The Villain's Wife

"You sound scared, your highness." Lily smiled as she closed the magazine in her hands. She then put it on top of the extravagant coffee table carved of oak.

"How… How did you get in here?" He asked as he tried to stop his voice from shaking. He pretended to act as if her presence did not affect him in the least as he tried to walk towards his night stand where a gun was safely tucked near his bed.

"If you are looking for this… then… I already took it out for you." Lily's words made him so still, he could feel his own heartbeat wildly beat against his chest. "And the bullets too." He heard the sound of the bullets clacking against the tiled floor. He gulped and turned towards Lily. Was she here to kill him? The realization made his face go pale.

"Why are you here?"

Lily only responded with a smile. "To congratulate you, of course." She uttered. "How was everything? I have been away for so long… How is everyone?" her casual questions only made his heart beat faster, louder. "Would you like me to call you Grand Duke now?"

"I— I—" Leandro stuttered. "If you touch me… you will not leave this palace alive."

Lily snorted. "Did your guards tell you that I am here?" She raised an eyebrow and started beaming. "I'll take that as a no. Did you think the guards are still guarding you? I can clearly see them just guarding the palace, waiting for the real Grand Duke to show up. Like wolves, waiting for the wolf king. You should be careful, your highness… wolves tend to stick to their packs and they attack the ones who dare to bare their fangs against the alpha."

How could he answer her words? Leandro stared at Lily's face as the realization hit him. The guards, the knights, the military. Was it possible that Lily was able to convince them to act against him? Questions and assumptions immediately started filling his head as he thought of the reason why his grandfather never once visited him after Lily and Zhou Jingren disappeared. Was it possible that he … he had betrayed him too? Leaving him in a palace full of wolves who knew what Mikaela did to their father? "I— I was only— You asked my father to kill my wife. I got blinded by rage. But if you kill me now… this country will lose its monarch. That… that would be dangerous."

"Is it?" Amused at his words, Lily continued smiling. Her voice was not loud, in fact it was calm and soft. Still, Leandro didn't miss the danger that surrounded it. "I thought… you were not the official Grand Duke? You never announced that your father had passed. Therefore the people… no the ministers also didn't approve that you inherit his throne. After all, people have doubts about what really happened that night." She said with a meaningful look.

On that night, Qin Yuanfeng had sent the video to Eliza. Surely, that was enough to let them know that Lily had a copy of the video before they asked their people to delete it. Lily believed that this was the reason why these two didn't kill the Grand Duke. They were afraid that Lily would show herself and show that video to everyone. "Your strategy is foolish one. your highness." Lily added.

She observed his trembling hands that he immediately clenched and unclenched before he met his eyes. "You deliberately let the Duke stay hidden from his own wife and the twins so you could use them. You want to use the Duchess if the Duke makes plans to escape and the other way around. Was this the reason why Eliza didn't post the video? Tell me… did you threaten her to keep her silence?"

"That is not true."

"Liar." She chuckled. "You do know that I have a copy of the video, right? I can post it anytime that I want to."

"No one will believe you."

"What do you mean?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't it obvious? The people… the people wont believe a foreigner like you!" As part of his plan, Leandro and Mikaela spread some rumors about Zhou capital and Facci Group in some social media outlets six months ago. While some people immediately deleted those posts, he was sure that some people living in Luxembourg were able to see it. He even made sure to spread those rumors about her wanting to acquire the seat and using her influence to suppress the economy of Luxembourg.

Because of this, most businessmen and nobles in the country actually believed that Lily and Zhou Jingren wanted to control the throne and when Leandro decided to fight back, the two left the country and started doing something behind the scenes to sabotage the economy of the country.

"Really?" For the umpteenth time, Lily raised her eyebrow as her lips curled into a slight smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Then… why don't we try it now?" Lily then opened a tablet and showed him the video.

"What are you doing?" Leandro took a step towards Lily, however, a man whom he never met before blocked his view. "Who are you? Get out of my way!" The man was about his height, his sharp phoenix eyes stared back at Leandro. "You…"

"Daohu… don't scare him." Lily chuckled. "Let him sit across me. I want him to watch everything that I do."

Leandro frowned at the man named Daohu. He tried to shove him out of his way, in response, Daohu blocked his hand and twisted it.

"AHhh…. Let me…"

"Daohu…" Lily's voice echoed. Almost immediately, the man named Daohu let his hand go and pushed him towards the seat across Lily without saying anything.

"How dare you treat me like this in my own—"

"Shut up." Lily said. "A man who treats his father, who raised him into a decent human being, like a criminal does not deserve to be treated like a human. Be thankful I am treating you like a dog. I could treat you like a rat and step on your face… but I am not doing that as it would make my stilettos dirty. Now… sit down."

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