite. Always. And it was now that she realized just how bad all those experiences had affected her. r

She could not say even a word right now. Even if it was just a simple 'I don't know'. She had thought her trauma would only be triggered when she was with her father and Brandon Haze. But it seemed that she was wrong. She could not believe that all she could do at this moment was to just stand there and look dumbly at him. Unable to stand her ground, unable to respond to him. All she could do was to stand there mutely, as though accepting all the accusations as it were the truth of her actions.r

All she could feel was her trembling lips and her aching throat. The worse was that this case with Sebastian was different. Because she felt an indescribable ache in her heart. He was not screaming at her. He was not even lifting a hand to her. And yet… why does this seemed more unbearable compared to those other times she had experienced? Was it because it was him and not her father or Brandon Haze?r

Suddenly, she felt his grip on her loosening up. When she blinked away the layer of haze that had covered her eyes, she saw him wearing a peculiar expression as he looked down at her. The stormy rage in his eyes had subsided. Or… were they just securely tucked within him again and would come out sometime later? r

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he bit down on his lips instead. And then he suddenly yanked at his shirt. The buttons all went flying everywhere as he harshly and effortlessly tore his clothes off him, revealing the perfection of his body underneath those clothes. r

After that, he raked his fingers through his wet and dark hair, throwing his head back into the shower that was still pounding down on them. And when he looked down at her again, his face was impeccably calm. r

"There… I'm not angry anymore, Izabelle," he breathed out in a controlled voice, "you can now stop looking at me like I'm going to kill you if you say a single word." r

He lifted his hand and reached out as if to touch her face, but he stopped midway. His jaws clenched and then he turned around. r

Just when he took a step to leave the bathroom, Elle reached out and grabbed his wrist. r

Sebastian instantly halted at the cool touch of her hands wrapping around the skin of his wrist. r

"If…" Elle's voice was so weak, as if she was having a hard time to even speak. "If I tell you that I really don't know what happened… will you… believe me?" r