Reborn To Change My Fate-Chapter 278 - Two Hundred And Seventy Seven

Liam leaned in closer, he inhaled deeply, his eyes closing for a brief second as if savoring a rare wine. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Hmmm," Liam murmured, a low, guttural sound that vibrated in his chest. "You smell just like your chemise."

He said it in a low groan that Marissa barely caught, but the implication was clear enough to send a shiver of revulsion down her spine. He had touched her things. He had held the intimate lace against his face. It was a violation so deep it made her skin crawl.

Marissa chuckled. It was a harsh, brittle tone, like glass breaking. She looked at him with open contempt and took some steps back.

"Your Highness truly has impressive methods," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Reaching even into my private chambers. Stealing undergarments and documents like a common thief. Is this how the future King spends his time?"

Liam’s eyes opened. They were dark, dilated with a mix of obsession and frustration. He ignored her insult. He took a step forward, trying to close the small gap she had created between them.

His voice changed, shifting from mocking to pleading. It was a terrifying transformation.

"Since it is a fake marriage," Liam whispered, his hand reaching out, "choosing him is no better than choosing me. Why hold on to a lie? Why pretend?"

He wanted to caress her cheek. His fingers hovered inches from her skin, trembling slightly with the urge to touch her.

Marissa didn’t wait. She swatted his hand away with a sharp, violent motion. The sound of her palm hitting his wrist echoed in the room.

She took another step back, putting the table between them again. She looked at him as if he were a disease.

"Why are you so confident?" she asked, her voice steady and cutting.

She straightened her spine, looking down at him even though he was taller.

"In terms of looks," Marissa listed, her eyes flashing, "Derek is exceptionally handsome. He has the strength of a soldier and the grace of a noble. In honor, he has the greatest honor in Eudora and Strathmore. He contained the plague. He won the war. He saved thousands of lives while you sat in your palace."

She took a breath, her voice rising.

"In ambition," she continued, "he cares for the realm. He builds. He protects. In family background, he is on equal footing with you. You both share the royal blood. He is a Thompson. You are cousins."

Liam’s face darkened. The pleading look vanished, replaced by a cold, hard anger. His jaw clenched.

"Are you saying," Liam asked, his voice hardening into a dangerous growl, "that I am inferior to Derek?"

Marissa met his gaze. She didn’t flinch.

"Even in a false marriage," Marissa declared, "I would only choose Derek. Never Your Highness. Not in this life, and not in a thousand lives."

The rejection was absolute. It was a slap in the face of his pride, his title, and his ego.

Liam stared at her. The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating.

Then, he smiled. It was a smile devoid of any warmth. It was the smile of a predator who has decided to stop playing with his food.

"Then things are actually simpler," Liam said softly.

He walked around the table, moving slowly, deliberately.

"Last time at Strathmore," Liam said, his voice casual, "he was just lucky. The arrow missed his heart by an inch. The fall didn’t kill him. The cold didn’t freeze him."

He stopped in front of her.

"But that doesn’t mean he would be fortunate every time," Liam whispered. "Luck runs out, Marissa. Accidents happen. Horses stumble. Food gets poisoned. Roofs collapse."

Marissa’s blood ran cold. She felt a knot of dread tighten in her stomach.

"So my nightmare was true," she thought, her mind racing back to the dream that had woken her up screaming. "Liam is literally after Derek’s life. It wasn’t just paranoia. He wants him dead."

She looked at his cruel eyes. She saw the truth there. He would kill Derek just to possess her. Just to win.

But she couldn’t let him see her fear. She couldn’t let him know he had found her weakness.

Her face hardened back into a mask of steel.

She saw the paper—the divorce agreement—still in his hand. He was holding it loosely now, distracted by his own threat.

She moved fast.

She snatched the paper from his hand. The movement was a blur.

Before he could react, she ripped it in half. Then in quarters. She tore it until it was nothing but scraps. She threw the pieces onto the floor.

"Threatening him won’t work on me," Marissa said, her voice fierce. "That paper means nothing. It is ash. We burned the real ones long ago."

Liam looked at the torn paper on the floor. He didn’t seem angry. He seemed amused.

"You have spirit," he said.

He stepped closer, looming over her.

"I will destroy whatever you care about," Liam promised, his voice a low, terrifying vow. "I have plenty of time. I have plenty of methods to play with you. I can take your business. I can take your reputation. I can take your husband’s life."

He reached out and touched a lock of her hair. This time, she couldn’t swat him away. He held her held in his free hand. She stood frozen, enduring his touch like a statue.

"Marissa," he whispered, twirling the hair around his finger. "You are a clever woman. Be sensible. Become my woman sooner. Save yourself the pain."

He let go of her hair and hands.

"Don’t make me wait too long," he warned. "My patience is not infinite."

Marissa scoffed. It was a sound of pure disbelief and disgust.

"Unbelievable," she spat. "You are crazy, Your Highness. Definitely crazy."

She turned on her heel. She walked to the door, her steps heavy and angry. She didn’t look back. She left the room, slamming the door behind her, shutting out his voice, his scent, and his threats.

"I must report this to Derek." Marissa whispered to herself.