Predatory Marriage

Chapter 147. Tie Me Up (1)

Translator: Atlas / Editor: Regan

Despite her caution, Leah was attracted by those smiling eyes. She knew Ishakan was an exceptional and beautiful man, even if he made her cringe sometimes with his shamelessness.

But when he looked at her, his fierce eyes softened. There was no way she could refuse this man. Leah shook her head and leaned against his chest, and Ishakan hugged her as if he had been waiting for just that. The hand caressing her spine was warm and firm.

“I thought I had left everything behind…”

She could hear the rattling of chains in her ears, and though she knew it was an auditory hallucination, she had to fight the urge to look down at her ankles. She didn’t want to look. Part of her feared that her ankles were actually shackled. She tucked her feet under the blanket.

“I’m still thinking about Estia,” she confessed, trying to escape the shadows tormenting her. “It’s…upsetting…”

Ishakan laid his hand on her head, her cheek resting against his firm chest.

“Don’t think about anything. Just go to sleep. You’ll be fine after a good sleep.”

Leah closed her eyes. She hadn’t even been awake half a day, but she drifted back to sleep in his arms, hoping she could stay awake for a little longer tomorrow.

***

Her body was moving on its own. Leah didn’t like this. She wanted to scream, but nothing came out of her mouth. Grabbing a dagger, she approached the man, sleeping soundly.

Though he had been sleeping, his eyes slowly opened as she approached, and the moment she met the gaze of those golden eyes, she plunged the dagger into his heart. The horrible sensation of cutting into human flesh was transmitted directly into her hands.

Only then was she released from her restraints. But now that she could speak, Leah said nothing. She could only look down at what she had done, and it was Ishakan who made the first move as she remained frozen and soulless.

“It’s okay,” he said, hugging her. “It’s okay, Leah.”

“Why, why..” Leah said, as his hot blood began to spill. Though he could have stopped her from stabbing him, he had just watched as she plunged the dagger into him. Ishakan tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, whispering.

“I didn’t want you to get hurt by accident if I dodged it.”

Leah woke up, startled. The line between dream and reality was blurred and she panicked, rolling over and tumbling off the bed. She stifled a yelp of pain and rushed to check her hands. She sagged when she saw they were clean of blood, overcome with relief and anxiety.

It was a dream. But it could also become reality any moment. A thought appeared in her mind.

I have to go back to Estia.

She did not belong here. She had to go back to Estia. She staggered to her feet and ran to the nearest exit, a window covered with a thin curtain. The cool night breeze touched her face as soon as she pulled the curtain aside, and Leah came to her senses as though she had been slapped.

“……”

Leah stared blankly. Dim moonlight shone on the white stone buildings, and palm fronds swayed in the breeze. She let out the breath she had been holding and sank down to the ground, covering her face in her hands.

Her whole body trembled. Only now did she really understand. Not only had she become Cerdina’s puppet, but she had lost her mind. She was unhinged. She thought she had found the bottom, but there was no end to this despair. There was always a worse hell.

Alone in the dark, Leah turned, startled. A pair of eyes was watching her in the moonlight streaming through the window. He stood silently and looked at her with calm eyes, as if he had been watching from the beginning. Looking up at him, her lips moved slowly.

“…Lock me up.”

Her fear was unbearable. Especially with the vision of this man, unresisting as she stabbed him, floating before her eyes.

“You can put me in jail, isolate me somewhere, or tie me up. If this goes on, I can really kill you…” She whispered, her face pale. “Help me with this, Ishakan.”

Ishakan didn’t respond to her desperate plea. He knew better than anyone else that she had not been freed from the Queen’s spells. He likely understood exactly what was in her mind. But he showed no fear, smiling slightly as he looked down at her.

“You are so naive…” he said. Lifting her, he slung her over his shoulder and carried her to the bed, throwing her onto it. A moment later, something fell on the bed in front of her.

It was a pair of leather cuffs with a chain. Unlike the cuff in the carriage that only bound one wrist, these bound both, and Ishakan attached them deftly, securing the chain on the canopy at the head of the bed.

That wasn’t all. He shackled her ankles as well. There was no long chain from the canopy, but a short one between her ankles. The chain was only the width of a hand, so it was impossible for her to even walk. Having her limbs bound made her feel better. Despite the discomfort, it was a relief that she wouldn’t be able to hurt Ishakan as she had in her dreams.

“I have tied you up as you wished.” Ishakan said as he climbed on top of Leah. “I promised you I would heal you, so I don’t understand why you are so worried.”