Chapter 2 Hands on My Neck
I opened my eyes. The red candles were burning bright.
I turned stiffly. The snow-white slip glared.
Trembling, I touched my neck. The burn of near-death suffocation seemed to linger.
Just now, who had tried to strangle me while I dreamed?
Or had all of it been only a nightmare?
My thoughts tangled, but I had no time to sort them. The door creaked, and the Crown Prince came in.
I hurried to hide the slip.
Black boots embroidered with gold stopped before my eyes.
"A Yue." He brought the Wedding Cup Wine. "Drink this cup of wine, and we will be husband and wife."
Wine-breath sprayed at my ear. A chill crawled up my back.
Xiao Yan's pupils were bright black, like black stones on a chessboard, mild to look at and cold.
I looked into his eyes and did not speak again. I bit my lip and let him undo my sash.
"Today truly is our day of great joy."
This night was not the one in my memory. The Crown Prince was no longer gentle. He was rough.
Stroke after stroke, rough and frantic, as if he were testing me.
It hurt too much. I could not hold back a sound.
He stopped. Those black eyes moved slowly to my face. "A Yue?"
Had he heard? My heart beat like a drum.
"A Yue, did I hurt you?"
I did not dare answer. I did not dare move. Cold sweat slid slowly from my forehead.
The bridal chamber was silent. I heard only the red candles hissing as they burned.
After a long while, Xiao Yan suddenly laughed. "I'll go easier."
He went on, light and slow, like a lingering cut. I bore the pain and made no sound.
A low roar. He was soaked in sweat, rolled aside, and closed his eyes.
I did not dare sleep. I stared at the steady rise of his breath.
Only when the moon reached the branches and snores rose did I fail to hold on and close my eyes.
The next second, suffocation came again.
I struggled wildly, trying to pry away the hands locked on my neck.
In the moonlight, that jade-like face was savage and twisted. The eyes were full of blood.
It was the Crown Prince...
Why?
My sight went black. I lost consciousness.